Leave it to The CW to screw up a show before they even film it.
The TV Addict got ahold of the casting breakdowns for the upcoming Arrow series which will be based on the DC Comics character of Green Arrow. From these listings its pretty obvious that just like the network did with Smallville the comics background doesn’t matter.
Oliver Queen A 27 year old reformed bad boy, who after having spent five years shipwrecked on a tiny, brutally dangerous island in the South China Sea returns to town a different man. Or to be more specific, a tortured, thoughtful master of the bow with a ferocious determination to make a difference.
Dinah “Laurel” Lance 28 years old, smart sexy, Laurel is a legal aid attorney determined to use her life as a one-woman war against the 1% following the death of her younger sister Sara. A sister, who as luck would have it, just so happened to have died aboard Oliver’s yacht.
Tommy Merlyn 28 years old and devil-smooth, Tommy is a trustafarian like Oliver, a spectacularly rich young man whose life revolves around parties, clubs, liquor and lots of anonymous sex. Unlike Oliver, he can’t seem to understand his former best friend’s sudden change of lifestyle and direction.
Moira Queen 48 years old, a beautiful woman, Oliver’s mother Moira is a very wealthy woman who is not used to being shaken. Having remarried during the five years that former husband Robert and Oliver were both presumed dead, Moira has had free rein over the Queen billions. Not surprisingly, she’s deeply interested in learning whether or not Robert will also return unexpectedly, to ruin her present marriage and go over the books with a fine-tooth comb.
John Diggle 35 years old, African-American, Diggle is really, really big, a former military man who served with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan, and has been a bodyguard for hire for the last four years. Hired by Moira to be Oliver’s chauffeur and protector, Diggle soon finds he is trapped in a battle of wits, as Oliver repeatedly eludes his protection. But in fact, Diggle’s primary conflict is one of loyalty — he has to show that he’s working for Oliver, not Moira, before Oliver will give him a smidgen of trust.
Thea Queen 17 years old (suggest 17-22 years), Oliver’s Lolita-esque sister, Thea was a 12 year old girl when he went on his infamous yachting voyage — but now she’s a celebutante who’s testing the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Thea loved her big brother with all her heart, and is delighted to have him back in her life — but she’s spreading her wings, and is unprepared for Oliver to become the Bad Cop in the family, restricting her access to boys and drugs.
Thea Queen? Well that’s a totally new character. And imagine that, a bratty teenage girl character on The CW. I’m shocked, shocked I tell you! And Dinah “Laurel” Lance? You mean the Black Canary, Green Arrow’s long time girlfriend? Well, no mention of her being her super heroine alter ego, but perhaps they’ll add that down the road? Who knows, it’s The CW, they could decided this is the “wrong” Dinah Lance or some other crazy idea.
Just once I’d like to see The CW do something faithful to a comic, but I guess that’s just too much to hope for.
Previously Justin Hartley played the character on Smallville, and while there has been no information if this is the same version of the character, it has been reported that they are not looking into him playing the title character in this series.
Just because The CW is exploring these different series, it doesn’t mean any of them will make it to air, but seeing as Warner Brothers, the parent company of DC Comics, is part owner of the network, it only makes sense that the two would want to get another series on the air, it’s just a matter of finding the right property.
No word has been announced as to when we’ll hear a final decision on any of these.
This means that in short order that NBC, the network most in need of a hit, has lost two new shows, and there is no clear break out success story for them. It’d be nice to see them get back in the game at some point after being #1 for so many years, but every time they turn around they are failing.
The other cancellation comes from The CW, and is anyone really surprised it was H8R? Yes, the idiotic “reality” show where people were “forced” into meeting celebrities they hate. This show was so insanely stupid that I still can’t believe it ever even ended up on the air, but then again it is The CW, so it isn’t like it was on a real network.
I am certain this won’t be the end of the cancellations for this year. The selection of shows that got picked up was some of the weakest I have ever seen, and now the networks are finally realizing it.
In an effort to fill the hole left by the end of Smallville, The CW is working on developing a series based on the DC Comics character Deadman.
According to Deadline, Supernatural creator Eric Kripke is currently readying a development treatment for a Deadman series that will follow the original stories from DC Comics. For those of you unfamiliar with the character, which is probably 99.9% of you as who ranks as a D list character as best, Deadman was a man named Boston Brand who was killed while he was a well-known trapeze artists.
Upon his death, a made up Hindu Goddess gave him the power to possess the living to try to find his killer. Along the way he ends up helping other people he jumps through. After finally finding his killer he continues with helping others.
If this sounds like a mixture of The Crow and Quantum Leap, well, yeah, kinda, except Deadman first appeared in 1967. Most people would never realize this and think that a TV series based on the character was a rip off, but he actually did come first.
Beyond that, I can almost see this working as a TV series 20 years ago, but these days, and with The CW involved, I have nothing but reservations. This is a network known for producing half-assed television shows, so I see this being nothing more than another of their excuses to make an over dramatic piece of tripe. I’m sure they’ll throw in a love interest, lots of longing shots, musical montages … you know, just like Smallville.
Of all the characters in the DC Universe, and this is the one they pick to make into a series? DC never ceases to amaze me.
It seems like the season just ended, and already the networks are starting to put their Fall 2011 premiere dates out there. For whatever reason, NBC hasn’t stepped up yet with when their shows will debut, but the other four broadcast networks have. Get set for the week of Sept. 12th as all of the shows start kicking off then.
Monday, September 19
8:00-10:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars
10:00-11:00 p.m. Castle
Tuesday, September 20
9:00-10:00 p.m. Dancing with the Stars the Results Show
10:00-11:00 p.m. Body of Proof
Wednesday, September 21
8:00-9:00 p.m. The Middle (special one-hour premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Modern Family (special one-hour premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. Revenge
Sunday, September 25
7:00-9:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (special two-hour premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Desperate Housewives
10:00-11:00 p.m. Pan Am
Wednesday, September 28
8:30-9:00 p.m. Suburgatory
9:30-10:00 p.m. Happy Endings
Thursday, September 29
10:00-11:00 p.m. Private Practice
Sunday, October 2
7:00-8:00 p.m. America’s Funniest Home Videos
Tuesday, October 11
8:00- 9:00 p.m. Last Man Standing (special one-hour premiere)
Tuesday, October 18
8:30-9:00 p.m. Man Up!
Friday, October 21
8:00-10:00 p.m. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (time period premiere)
Sunday, October 23
8:00-9:00 p.m. Once Upon a Time
The final ratings tallies are in for the 2010-11 television season are in, and things are not looking good for the broadcast networks.
It would seem that young folks are fleeing the television networks in bigger numbers each year, and things are getting a bit worrisome for good old commercial television. The only channel showing any growth is the Spanish language Univision, everyone else is plummeting like a rock.
While everyone is down, NBC has been sitting in fourth place for years, and its problems seem to be escalating instead of slowing, let alone turning around. They shouldn’t be singled out as everyone did poorly, but losing 15 percent more of your viewers when your numbers are already in the basement is not a good thing.
Disturbing across the board is the continuing rise of the median age of viewers. It is obvious that the younger viewers are flocking away from traditional television in droves. Spending time on the Internet, watching streaming video and a slew of other distractions, they just aren’t interested in watching TV, and even if they are, they watch it on their terms and not at some time appointed by a network programmer.
Here are the numbers.
Adults 18-49
FOX: 3.5/10 (-5%)
CBS: 2.9/8 (-9%)
ABC: 2.5/7 (-7%)
NBC: 2.3/6 (-15%)
UNI: 1.5 (+8%)
Adults 18-34
CW: 1.0/3 (-9%)
Total Viewers
CBS: 11.6 million (-3%)
FOX: 9.8 million (-3%)
ABC: 8.5 million (-2%)
NBC: 7.0 million (-16%)
UNI: 3.7 million
CW: 2.0 million (even)
Median Age
CBS: 55
ABC: 51
NBC: 49
FOX: 45
CW: 34
It’ll be interesting to see next year’s numbers, but after the lineups of new shows I’ve seen, I’m not holding my breath for things to get better.
The television networks will be having their upfront presentations for the advertisers this coming week where we will learn all of the schedules for the 2011/2012 season. While I’ve already run a version of this, the number of renewals and cancellations announced prior to the events has run unusually high this year. CBS is the only network to not yet cut loose with a bunch of announcements, but we still have a good idea of what to expect.
The short version? A whole lot has been canceled, so get ready for a ton of new shows to be announced this week … and for a whole bunch of them to suck.
Renewed for 2011/2012 Season
30 Rock – NBC
90210 – CW
The Amazing Race – CBS
America’s Next Top Model – CW
American Dad – Fox
The Bachelor – ABC
The Bachelorette – ABC The Big Bang Theory – CBS
The Biggest Loser – NBC
Bob’s Burgers – Fox
Body of Proof – ABC
Bones – Fox
Castle – ABC
Chuck – NBC
The Cleveland Show – Fox
Community – NBC
Cougar Town – ABC
Dancing With the Stars – ABC
Desperate Housewives – ABC
Family Guy – Fox
Fringe – Fox
Glee – Fox
Gossip Girl – CW
Grey’s Anatomy – ABC
Happy Endings – ABC
Harry’s Law- NBC
House – Fox How I Met Your Mother – CBS
NCIS – CBS
The Middle – ABC
Modern Family – ABC
The Office – NBC
Parenthood – NBC
Parks & Recreation – NBC
Private Practice – ABC
Raising Hope – Fox
Rules of Engagement – CBS
The Simpsons – Fox
Supernatural – CW
Survivor – CBS
Two and a Half Men – CBS
Undercover Boss – CBS
The Vampire Diaries – CW
Likely to be Renewed for 2011/2012 Season
American Idol – Fox Celebrity Apprentice- NBC
Criminal Minds – CBS
CSI – CBS
CSI: Miami – CBS
The Good Wife – CBS
Hawaii Five-0 – CBS
Law & Order: SVU – NBC
The Mentalist – CBS
Mike & Molly – CBS
NCIS: Los Angeles – CBS
On the Bubble to be Renewed for 2011/2012 Season
Blue Bloods – CBS
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior – CBS
CSI: NY – CBS The Defenders – CBS (NOW CANCELED)
Hellcats – CW Mad Love – CBS (NOW CANCELED)
Nikita – CW
One Tree Hill – CW $#*! My Dad Says – CBS (NOW CANCELED)
Likely to be Canceled for 2011/2012 Season
Chaos – CBS
Chase – NBC
Perfect Couples – NBC
Canceled for 2011/2012 Season
Better With You – ABC
Breaking In – Fox
Brothers & Sisters – ABC
The Cape – NBC
The Chicago Code – Fox
The Defenders – CBS (UPDATED)
Detroit 1-8-7 – ABC
The Event – NBC
Friday Night Lights – NBC
Human Target – Fox
Law & Order: Los Angeles – NBC
Lie to Me – Fox
Life Unexpected – CW
Lone Star – Fox
Mad Love – CBS (UPDATED)
Medium – CBS
Mr. Sunshine – ABC No Ordinary Family – ABC
Off the Map – ABC
Outsourced – NBC
The Paul Reiser Show – NBC
Running Wilde – Fox
$#*! My Dad Says – CBS (UPDATED)
Smallville – CW
Traffic Light – Fox
V – ABC
As we head into the time for the network upfront presentations, it’s time to start wondering what is going to be renewed and what’s canceled. While not all decisions are final, we already know a good chunk of which ones have been renewed. It sure doesn’t like much room has been left for new shows this year.
UPDATE 5/21/11: You can see all of the new fall 2011 TV schedules at these pages:
30 Rock – NBC
90210 – CW
The Amazing Race – CBS
America’s Next Top Model – CW
American Dad – Fox
American Idol – Fox (UPDATED)
The Bachelor – ABC
The Bachelorette – ABC The Big Bang Theory – CBS
The Biggest Loser – NBC
Bob’s Burgers – Fox
Body of Proof – ABC (UPDATED)
Bones – Fox (UPDATED)
Castle – ABC
Chuck – NBC (UPDATED)
The Cleveland Show – Fox
Community – NBC
Cougar Town – ABC
CSI – CBS (UPDATED)
CSI: Miami – CBS (UPDATED)
CSI: NY – CBS (UPDATED)
Dancing With the Stars – ABC (UPDATED)
Desperate Housewives – ABC (UPDATED)
Family Guy – Fox
Fringe – Fox
Glee – Fox
The Good Wife – CBS (UPDATED)
Gossip Girl – CW
Grey’s Anatomy – ABC
Happy Endings – ABC
Harry’s Law- NBC (UPDATED)
Hawaii Five-0 – CBS (UPDATED)
House – Fox (UPDATED) How I Met Your Mother – CBS
NCIS – CBS
The Middle – ABC
Modern Family – ABC
Nikita – CW (UPDATED)
The Office – NBC
One Tree Hill – CW (UPDATED)
Parenthood – NBC (UPDATED)
Parks & Recreation – NBC
Private Practice – ABC
Raising Hope – Fox
Rules of Engagement – CBS (UPDATED)
The Simpsons – Fox
Supernatural – CW
Survivor – CBS
Two and a Half Men – CBS (could be canceled due to Charlie Sheen issue)
Undercover Boss – CBS
The Vampire Diaries – CW
Likely to be Renewed for 2011/2012 Season
American Idol – Fox (NOW RENEWED) Body of Proof – ABC (NOW RENEWED) Bones – Fox (NOW RENEWED) Celebrity Apprentice- NBC
Criminal Minds – CBS CSI – CBS (NOW RENEWED) CSI: Miami – CBS (NOW RENEWED) Dancing With the Stars – ABC (NOW RENEWED) Desperate Housewives – ABC (NOW RENEWED) The Good Wife – CBS (NOW RENEWED) Harry’s Law- NBC (NOW RENEWED) Hawaii Five-0 – CBS (NOW RENEWED) House – Fox (NOW RENEWED)
Law & Order: SVU – NBC
The Mentalist – CBS
Mike & Molly – CBS
NCIS: Los Angeles – CBS
On the Bubble to be Renewed for 2011/2012 Season
Better With You – ABC (NOW CANCELED)
Blue Bloods – CBS Breaking In – Fox (NOW CANCELED) Brothers & Sisters – ABC (NOW CANCELED) The Chicago Code – Fox (NOW CANCELED) Chuck – NBC (NOW RENEWED)
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior – CBS CSI: NY – CBS (NOW RENEWED) The Defenders – CBS (NOW CANCELED) Detroit 1-8-7 – ABC (NOW CANCELED) The Event – NBC (NOW CANCELED) Happy Endings – ABC (NOW RENEWED) Hellcats – CW Human Target – Fox (NOW CANCELED) Law & Order: Los Angeles – NBC (NOW CANCELED) Lie to Me – Fox (NOW CANCELED) Mad Love – CBS (NOW CANCELED) Mr. Sunshine – ABC (NOW CANCELED) Nikita – CW (NOW RENEWED) No Ordinary Family – ABC (NOW CANCELED) Off the Map – ABC (NOW CANCELED) One Tree Hill – CW (NOW RENEWED) Outsourced – NBC (NOW CANCELED) Parenthood – NBC (NOW RENEWED) Rules of Engagement – CBS (NOW RENEWED) $#*! My Dad Says – CBS (NOW CANCELED) Traffic Light – Fox (NOW CANCELED)
Likely to be Canceled for 2011/2012 Season
The Cape – NBC (NOW CANCELED)
Chaos – CBS
Chase – NBC Life Unexpected – CW (NOW CANCELED)
Perfect Couples – NBC V – ABC (NOW CANCELED)
Canceled for 2011/2012 Season
Better With You – ABC (UPDATED)
Breaking In – Fox (UPDATED)
Brothers & Sisters – ABC (UPDATED)
The Cape – NBC (UPDATED)
The Chicago Code – Fox (UPDATED)
The Defenders – CBS (UPDATED)
Detroit 1-8-7 – ABC (UPDATED)
The Event – NBC (UPDATED)
Friday Night Lights – NBC
Hellcats – CW (UPDATED)
Human Target – Fox (UPDATED)
Law & Order: Los Angeles – NBC
Lie to Me – Fox (UPDATED)
Life Unexpected – CW (UPDATED)
Lone Star – Fox
Mad Love – CBS (UPDATED)
Medium – CBS
Mr. Sunshine – ABC (UPDATED) No Ordinary Family – ABC (UPDATED)
Off the Map – ABC (UPDATED)
Outsourced – NBC (UPDATED)
The Paul Reiser Show – NBC
Running Wilde – Fox
$#*! My Dad Says – CBS (UPDATED)
Smallville – CW
Traffic Light – Fox (UPDATED)
V – ABC (UPDATED)
You know fall is on the way when all of the broadcast networks set the premiere dates for their new and returning series.
All five of the broadcast networks have finally set their premiere dates for the fall 2010 season, with CBS being the last one to do so. In general, expect to burn out the hard drive on your DVD the week of Sept. 20th as just about everything seems to be hitting that week.
UPDATED 7/30/10: NBC shifted a couple of dates.
ABC Fall 2010 Premiere Dates
Info on the fall 2010 ABC schedule can be found here.
20/20 – Sept. 23rd
America’s Funniest Home Videos – Sept. 26th
Better With You – Sept. 22nd
Brothers & Sisters – Sept. 26th
Castle – Sept. 20th
Cougar Town – Sept. 22nd
Dancing With The Stars – Sept. 20th
Dancing With The Stars (Results Show) – Sept. 28th
Desperate Housewives – Sept. 26th
Detroit 1-8-7 – Sept. 21st
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – Sept. 26th
Grey’s Anatomy – Sept. 23rd
Modern Family – Sept. 22nd
My Generation – Sept. 23rd
No Ordinary Family – Sept. 28th
Private Practice – Sept. 23rd
The Middle – Sept. 22nd
The Whole Truth – Sept. 22nd
CBS Fall 2010 Premiere Dates
Info on the fall 2010 CBS schedule can be found here.
$#*! My Dad Says – Sept. 23rd
48 Hours Mystery – Sept. 25th
60 Minutes – Sept. 26th
Blue Bloods – Sept. 24th
Criminal Minds – Sept. 22nd
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Sept. 23rd
CSI: Miami – Oct. 3rd
CSI: NY – Sept. 24th
Crimetime Saturday – Sept. 25th
Hawaii Five-0 – Sept. 20th
How I Met Your Mother – Sept. 20th
Medium – Sept. 24th
Mike & Molly – Sept. 20th
NCIS – Sept. 21st
NCIS: Los Angeles – Sept. 21st
Rules Of Engagement – Sept. 20th
Survivor: Nicaragua – Sept. 15th
The Amazing Race – Sept. 26th
The Big Bang Theory – Sept. 23rd
The Defenders – Sept. 22nd
The Good Wife – Sept. 28th
The Mentalist – Sept. 23rd
Two And A Half Men – Sept. 20th
Undercover Boss – Sept. 26th
FOX Fall 2010 Premiere Dates
Info on the fall 2010 FOX schedule can be found here.
American Dad – Oct. 3rd
America’s Most Wanted – Sept. 11th
Bones – Sept. 23rd
Cops – Sept. 11th
Family Guy – Sept. 26th
Fringe – Sept. 23rd
Glee – Sept. 21st
Hell’s Kitchen – Sept. 22nd
House – Sept. 20th
Human Target – Sept. 24th
Lie To Me – Nov. 10th
Lone Star – Sept. 20th
Raising Hope – Sept. 21st
Running Wild – Sept. 21st
The Cleveland Show – Sept. 26th
The Good Guys – Sept. 24th
The Simpsons – Sept. 26th
NBC Fall 2010 Premiere Dates
Info on the fall 2010 NBC schedule can be found here.
30 Rock – Sept. 23rd
Chase – Sept. 20th
Chuck – Sept. 20th
Community – Sept. 23rd
Dateline – Sept. 24th
Law & Order: Los Angeles – Sept. 29th
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – Sept. 22nd
Outlaw – Sept. 15th
Outsourced – Sept. 23rd
Parenthood – Sept. 14th
School Price – Sept. 24th
The Apprentice – Sept. 16th
The Biggest Loser – Sept. 21st
The Event – Sept. 20th
The Office – Sept. 23rd
Undercovers – Sept. 22nd
The CW Fall 2010 Premiere Dates
Info on the fall 2010 The CW schedule can be found here.
90210 – Sept. 13th
America’s Next Top Model – Sept. 8th
Gossip Girl – Sept. 13th
Hellcats – Sept. 8th
Life Unexpected – Sept. 14th
Nikita – Sept. 9th
One Tree Hill – Sept. 14th
Smallville – Sept. 24th
Supernatural – Sept. 24th
The Vampire Diaries – Sept. 9th
The CW has released their new schedule. New shows are in bold.
MONDAY
8PM GOSSIP GIRL
9PM ONE TREE HILL
TUESDAY
8PM 90210
9PM MELROSE PLACE
WEDNESDAY
8PM AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
9PM THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
THURSDAY
8PM VAMPIRE DIARIES
9PM SUPERNATURAL
FRIDAY
8PM SMALLVILLE
9PM AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL Encore
New The CW Fall Show Descriptions
MELROSE PLACE
In an elegant Spanish-style apartment building in the trendy Melrose neighborhood of Los Angeles, a diverse group of 20-somethings have formed a close-knit surrogate family. Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton, the original “Melrose Place”) is the landlady, still beautiful at 40, and a central figure in the lives of all her tenants, especially handsome and rebellious David Breck (Shaun Sipos, “Shark”). Sydney started an affair with David despite her turbulent history with his estranged father, Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro, the original “Melrose Place”). Both father and son learned through experience that Sydney was not above using blackmail to control people. Another tenant, high-powered publicist Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy, “Supernatural”), once considered Sydney her mentor, but their friendship was destroyed by betrayal, and Sydney threatened to evict Ella and ruin her career. Sydney also played a pivotal role in the career of Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield, “All My Children”). After they met at an AA meeting, she became Auggie’s sponsor and encouraged his dream to become a chef. Now a successful sous chef at the trendy restaurant Coal, Auggie has been avoiding Sydney since she began drinking again. The other tenants include Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), a medical student in desperate need of money to pay her student loans, and Jonah Miller (Michael Rady, “Swingtown”), an aspiring filmmaker who has just proposed to his live-in girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas, “Cloverfield”), a first-grade teacher. The newest tenant, 18-year-old Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, “7th Heaven”), has just arrived in LA with her own secret connection to Sydney. When a bloody body is found floating in the courtyard pool, David is the leading suspect. However, as the police are soon to discover, almost everyone living at Melrose Place had a reason to want the deceased out of the way. An updated version of the popular 1990s series, MELROSE PLACE is from CBS Television Studios with executive producers Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer (“Smallville”). Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) is the director and executive producer of the pilot.
Sean’s Take: Well, since The CW has no standards for success it seems, why not bring back another dead show. Like all the other CW shows of this style, it will find some sort of audience.
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
The life of a high-fashion model appears glamorous and sexy, but as every new model quickly learns, behind the beautiful faade is a world of insecurity and cutthroat competition. Two teenage models who are about to discover this world for themselves are Raina Collins (Sara Paxton, “Last House on the Left”), a stunning beauty with a secret past, and Chris Andrews (Benjamin Hollingsworth, “The Line”), a strikingly handsome Iowa farm boy. When Raina makes an unforgettable impression at a show introducing the new line from designer Zac Posen (appearing in a cameo role), she steals the spotlight from her friend Sonja (Mischa Barton, “The O.C.”). Sonja has been out of the country for mysterious reasons and is now desperate to reclaim her standing as the reigning supermodel. While Raina and Sonja live at the top of the fashion food chain, Chris is starting at the bottom, having just been discovered by agent Simon Lockridge (newcomer Dusan Dukic) of the Covet Modeling Agency, which is owned by former supermodel Claudia Foster (Elle Macpherson, “Friends”). At his first photo shoot, Chris’ inexperience almost derails his career until Raina comes to his rescue, showing him how to relax and work the camera. That afternoon, Raina brings Chris to the “models’ residence” where she lives along with other young hopefuls, including Marissa Delfina (Ashley Madekwe, “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”), Egan (Jordan Woolley, “As The World Turns”), Issac (Corbin Bleu, “High School Musical 2″) and the current alpha-male-model known as Kai (Nico Tortorella, “Twelve”). At an exclusive industry party that night, Chris is again impressed by Raina’s generosity when she steps aside to make sure Sonja lands a job that will resurrect her career. However, after an ugly scene with Simon, Chris is left to question whether he can survive in this world of dangerous excess and fleeting fame. THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE is from Katalyst Films in association with CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television with executive producers Ashton Kutcher & Jason Goldberg (“True Beauty,” “Punk’d”), Karey Burke (“True Beauty”), Mike Kelley (“Swingtown,” “Jericho”) and Carol Barbee (“Swingtown,” “Jericho”). Christian Duguay (“Coco Chanel”) directed the pilot.
Sean’s Take: Well, at least they are up front about this show just being about “beautiful” people for once.
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, 17-year-old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev, “DeGrassi: The Next Generation”) and her 15-year-old brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, “Everwood”) are still trying to cope with their grief and move on with their lives. Elena has always been the star student; beautiful, popular and involved with school and friends, but now she finds herself struggling to hide her sadness from the world. As the school year begins, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a handsome and mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley, “Army Wives”). Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to one another, and Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder, “Lost”) is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality. Now these two vampire brothers – one good, one evil – are at war for Elena’s soul and for the souls of her friends, family and all the residents of the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is from Alloy Entertainment and Bonanza Productions Inc in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer”), Julie Plec (“Kyle XY,” “Wasteland”), Leslie Morgenstein (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”) and Bob Levy (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”). Marcos Siega (“Dexter”) directed the pilot.
Sean’s Take: Well, we all knew this was coming. Vampires are hot again… this has a built-in audience… now lets see if it’s any good.
New The CW Midseason Show Descriptions
PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED
After spending all of her 15 years bouncing from one foster family to another in Portland, Oregon, Lux (Britt Robertson, “Swingtown”) has decided it’s time to take control of her life and become an emancipated minor. Her journey through the legal maze leads Lux to her biological father, 30-something Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha, “Mad Men”), who owns a bar, lives like an aging frat-boy with two slacker roommates, and is astonished to learn that he has a teenage daughter. Lux is equally astonished when Baze reveals that her mother is Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby, “E.R.”), a star on the local “Morning Madness” radio show, along with her on-air partner and real-life boyfriend, Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith, “Eli Stone”). Lux has been listening to Cate’s voice on the radio as long as she can remember, so she feels an instant connection with the mom she’s never met. Baze takes Lux to meet Cate, who is shocked and saddened to learn that Lux has grown up in foster care, but thrilled to finally meet her beautiful daughter. When a judge decides that Lux isn’t ready for emancipation and unexpectedly grants temporary joint custody to Baze and Cate, they agree to try to get past the awkwardness and make a belated attempt to give Lux the family she deserves. PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED is produced by Mojo Films in association with CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television with executive producers Liz Tigelaar (“Brothers and Sisters,” “What About Brian”) and Gary Fleder (“October Road”). Gary Fleder directed the pilot.
Sean’s Take: This on The CW? It almost sounds too… nice. Oh well, they have had a gap since Gilmore Girls ended.
Sean’s Overall Take on The CW
How is this “network” still running? Smallville is going into season 9? They aren’t even on the air two nights a week! I really have no clue how they keep going.
In January, Fox will end its contract with the 4Kids cartoon block, which will then move over to The CW. Considering the health of that “network” (I use the term very loosely), this is pretty much the death throes of the Saturday morning cartoon as we knew it.
It is true that this is partially being done because they don’t feel they can compete with channels like Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toon Disney and so on, so kids won’t be totally without enterteinment, but it is still sad. What bothers me the most about this decision is that Fox isn’t replacing the cartoons with educational shows or the like, but instead they will be treated to “longform ads”… yeah… infomercials.
By no stretch of the imagination am I saying that cartoons were ever educational, though they tried, but replacing a tradition with commercials for the likes of cleaners, the Handy Switch and you just know Billy Mays will be in there somewhere. Why not run something educational? Heck, bring back School House Rocks! Sure their animation may be dated, but not much about what they taught has changed… unless… was there one about our solar system having nine planets?
It just saddens me on some level to see this coming to an end. I can remember as a kid living for Saturday mornings, and always being torn about which cartoon would win if there were two on at the same time I wanted to watch. All the while, munching down on a giant bowl of cereal I had concocted from mixing 4 to 5 different styles together. You know, now that I think about it… maybe it was Saturday morning cartoons that led to my weight problems!
Leave it to The CW to screw up a show before they even film it.
It took only one show failing to start the domino effect for this fall season. The body count now stands at three.
In an effort to fill the hole left by the end of 
The 
30 Rock – NBC
American Idol – Fox
Better With You – ABC
MELROSE PLACE
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
Remember getting up on Saturday morning to watch cartoons? Well, 
