The CW: Renewed, Axed and Picked Up
ATV Today runs down which CW shows were renewed, which were cancelled and which pilots the broadcaster picked up for the new season.
RENEWED: In some ways The CW faced a bit of dilemma over which shows to renew this year because all of its shows suffered from a drop in ratings – so when all the shows drop which ones do you renew? Well The Vampire Diaries was also a dead cert for renewal – even with its ratings decline the supernatural drama starring Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley was going to come back for a fourth season. Supernatural, starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki was another series favourite to come back even if its numbers were down.
Teen drama 90210 was also renewed along with The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural but the fates of The CW’s other shows were left in the air a little bit longer. When the news came of which shows had been renewed it certainly surprised a few people; Maggie Q action drama Nikita was renewed along with Hart of Dixie and Gossip Girl for a shortened final season – as widely expected despite its low ratings.
AXED: The big casualties of the season were Sarah Michelle Gellar drama Ringer and Thomas Dekker drama The Secret Circle. Ringer generated a lot of media buzz as it was Gellar’s first leading television role since the demise of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and at first the drama generated big ratings. However, that soon changed and its tumbling ratings meant it was only heading in one direction; cancellation.
The Secret Circle was paired up with The Vampire Diaries on Thursday’s evenings which made perfect sense given their similarities especially as both are based on novels written by L.J Smith and adapted for television by Kevin Williamson. The Secret Circle was widely seen as strong candidate for renewal even if its ratings dropped for the last batch of episodes. It’s axe has certainly caused an outcry with fans who have started various campaigns – attracting thousands of signatures – to revive the series. It’s just possible The CW may regret cancelling the drama given the strong response from the fans.
PICK UPS: The CW picked up quite a few seasons for the new season as part of its drive to air more original shows during the season. Arrow, which The CW hopes will be a successor to Smallville, was tipped early on for a season pick-up order and the experts were right. The Carrie Diaries, the Sex and the City prequel, was also tipped early on for a pick-up. The drama is a perfect fit to be paired up with Gossip Girl but it will be interesting to see where The CW places the prequel in its schedules and with what show.
The CW also picked up Beauty and the Beast despite the fact ABC are working on its own version of the fairy-tale. A reasonable guess would be a pairing up with The Vampire Diaries for the drama. Medical drama First Cut and thriller Cult were also given season orders by The CW.
[Written by James Ryder and Leanne Bryan]
