Friday, May 5, 2017

UPFRONTS 2017: What The CW Should Do

Here is my final day of suggestions with the CW. Next week, I will make my schedule predictions and I'm sure we will be getting lots of news so check back often!

The CW had one really good thing happen to them this year which was the arrival of Supergirl on the network, giving them another tentpole show (and helping with their very successful crossover in December). Other than that, it was a rocky year. Arrow plummeted and newbies No Tomorrow and Frequency bombed hard while midseason newbie Riverdale did a little better but isn't anything special. This is a network that needs to find an identity beyond superhero shows and very niche dramedies. I'm not sure this year's pilot crop accomplishes that.

For a list of CW pilots, click here

MONDAYS
8:00 Supergirl
9:00 Arrow
Arrow has had a really rough year. I'm also not sure CW should be putting superhero shows on every night of the week. I think if they want to have a presence outside of superhero shows, maybe they need to consolidate a bit. I would move the darker Arrow to Monday at 9pm after the sunny Supergirl at 8pm.

TUESDAYS
8:00 The Flash
9:00 SEARCHERS
It could be a tough sell but I think Searchers sounds like the most promising CW pilot so I would put it after the CW's top show, The Flash. CW might stumble onto something good if they keep trying and it at least seems like a better fit than No Tomorrow did.

WEDNESDAYS
8:00 DYNASTY
9:00 Riverdale
Whether it's a good idea or not, Dynasty seems destined to land on the CW schedule. I'm not convinced this will work but I'm also very underwhelmed by the CW pilot list. At least Dynasty has a built-in name so I would use it to launch a night and lead into Riverdale, which has a little bit of buzz as a freshman this year.

THURSDAYS
8:00 DC's Legends of Tomorrow
9:00 BLACK LIGHTNING
CW is not exactly spreading its wings when it comes to superhero shows because they have another one in the hopper in Black Lightning. As I said on Monday, it's time to start pairing the superhero shows together so I would put DC's Legends of Tomorrow back to Thursdays 8pm to lead into Black Lightning.

FRIDAYS
8:00 Supernatural
9:00 Jane the Virgin
Supernatural is a stalwart for the network and has aired pretty much all over the schedule. But it's getting very old and I think it should be sent to shore up Fridays at 8pm while Jane the Virgin is a critical darling but is not getting the ratings it should to stay on Mondays. I think this would be an OK Friday pairing.

MIDSEASON: INSATIABLE, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The 100, The Originals, iZombie
I think the CW should and will do some sorter episode orders to allow timeslot sharing. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend can share with Jane the Virgin. One of these could share with Riverdale and DC's Legends of Tomorrow. There's also back-ups in case newbies fail.

CANCELLED/ENDED: Frequency, No Tomorrow, Reign, The Vampire Diaries

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