THE PROGRAMMING INSIDER
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The CW in 2008-09:
Three New Series; A Focus on Young Females
CBS in 2008-09
Five New Series, Changes on Six Nights of the Week
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Note: Upfront network presentation week is here, which means that the regular sections of The Programming Insider -- Metered Market Prime-Time Ratings, Ratings Box, On the Air Tonight, TV Tidbits and TV Trivia Time -- will be replaced with coverage of the new schedules for the remainder of the week. But the fast affiliate rating results will still be available at PIFeedback.com.
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The CW in 2008-09:
Three New Series; A Focus on Young Females
With only five nights (and 10 hours) of the week to program (Sunday is now being handled by Media Rights Capital), the CW’s focus in 2008-09 is on attracting a young, female-driven audience via a potpourri of serialized dramas and reality competitions. The CW will introduce three new series: Tuesday dramas 90210 and Surviving the Filthy Rich, and the non-scripted Tyra Banks-produced Stylista, which airs out of America’s Next Top Model on Wednesday. 90210 is, of course, a continuation of the classic Fox drama Beverly Hills, 90210; and compatible sounding Surviving the Filthy Rich follows a 23-year old journalist in her new gig as the tutor to two very spoiled, and rich, twin teenagers in trendy Palm Beach, Florida.
Filling the now Smackdown!-less Friday are relocated sitcoms Everybody Hates Chris and The Game, followed by an encore presentation of America’s Next Top Model (which, despite hype from the network, has never performed well in repeats).
Waiting in the midseason wings is sophomore drama Reaper, which is expected to replace veteran Smallville on Thursday.
Here is The CW’s fall 2008 primetime schedule with the three new shows capped and bolded, followed by the new program descriptions:
Monday
8:00 p.m. Gossip Girl
9:00 p.m. One Tree Hill
Tuesday
8:00 p.m. 90210
9:00 p.m. SURVIVING THE FIFTHY RICH
Wednesday
8:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model
9:00 p.m. STYLISTA
Thursday
8:00 p.m. Smallville
9:00 p.m. Supernatural
Friday
8:00 p.m. Everybody Hates Chris (new day)
8:30 p.m. The Game (new day and time)
9:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model (Repeat)
New Program Descriptions
Dramas
90210
Spun-off from Beverly Hills, 90210, this contemporary version looks at life in the famous zip code though the teenage eyes of Annie Mills (Shenae Grimes) and her brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds), whose family has moved to Beverly Hills to keep an eye on their troubled grandmother (Jessica Walter). Former Full House and Summerland star Lori Loughlin has been cast as the mother, and Jennie Garth will reprise her role as Kelly Taylor, who is now the school guidance counselor, on a recurring basis.
Surviving the Filthy Rich
After a 23-year old Yale educated journalism major named Megan Smith gets fired from her job at a tabloid, she meets a cosmetics mogul and becomes the live-in tutor for her twin teenage granddaughters in wealthy Palm Beach, Florida. The girls, of course, are beautiful and rebellious, and Megan is determined to win them over while enjoying the new perks of her new job. JoAnna Garcia (Reba), Lucy Kate Hale and Ashley Newbrough star.
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Non-Scripted
Stylista
This reality/competition from America’s Next Top Model creator Tyra Banks will feature 11 aspiring fashion hopefuls as they compete for a $100,000 prize package, including a paid lease on an apartment in Manhattan, a clothing allowance, and a paid editorial job with Elle magazine. Eight episodes have been ordered.
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CBS in 2008-09:
Five New Series, Changes on Six Nights of the Week
With a focus on comedy and a goal to reach more women, CBS will introduce five new series this fall -- sitcoms Worst Week and Project Gary; and dramas The Mentalist, Eleventh Hour and The Ex List. Only wasteland Saturday will remain unchanged, while three returning series -- Without a Trace, The New Adventures of Old Christine and The Unit will move to new evenings. Without a Trace will air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. out of psychic-driven The Mentalist; The New Adventures of Old Christine (a 22-episode order) will anchor Wednesday, leading into Project Gary at 8:30 p.m.; and The Unit will close the week Sundays at 10 p.m. out of Cold Case. Keep in mind that CBS has not has success with any comedies in the Wednesday 8 p.m. hour since The Nanny, and that was 10 years ago.
Upcoming on CBS in midseason is murder mystery Harper’s Island, and the return of sitcom Rules of Engagement. Fans of The Amazing Race, meanwhile, will be pleased to know that two editions have been ordered for 2008-09. Not returning on Eye network are dramas Cane, Jericho, Shark and Moonlight, and the non-scripted Kids Nation.
Here is CBS’ fall 2008 primetime schedule with the five new shows capped with an asterisk next to it, followed by the new program descriptions:
Monday
8:00 p.m. The Big Bang Theory
8:30 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
9:00 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30 p.m. *WORST WEEK
10:00 p.m. CSI: Miami
Tuesday
8:00 p.m. NCIS
9:00 p.m. *THE MENTALIST
10:00 p.m. Without a Trace (new day)
Wednesday
8:00 p.m. The New Adventures of Old Christine (new day and time)
8:30 p.m. *PROJECT GARY
9:00 p.m. Criminal Minds
10:00 p.m. CSI: NY
Thursday
8:00 p.m. Survivor
9:00 p.m. CSI
10:00 p.m.*ELEVENTH HOUR
Friday
8:00 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9:00 p.m. *THE EX LIST
10:00 p.m. Numb3rs
Saturday
8:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
9:00 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
10:00 p.m. 48 Hours Mystery
Sunday
7:00 p.m. 60 Minutes
8:00 p.m. The Amazing Race
9:00 p.m. Cold Case
10:00 p.m. The Unit (new day and time)
New Program Descriptions
Comedies
Project Gary
A recently single painting contractor (Jay Mohr) and his controlling ex-wife (Paula Marshall) face post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage as they embark on new relationships.
Worst Week
Based on the British limited run series, the focus of this single camera comedy is on a young couple’s hellish period before they officially start life together as a married couple. Kyle Bornheimer, Erinn Hayes, Nancy Lenehan, Jay Maolone and Kurtwood Smith star.
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Dramas
Eleventh Hour
A professor who is an advisor to a government scientific agency partners with a government operative to troubleshoot any problems or threats to a specific scientific endeavor. Rufus Swell and Marley Shelton star. Jerry Bruckheimer is one of the executive producers.
The Ex List
After a psychic tells a woman she has already met the man she is going to marry, she begins to track down each and every man she has ever dated. The cast includes Elizabeth Reaser, Rachel Boston, Alexandra Breckenridge, Adam Rothenberg and Amir Talai.
Harper’s Island (midseason)
An Agatha Christie-like murder mystery begins to unveil in this interactive drama after a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a wedding. The cast includes Elaine Cassidy, Ryan Merriman and Samantha Noble.
The Mentalist
A man with psychic abilities (former The Guardian star Simon Baker) works as an independent contractor for the police. Tim Kang, Amanda Righetti, Shaun Toub, Robin Tunney and Owain Yeoman also star.
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Coming Up Tomorrow:
Fox in Fall 2008
