The CW’s ‘Cult’ to receive ‘Emily Owens M.D.’ timeslot on February 19
For whatever reason, The CW has decided that “Cult” does not need the valuable help of “The Vampire Diaries,” even though the new series featuring one of the show’s own in Matt Davis would have seemingly been perfect for the timeslot Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Instead, the network announced on Tuesday that this new show is going to premiere on Tuesday, February 19 at 9:00 p.m., where it will follow up the very dissimilar “Hart of Dixie” for the remainder of the season. There are a myriad of issues with this, but we should start with the obvious: this has been a timeslot for the network lately where TV shows go to die. Before “Emily Owens M.D.” was canceled in this slot, “Ringer” met a similar fate last year despite another high-concept premise and a big star in Sarah Michelle Gellar.
While we are no network executive, it simply felt as though “Cult” would have fared better on the same night where it could have been promoted to “The Vampire Diaries” fanbase using a character that they already know and love. This is especially true given that “Beauty and the Beast” is now routinely losing over half of its lead-in audience, and doing worse than “The Secret Circle” was in this timeslot last year. So basically, the network is propping up a show that seems to have little future versus one that has some promise, and a fascinating premise. Check it out below, along with a teaser, and then share what you think.
“Investigative journalist Jeff Sefton (Davis) has learned to laugh off his younger brother Nate’s relentless string of obsessions, especially his latest rant that a hit TV show intends to harm him. However, when his brother mysteriously disappears, Jeff takes Nate’s paranoia seriously and in the process uncovers the dark underworld of the TV series Cult and its rabid fans, who are obsessed with the show’s charismatic cult leader, Billy Grimm (Robert Knepper). As the show’s gruesome plot twists begin to play out in the real world, Jeff enlists the help of young research assistant Skye (Jessica Lucas) in a race to save Nate and unravel the mystery behind the TV series whose hardcore fans would literally kill to see what happens next.”
Photo: The CW