The CW 2013 fall schedule: ‘Hart of Dixie’ season 3, ‘Supernatural’ season 9 on the move
The CW has been long regarded as the weakest of the five English-speaking broadcast networks, and the schedule that they just introduced for the new season seems to reinforce that theory. This schedule makes little sense, and it feels more like the network is being cute than trying to actually build strong nights.
With this oh-so-“positive” introduction, let’s do this the same exact way that we have for all of the other networks’ fall schedules: With a breakdown of each and every night.
Mondays – This 8:00 p.m. Eastern slot has proven to be terrible for the network, since it is up against “The Voice,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Bones,” and “Dancing with the Stars.” We would personally have went with trying something genre here to counteract most of those shows, but instead, we have “Hart of Dixie.” We guess the network figures that the audience will follow, and they might. It’s just not getting the week off to a strong start. Meanwhile, “Beauty and the Beast” follows the show up at 9:00, which is going to be an interesting experiment to see how lead-in dependent it really was on “The Vampire Diaries.”
Tuesdays – This is what we very much don’t get: CBS has it right to air “NCIS” and its spin-off together. Why stick “The Originals” anywhere but other than after “The Vampire Diaries”? It’s a mistake to already assume that this is going to draw huge ratings, especially against a certain “Agents of SHIELD,” “The Voice,” and “NCIS” this fall. In looking towards the spring, it’s also a mistake to put this up against “Pretty Little Liars” on ABC Family, as they share a very large audience with each other. “Supernatural” should work fine at 9:00 at least, and it is a nice full-circle for the show leading into season 9. (We’re just happy it’s not on Fridays.)
Wednesdays – “Arrow” still is the anchor, and “The Tomorrow People” from Julie Plec follows. We don’t mind this so much, since it is one superhero show following another. Best move that The CW has made.
Thursdays – If you’re not going to air “The Originals” after “The Vampire Diaries,” “Reign” is an okay choice. We still think they are missing the boat somewhat on having a Thursday that could be pretty dominant in an attempt to take over a night in Tuesdays that has been pretty bad.
Fridays – Another decent move? Shipping “The Carrie Diaries” to Fridays, given that the show repeated there pretty well all season, and there aren’t many female-friendly shows airing on the night. In between this and “America’s Next Top Model,” there is at least some congruence.
We’ll have more of an individual look at the new shows moving forward into our Fall TV Preview series, which we have already started off here with such shows as “The Blacklist” and Robin Williams’ “The Crazy Ones.”
Photo: CW