CW Fall Annotated

[Mark Jeffries]

The network that doesn't need no stinkin' Nielsens when it has social media love and Netflix deals (and Netflix isn't renewing, the new shows will be individually shopped, probably either on CBS All Access or the new WarnerMedia streamer) still has six nights of prime time (along with Saturday mornings farmed out to 4Kids and Springer reruns in daytime and it's pretty much what you expect from the C-Dub, except that the critically-acclaimed shows are both gone of their own accord (that would be "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and "Jane the Virgin").  The lineup from the Wrap, with new shows in caps:

SUNDAY

8-9 p.m. — “BATWOMAN”--Ruby Rose is Bruce Wayne's niece Kate Kane (Easter egg, DC geeks), who is picking up the cudgel for her cousin while he has mysteriously disappeared from Gotham City.  And oh yes--she likes the girls.  Greg Berlanti's Arrowverse continues apace.  All CW scripted shows are in-house CBS and Warners.

9-10 p.m. — “Supergirl”

MONDAY

8-9 p.m. — “All American” (new night)

9-10 p.m. — “Black Lightning”

TUESDAY

8-9 p.m. — “The Flash”

9-10 p.m. — “Arrow” (new night)

WEDNESDAY

8-9 p.m. — “Riverdale”

9-10 p.m. — “NANCY DREW”--The plucky girl detective hasn't been on TV since Pamela Sue Martin played her on ABC in the late 70s (and got fired from "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" because the network wanted to pander to Shaun Cassidy fans).  This incarnation from "Gossip Girl" creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage is going to be a lot like "Riverdale," as in dark, dark, dark (as Edward Stratemeyer, the original "Carolyn Keene," spins in his grave).  Our Nancy is going to take time off from sleuthing to go to college, but after her mother dies and she witnesses the death of a fellow student, she's back on the case.  Kennedy McMann is Nancy and Scott Wolf is her father Carson.  Martin is playing in the pilot a character named Harriet Grosset (there's an Easter egg for you).  In-house on the CBS side.

THURSDAY

8-9 p.m. — “Supernatural”--The one constant in the C-Dub's history (the show started on The WB) is finally coming to an end this season.

9-10 p.m. —  “Legacies”

FRIDAY

8-9 p.m. — “Charmed” (new night)

9-10 p.m. — “Dynasty”

One mid-season show (it may even show up next summer, as the net wants to expand their summer schedule beyond the magic shows, "Whose Line" and overseas pickups of recent years):

'KATY KEENE"--An obscure Archie Comics character is the focus of what's described as a spinoff of "Riverdale" (with Josie of the Pussycats as played by Ashleigh Murray carrying over from the parent, in the same universe as "Riverdale" and "Sabrina's Chilling Adventures").  C-Dub fave Lucy Hale plays apprentice fashionista Katy, hanging in New York with Josie and her buds and trying to get a foothold in the fashion industry.  Josie's trying to make it in music and hooks up with the sinister Alexander Cabot and his twin sister Alexandra (the heavies from the Josie comic books and the "Josie and the Pussycats" animated series).  There's also a subplot involving something sounding like Andy Warhol's Factory, which makes this not your mother's Archie Comics.  Like the other shows, Berlanti and Archie Comics chief Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa are the main forces.  In-house from CBS and Warners.

And that's all for another year or until the television networks as we know them cease to exist.

[Diner]

On Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 7:10:05 PM UTC-4, Mark Jeffries wrote:

9-10 p.m. — “NANCY DREW”--The plucky girl detective hasn't been on TV since Pamela Sue Martin played her on ABC in the late 70s (and got fired from "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" because the network wanted to pander to Shaun Cassidy fans).  This incarnation from "Gossip Girl" creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage is going to be a lot like "Riverdale," as in dark, dark, dark (as Edward Stratemeyer, the original "Carolyn Keene," spins in his grave).  Our Nancy is going to take time off from sleuthing to go to college, but after her mother dies and she witnesses the death of a fellow student, she's back on the case.  Kennedy McMann is Nancy and Scott Wolf is her father Carson.  Martin is playing in the pilot a character named Harriet Grosset (there's an Easter egg for you).  In-house on the CBS side.

Interesting to me that they're doing this now, since there was a Nancy Drew movie in theaters just two months ago with a completely different cast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew_and_the_Hidden_Staircase_(2019_film)

 

[Kevin M.]

Remember when superheroes were upbeat and optimistic instead of dark and brooding? A bad guy would enter into the story, and you didn’t need to know why he chose a life of crime; he was just bad and needed to be stopped, and the superhero stopped him. Nobody cried. And it was all done with roughly 90% less explosions and special effects. There was dialogue.

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any dark and brooding superheroes, but can’t we be allowed one or two heroic bits of hope and optimism? One of my favorite episodes of “Babylon 5” was in the midst of the Shadow War, which was also in the midst of the civil war on Earth, G’Kar helped one of the guest stars stop a band of thieves. No palace intrigue... no shades of grey. “We were the good guys,” G’Kar said. “They were the bad guys,” adding, “And they made a very satisfying thump when they hit the ground.” It isn’t that I dislike complex or even dark tales, but that doesn’t mean I can’t also appreciate something simple and upbeat, too. 

Nope, even Archie comic characters have be dark and edgy. And Nancy Drew can’t just solve mysteries because it is fun and she is smart. No, we need to see her cry first. I swear, if they remake Scooby Doo again, Shaggy will be a meth addict, Velma will be sexually assaulted by Freddie in the back of the Mystery Machine, and Daphne will be a hooker with a heart of gold. Jinkies.

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Darren Glass]

This seems like a weird complaint to make on a thread about the CW.  To me, Legends of Tomorrow absolutely embraces the fun silly side of superhero stories, and both The Flash and Supergirl are fun and upbeat much more often than they’re not.  I agree that too much superhero stuff these days is dark and brooding, but I think the CW has done a good job of keeping things light on a lot of these shows. 

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[Kevin M.]

On Thu, May 16, 2019 at 6:38 PM Darren Glass <dgl...@gmail.com> wrote:

This seems like a weird complaint to make on a thread about the CW.  To me, Legends of Tomorrow absolutely embraces the fun silly side of superhero stories, and both The Flash and Supergirl are fun and upbeat much more often than they’re not.  I agree that too much superhero stuff these days is dark and brooding, but I think the CW has done a good job of keeping things light on a lot of these shows. 

Admittedly in most cases I don’t make it past the misery and angst of the pilot episodes. Supergirl I’ve seen more of, and though there is humor, the lead is almost always sulking over a love she lost or living a dual life or blah blah blah. Same with Flash, who was always the happiest of the old JLA. You have super powers... cheer the f*ck up and quit making it seem like a curse. 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Kevin M.]

Semi-related, The Tick has been cancelled. I haven’t seen any of season two, but I liked the first season, even though it was darker in tone than the animated series of original comics 

https://twitter.com/ben_edlund/status/1129086411833921536?s=21

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Darren Glass]

Sepinwall makes the case for Legends of Tomorrow better than I could here:  https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/legends-of-tomorrow-season-4-spoilers-review-840987/  Although I dont think he is giving The Flash enough credit, especially for last year which also really embraced the goofy silly side.