CW Prez talks pilots, "Vampire Diaries" spinoff, direction of network
David
Q&A: CW's Ostroff talks pilots, 'Vampire Diaries' and more
by James Hibberd
THR: You've been identified with young-adult soaps, but this year your
pilots seem more closed-ended and procedural. Is the CW getting less
soapy this year?
Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment, the CW: We've been trying to
find more franchise shows with a beginning, middle and end. Most are
accustomed to watching shows now where the personal relationships
continue on in every episode, whether it be a "CSI" or "Grey's
Anatomy," any franchise show, and the cases have a beginning, middle
and end.
THR: Sounds like the CW is becoming a bit more like CBS?
Ostroff: "HMS" is a more traditional show for us, which has its own
twist that makes it right for the CW. It's set at Harvard Medical
School, and the pilot's entry point is through first-year students.
What makes it unique is that these people are learning about the
profession but at Harvard, where you're at the most prestigious
medical school, you're steeped in history but with cutting-edge
medicine. It's going to be as much of a show-and-tell about medical
science as the emotional cases of different patients and the emotional
relationships between the characters themselves.
THR: Is there a lesson from the success of "The Vampire Diaries"?
Ostroff: Great writing, great casting, a topic that's in the zeitgeist
and a known franchise is always what we look for. It's the perfect
example of the kind of qualities we stress in every show we pick up.
THR: Is it too early to talk about a "Vampire" spinoff?
Ostroff: Too early. But hopefully in a few years.
THR: What about one of your other genre shows, "Smallville," will it
stay on Fridays?
Ostroff: "Smallville" has had a great year creatively and moving to
Friday nights; viewers have not only followed it but have endorsed the
show creatively. I think it's too early too tell [where it will go],
but it's been doing well on Fridays.
THR: Between the durability of "Smallville," "Supernatural" and the
popularity of "Vampire Diaries," should the CW head in a more
genre-driven direction?
Ostroff: What "Vampire Diaries" has done so well is that it's not just
a genre show, it has romance and humor and friends that feel like
family. There are so many elements that work on different levels. So
although it is a genre or sci-fi show, it has a lot of other elements
that make the show work for all of our audience. We picked up a show
called "Be-Twixt," which is a genre show if you will, but it has many
of the same elements.
THR: Action thrillers "La Femme Nikita" and "Be-Twixt" both have
female leads, but given the subject matter, is the CW becoming more
boy-friendly?
Ostroff: I think the CW is more boy-friendly than most people think.
There are some really dynamic women at the core of those shows that
will hopefully be interesting to men. I know more men who watch
"Gossip Girl" than you can imagine.
THR: The soaps "Gossip Girl" and "90210" haven't held up as well. Is
there anything that can be done to boost their numbers?
Ostroff: I wouldn't say they haven't done as well. You have to realize
that you have a lot of people time-shifting our shows and watching in
different ways. Mondays have been particularly tough this year -- it
has become more competitive. "90210" creatively is light years away
from where it was last year. Sometimes that show is watched more on
DVR than live. I think we're still feeling positive about our shows.
THR: OK, but is there anything that can be done to give them even
better ratings next year?
Ostroff: We haven't gotten into the conversations with the producers
about what next year's shows are going to be. But I do think as more
and more people are migrating to their DVR and streaming shows, I
think it's going to be harder and harder to envision our Nielsen
numbers going up.
THR: What's the likelihood of "One Tree Hill" coming back?
Ostroff: We're encouraged. We think (creator) Mark Schwahn has done a
great job with the show. The fans are the most loyal and dedicated I
think I've ever seen. They have some 1.6 million fans on Facebook. Too
early too tell, but creatively we feel the show is in a really good
place.
THR: What about "Life Unexpected"?
Ostroff: That's really too early too tell.
THR: Looking at the number of drama pilots you have, is it fair to
assume that there won't be slots for both "One Tree Hill" and "Life
Unexpected"?
Ostroff: Too soon to say anything yet.
THR: Are you doing anything differently this summer to maintain
viewership levels?
Ostroff: We're working on a lot of different reality projects, which
we really don't talk about. There's a couple things we're looking at
for fall and for summer. In fact, we just now picked up another pilot,
"Nomads."
THR: Do you plan to stay on five nights or are there any plans to try
and retake Sunday? Or get back into comedy?
Ostroff: Five nights is the plan. We're looking at our reality shows
as having comedy. Our (hourlong) show "Wyoming," which Amy
Sherman-Palladino wrote, has a lot of humor. So it's different ways of
doing comedy.
THR: What about late-night? Everybody is diving into that game, so is
that possible for the CW?
Ostroff: Nothing we've been exploring yet.
THR: I'm looking at the description for "Nomads" (a Ridley and Tony
Scott-produced action hour), and I have to circle back to the boy
question. Moving forward, the CW does seem less girlie than in the
past.
Ostroff: Our target audience is 18-34 women. There was white space out
there where this is a demographic that was at least being spoken to
from an advertisers' point of view and the competitive landscape. And
women love to watch action-adventure franchise shows. "Nomads" is a
show about two women at the core, and they're spies. It's like "Buffy
the Vampire Slayer" empowered women. The intention was to get a
broader scope of programming on the network so that not all of the
shows we did were soap operas per se, but it wasn't geared toward
trying to bring men in.
Ian J. Ball
> http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/03/qa-the-cws-dawn-ostroff.html
>
> Q&A: CW's Ostroff talks pilots, 'Vampire Diaries' and more
> by James Hibberd
>
>
> Ostroff: Too early. But hopefully in a few years.
How 'bout, "Just say no" - lightening is very unlikely to strike twice
on this one.
> THR: What about one of your other genre shows, "Smallville," will it
> stay on Fridays?
>
> Ostroff: "Smallville" has had a great year creatively and moving to
> Friday nights; viewers have not only followed it but have endorsed the
> show creatively
Yeah, Dawn, baby - you might want to talk to some of us *around here*
first before you say that...
> THR: Action thrillers "La Femme Nikita" and "Be-Twixt" both have
> female leads, but given the subject matter, is the CW becoming more
> boy-friendly?
>
> Ostroff: I think the CW is more boy-friendly than most people think.
> There are some really dynamic women at the core of those shows that
> will hopefully be interesting to men. I know more men who watch
> "Gossip Girl" than you can imagine.
Not this guy! Not anymore!!
> THR: The soaps "Gossip Girl" and "90210" haven't held up as well. Is
> there anything that can be done to boost their numbers?
Good of them to point this out...
> Ostroff: I wouldn't say they haven't done as well. You have to realize
> that you have a lot of people time-shifting our shows and watching in
> different ways.
Excuses, excuses, excuses...
> Mondays have been particularly tough this year -- it
> has become more competitive. "90210" creatively is light years away
> from where it was last year.
Yeah - for the *worse*.
> Sometimes that show is watched more on
> DVR than live. I think we're still feeling positive about our shows.
>
> THR: What's the likelihood of "One Tree Hill" coming back?
>
> Ostroff: We're encouraged. We think (creator) Mark Schwahn has done a
> great job with the show. The fans are the most loyal and dedicated I
> think I've ever seen. They have some 1.6 million fans on Facebook. Too
> early too tell, but creatively we feel the show is in a really good
> place.
Don't be an idiot, Dawn - bring it back.
> THR: What about "Life Unexpected"?
>
> Ostroff: That's really too early too tell.
Don't be an idiot, Dawn - bring it back.
> THR: Looking at the number of drama pilots you have, is it fair to
> assume that there won't be slots for both "One Tree Hill" and "Life
> Unexpected"?
>
> Ostroff: Too soon to say anything yet.
Don't blow this, Dawnie, baby...
> THR: Are you doing anything differently this summer to maintain
> viewership levels?
>
> Ostroff: We're working on a lot of different reality projects, which
> we really don't talk about.
IOW: No!
David
<ib...@san.rr.com> wrote:
>On Mar 4, 8:09 pm, David <dimla...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/03/qa-the-cws-dawn-ostroff.html
>>
>> Q&A: CW's Ostroff talks pilots, 'Vampire Diaries' and more
>> by James Hibberd
>> Ostroff: "Smallville" has had a great year creatively and moving to
>> Friday nights; viewers have not only followed it but have endorsed the
>> show creatively
>
>Yeah, Dawn, baby - you might want to talk to some of us *around here*
>first before you say that...
No no no no no. No one who works in television should ever come to
this place of vileness and hatred.
STAAAAAAAAAY AWAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!11!!!11!!!
Obveeus
"David" <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:qq01p5t6o7sgcmc67...@4ax.com...
> http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/03/qa-the-cws-dawn-ostroff.html
>
> Q&A: CW's Ostroff talks pilots, 'Vampire Diaries' and more
> by James Hibberd
>
> THR: You've been identified with young-adult soaps, but this year your
> pilots seem more closed-ended and procedural. Is the CW getting less
> soapy this year?
>
> Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment, the CW: We've been trying to
> find more franchise shows with a beginning, middle and end. Most are
> accustomed to watching shows now where the personal relationships
> continue on in every episode, whether it be a "CSI" or "Grey's
> Anatomy," any franchise show, and the cases have a beginning, middle
> and end.
>
> THR: Sounds like the CW is becoming a bit more like CBS?
Huh? How is making shows like Grey's Anatomy 'becoming more like CBS'?
> Ostroff: "HMS" is a more traditional show for us, which has its own
> twist that makes it right for the CW. It's set at Harvard Medical
> School, and the pilot's entry point is through first-year students.
> What makes it unique is that these people are learning about the
> profession but at Harvard, where you're at the most prestigious
> medical school, you're steeped in history but with cutting-edge
> medicine. It's going to be as much of a show-and-tell about medical
> science as the emotional cases of different patients and the emotional
> relationships between the characters themselves.
That doesn't sound like a CBS show.
> THR: What about one of your other genre shows, "Smallville," will it
> stay on Fridays?
>
> Ostroff: "Smallville" has had a great year creatively and moving to
> Friday nights; viewers have not only followed it but have endorsed the
> show creatively. I think it's too early too tell [where it will go],
> but it's been doing well on Fridays.
I can't imagine CW moving it off of Fridays as the night will collapse
without it. What CW needs is a second show on Friday rather than an encore.
> THR: Between the durability of "Smallville," "Supernatural" and the
> popularity of "Vampire Diaries," should the CW head in a more
> genre-driven direction?
>
> Ostroff: What "Vampire Diaries" has done so well is that it's not just
> a genre show, it has romance and humor and friends that feel like
> family.
Sure, if your family has been dead for hundreds of years.
> THR: Action thrillers "La Femme Nikita" and "Be-Twixt" both have
> female leads, but given the subject matter, is the CW becoming more
> boy-friendly?
>
> Ostroff: I think the CW is more boy-friendly than most people think.
> There are some really dynamic women at the core of those shows that
> will hopefully be interesting to men. I know more men who watch
> "Gossip Girl" than you can imagine.
Ostroff and Ian sitting in a tree K. I. S. S. I. N. G...
> THR: The soaps "Gossip Girl" and "90210" haven't held up as well. Is
> there anything that can be done to boost their numbers?
>
> Ostroff: I wouldn't say they haven't done as well.
snip
>I think we're still feeling positive about our shows.
A subtle hint that she takes orders from people over at CBS...she isn;t even
sure what 'we' feel about the shows?
> THR: OK, but is there anything that can be done to give them even
> better ratings next year?
Too bad there isn't this kind of comeback when the other network shills
avoid answering questions.
> Ostroff: We haven't gotten into the conversations with the producers
> about what next year's shows are going to be. But I do think as more
> and more people are migrating to their DVR and streaming shows, I
> think it's going to be harder and harder to envision our Nielsen
> numbers going up.
Translation: network TV is dying, especially for the youth, and we know
that.
> THR: Are you doing anything differently this summer to maintain
> viewership levels?
>
> Ostroff: We're working on a lot of different reality projects, which
> we really don't talk about.
Smoke and mirrors.
> THR: I'm looking at the description for "Nomads" (a Ridley and Tony
> Scott-produced action hour), and I have to circle back to the boy
> question. Moving forward, the CW does seem less girlie than in the
> past.
A possible pairing for Smallville?
Obveeus
It would be hard to take anything said here seriously. if they did, they'd
all blow their heads off. On the other hand, reading the posts here would
probably be good for a laugh...at least until they realized that this was
their TV audience. Then they would cry.
Stephen Newport
Re: CW Prez talks pilots, "Vampire Diaries" spinoff, direction of
network
-----------------------------------
the posts here would probably be good for a laugh...at least until they
realized that this was their TV audience. Then they would cry.
And THEN blow their heads off. I'm all for their coming!
Less military spending and more entitlements. "Ask what your country can
do for you" loudly and repeatedly.
Ian J. Ball
> "David" <dimla...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
Ah, there's the irrepressible contemptuous elitism we've come to
expect from you, Obv...
>:/
Obveeus
"Ian J. Ball" <ib...@san.rr.com> wrote in message
news:b4ba2cd7-01de-4bc4...@o16g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
The fact that you would see my remarks as 'elitism' speaks volumes for your
lack of reading skills.
Stephen Newport
I can top it: who in their right mind watches anything on the CW?
Stan Brown
> THR: Is there a lesson from the success of "The Vampire Diaries"?
>
> Ostroff: Great writing, great casting, a topic that's in the zeitgeist
> and a known franchise is always what we look for.
That's disingenuous at best.
Would TVD have half the audience if there weren't so many hot young
bodies on display?
Or maybe that's what Ostroff means by "great casting".
--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
"You may be the Universe's butt puppet, but I'm its right-
hand fist of fate." -- /Wonderfalls/
Obveeus
"Stan Brown" <the_sta...@fastmail.fm> wrote in message
news:MPG.25fc3a9dc...@news.individual.net...
> Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:09:15 -0500 from David <diml...@yahoo.com>:
>> THR: Is there a lesson from the success of "The Vampire Diaries"?
>>
>> Ostroff: Great writing, great casting, a topic that's in the zeitgeist
>> and a known franchise is always what we look for.
>
> That's disingenuous at best.
>
> Would TVD have half the audience if there weren't so many hot young
> bodies on display?
>
> Or maybe that's what Ostroff means by "great casting".
That is what 'great casting' means for most tv shows.
David
<the_sta...@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:09:15 -0500 from David <diml...@yahoo.com>:
>> THR: Is there a lesson from the success of "The Vampire Diaries"?
>>
>> Ostroff: Great writing, great casting, a topic that's in the zeitgeist
>> and a known franchise is always what we look for.
>
>That's disingenuous at best.
>
>Would TVD have half the audience if there weren't so many hot young
>bodies on display?
What CW show doesn't have hot young bodies?
Stephen Newport
so many hot young bodies on display is what 'great casting' means for
most tv shows.
-------------------------------------
Too bad they can't skip the vampires, the angst, and the weak acting--
and just make actual porn.
Stephen Newport
I guess that's enough for a certain dumbographic.
Anim8rFSK
David <diml...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Well, Smallville has Tess. What? Oh. Good point.
--
As Adam West as Bruce Wayne as Batman said in "Smack in the Middle"
the second half of the 1966 BATMAN series pilot when Jill St. John
as Molly as Robin as Molly fell into the Batmobile's atomic pile:
"What a terrible way to go-go"
Obveeus
"Stephen Newport" <Newpor...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:4360-4B92...@storefull-3171.bay.webtv.net...
> From: diml...@yahoo.com (David)
> What CW show doesn't have hot young bodies?
> -------------------------------------
> I guess that's enough for a certain dumbographic.
Exactly the same concept is used in shows like Desperate Housewives.
Or, in more general terms; feel free to list the TV shows with female leads
that are 50lbs+ overweight. The average female in the USA is 5ft. 4in tall
and 160lbs. So, which TV shows have anyone female average or 'above
average'?
Stan Brown
/Supernatural/, for one -- at least we never get to see them!
Stephen Newport
SN: They at least have Orson Bean and Kathryn Joosten, and guest stars
like Shirley Knight and Jack Carter.
------------------------------------------
The average female in the USA is 5ft. 4in tall and 160lbs.
SN: I'd love to see more characters played by people of size on TV. By
seniors, too. Even on night time soaps.
Jim Heckman
On 7-Mar-2010, Stan Brown <the_sta...@fastmail.fm>
wrote in message <MPG.25fd99e67...@news.individual.net>:
> Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:09:52 -0500 from David <diml...@yahoo.com>:
[...]
> > What CW show doesn't have hot young bodies?
>
> /Supernatural/, for one
Only if by "hot young bodies" you mean actors in their twenties
playing characters in their teens. Aren't Sam and Dean supposed to
be in their late twenties or early thirties? Sam was in law school
only five years ago, and in the flashbacks to their childhood I've
always thought Dean looked at most five years older than Sam.
As for hot, Jensen Ackles is practically my definition of the ideal
fling, and Jared Padalecki the ideal LTR.
> -- at least we never get to see them!
Oh, that's what you meant. Well, we do sometimes. I've been
watching the reruns on TNT (they've just gotten to season 3), and
we've seen both of the Winchester boys shirtless a few times now,
though I'll concede not nearly often enough. And didn't Padalecki
flex shirtless in front of a mirror in that recent episode where
the geek with the grimoire switched bodies with Sam?
Actually, seeing the early seasons has really called attention to
how Padalecki has filled out over the years. Looks like he really
started working out seriously sometime in late season 1 or early
season 2.
--
Jim Heckman
Stan Brown
> And didn't Padalecki
> flex shirtless in front of a mirror in that recent episode where
> the geek with the grimoire switched bodies with Sam?
No.
He was in a T-shirt with sleeves.
Adam H. Kerman
>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:59:06 GMT from "Jim Heckman" <"Jim Heckman">:
>>And didn't Padalecki flex shirtless in front of a mirror in that recent
>>episode where the geek with the grimoire switched bodies with Sam?
>No.
>He was in a T-shirt with sleeves.
I know I skipped all of this thread, but WHY IS A NETWORK PRESIDENT
UNDRESSED IN PUBLIC?
I don't want to know.