Erica Durance and Tom Welling

The CW has renewed ‘Smallville’ for a tenth and possibly final season.

Recently, The CW renewed ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Gossip Girl,’ ‘90210,’ ‘Supernatural’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ but absent from the list was veteran ‘Smallville’.

According to a number of sources, the delay was due to talks with the cast and crew.

Now a deal has been struck and The CW has confirmed that ‘Smallville’ will be returning this fall.

Following its move to Fridays this fall, a timeslot The CW has usually struggled with, the show has performed solidly and developed a loyal following.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

'Gossip Girl' returns March 8 on The CW.

‘Gossip Girl’ returns next Monday on The CW with the first of 10 consecutive episodes, following a three-month break.

The drama is in its third season and according to Entertainment Weekly, ‘Gossip Girl’ fans will be in for a treat come May.

The season finale will conclude with — as executive producer Stephanie Savage puts it — “two OMG moments.”

Savage wouldn’t reveal the specifics, but did say that the season three finale — which is currently being filmed — will be unlike the show’s previous two finales.

“It’s not centred on a big event,” says Savage. “There’s not a giant wedding or a graduation. It’s a real potboiler where all of this season’s stories bear down on each other.”

“It’s one of those episodes that just really moves,” she continues. “Every scene leads to the next scene in a very sort of tight and exciting way. I’m hopeful it’ll feel like a satisfying conclusion to all the stories we’ve been telling this year and also give you a sense of what season 4 will hold.”

Michelle Trachtenberg is set to return for the season finale as the manipulative and somewhat psychotic Georgina, however, fans shouldn’t expect the same Georgina we’ve seen before.

“[She'll have] a different persona,” teases Savage. “We’ll find out where she’s been the past couple of months.”

Fans are probably asking the same thing about the show itself, which has been on hiatus since early December.

“I’m excited that we’re running 10 in a row without any interruptions,” says Savage. “Last season, we had a very erratic schedule during the second half of the season, and I think it was hard for [viewers]. We’re excited to come back and have 10 in a row — If we were a cable show it’s practically an entire [season].”

‘Gossip Girl’ returns Monday, March 8 on The CW.

The second season is currently airing 10.30pm Thursdays on GO!

Source: EW.com

Gillian Zinser

Tomboy surfer chick Ivy Sullivan has been promoted to a regular on the soap drama ‘90210’.

Ivy who recently joined the cast to create a love triangle between Liam (Matt Lander) and Naomi (Anna-Lynne McCord) has worked well with the boys and her extended stay will allow the writers to delve deeper into this intriguing storyline.

The recently renewed show returns in March on The CW after a long hiatus.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

David Anders

TV Guide.com has confirmed that David Anders will be joining the cast of  The CW’s ‘The Vampire Diaries’.

The 28-year old, who previously had recurring roles on ‘Alias’ and ‘Heroes’, will play Jonathan Gilbert, Elena and Jeremy’s uncle.

Anders will make his first appearance in The CW’s April 15th episode and will recur throughout the remainder of the season.

‘The Vampire Diaries’ episode 14 “Fool Me Once” airs 8.30pm tonight on GO!

Source: TV Guide.com

Maggie Q

Maggie Q is rumoured to join the cast of The CW’s new sci-fi project ‘Nikita’ as one of the main characters, most likely Nikita.

If successful she will hold one of the highest-profile series role for an Asian actress. Born as Margaret Quigley, Maggie Q, a Hong Kong action movie star featured in Hollywood blockbusters ‘Mission: Impossible III’ and ‘Live Free or Die Hard.’

Creator, Craig Silverstein claims he wrote the lead as ‘beautiful and exotic’ so if Maggie’s looks and funky name isn’t enough what is?

So another year and The CW already has the buzziest show around Hollywood, shame this doesn’t translate into good ratings.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

The CW picks up CIA-based action pilot 'Nomads'.

In an attempt to diversify their programming line up next season, The CW has picked up the action drama pilot ‘Nomads’, from ‘Numb3rs’ creator Ken Sanzel and producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.

The drama centers on a group of young backpackers who find a way to make some extra money by doing secret missions for the CIA.

Sanzel will write and direct the pilot presentation, with the Scott brothers serving as executive producers under their production banner Scott Free Productions.

‘Nomads’ is from CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television.

Source: Variety

'The Vampire Diaries' returning for a second season.

The CW has announced five series from its 2009/2010 line up will return for 2010/2011. ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘America’s Next Top Model,’ ‘Supernatural,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘90210′ will all return in fall 2010 as The CW attempts to settle on their 2010/2011 line up ahead of the May upfronts.

The renewal of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ comes as no surprise despite the latter fading quickly. ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘90210,’ Dawn’s babies, were sure bets because of president – Dawn Ostroff’s continual public praise but ‘Supernatural’ was a surprise. There have been a number of reports that the writers and producers wanted this season, the fifth to be its last, so Dawn must’ve done a good job in convincing the writers and producers for another season.

Absent from the list is veterans, ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘Smallville’ and freshman dramas ‘Melrose Place’ and ‘Life Unexpected.’ ‘One Tree Hill’ remains on the bubble but ‘Smallville’s’ prospects are in the hands of its star Tom Welling. There have been reports Tom Welling has been auditioning for other projects and if he is successful and wants to start afresh, he might jump ship. However, the chances of him remaining as Clark Kent is relatively strong. With this news, the axe is getting sharper for low-rated drama ‘Melrose Place.’ As for ‘Life Unexpected,’ its still too early to determine the prospects as only five episodes have aired. Its prospects will most likely depend on The CW’s pilot projects.

'Gilmore Girls' creator Amy Sherman-Palladinois returning to The CW.

Another season, another remake for The CW. The green network will next tackle a remake of the 90’s action thriller ‘Nikita’, by famed french director Luc Besson.

The film spawned a television series in the late 90’s, starring Australia’s Peta Wilson, under the title ‘La Femme Nikita’. The Canadian/US spy drama ran for five seasons on cable network USA Network.

The CW’s ‘Nikita’ remake will follow the assasin who is trained to replace the original Nikita, after the original goes rogue. The Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision project will be written and executive produced by Craig Silverstein, with McG and Peter Johnson serving as executive producers.

The second project hails from the creator of ‘Gilmore Girls’, Amy Sherman Palladino and her husband/producer Dan Palladino. The untitled family drama will be set on a horse farm in Wyoming.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Google are set to compete with TV broadcasters this year, after securing a two-year global contract for the Twenty20 Indian Premier League.

The internet giant will begin offering live and on-demand video coverage of all 60 matches on YouTube when the competition begins on March 12.

Last year, the IPL averaged 40,000 to 50,000 viewers per match on Network Ten’s digital channel One HD, the Australian television broadcaster of the IPL.

With another four years left in their contract, Network Ten don’t seem to be too afraid of Google’s entrance into the game. The network believes that the YouTube deal will simply compliment their extensive coverage of the IPL.

“Online and mobile give sports fans the chance to follow the action regardless of where they are,” said Ten spokeswoman Jeannette McLoughlin. “Viewers prefer to see the broadcast in its full glory on a TV screen.”

Google’s deal with the IPL is believed to be just the beginning of a more aggressive push to make YouTube a premier online TV destination.

“We’re investing heavily in YouTube and look forward to making similar content more readily to YouTube,” said Google Australia’s head of business development Ryan Hall.

Last October, YouTube streamed a U2 concert live from the Rose Bowl, California — the largest event in the company’s history. The one-off show generated over 10 million streams across 7 continents, including Australia.

More recently, the video search engine partnered with Katalyst Films and advertiser Hewlett Packard, to host the unseen episodes of US TV network The CW’s cancelled drama series ‘The Beautiful Life’. The pilot episode has already seen over half a million hits in just over a month.

Online video content is expected to be in high demand this year, with the majority of new televisions, Blu-ray players and game consoles being sold having internet and YouTube connectivity.

Hall said Google was looking to buy all types of content including entertainment, music and live sport events to stream and provide on-demand via YouTube.

Source: The Australian

Shiri Appleby and Britt Robertson in 'Life Unexpected'.

Prior to The CW, there existed The WB network – this was a place to find heartwarming, family dramas where the whole family could sit in front of the TV to enjoy the likes of ‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Everwood.’ Unfortunately due to financial difficulties it was forced to merge with fellow struggling network UPN. This saw the end of The WB’s distinct brand, giving rise to what we see on The CW right now, with most shows focusing on filthy rich teenagers who have too much time on their hands.

Last fall, The CW tried to buck the trend with ‘Privileged,’ which coincidentally focused on filthy rich girls without the sex and bitching, but that failed. This time around they have come up with ‘Life Unexpected,’ ‘Life Unexpected’ was so different to The CW’s other shows that The CW didn’t even know what to do with it. The title of the show changed three times in the space of a couple of months, from ‘Light Years’ to ‘Parental Discretion Advised’ to the ridiculous ‘Life UneXpected’ and then finally settling on ‘Life Unexpected.’ And for those who haven’t noticed, the capitalization of the ‘X’ was supposed to put emphasis on its main antagonist Lux.

Lux (Brittany Robertson) has been in the foster care system for a long and treacherous 15 years, on the eve of her sixteenth birthday she decides she wants to free herself from the system, to do this she must be legally emancipated, which requires the signatures of her birth parents. Created by Liz Tigelaar, this is where ‘Life Unexpected’ picks up the story. To obtain the signatures she must seek out her parents, her father Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha) is a thirty-something living above a bar still unsure of his future. On the other hand, Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby), her birth mum, partners up with Kyle, her soon to be husband (Kerr Smith) on a successful morning radio program.

Lux was a result of an accidental one night stand between high school students Nate and Cate. But when Lux confronts her parents, one of which who didn’t know she existed and the other who didn’t give a second thought of keeping her, both are naturally shocked. To complicate the matter, Lux’s emancipation hearing is rejected by the judge handing Cate and Nate joint custody of their biological daughter despite just meeting the distant individuals. This forces Cate and Nate to realise they must mature quickly and become responsible parents.

No doubt, the proceeding episodes will focus on the complicated matters they face as they try to juggle their everyday lives with the addition of a teenager, Lux’s eagerness to find out her parent’s past and the possible problem of having Lux, Cate, Nate (and his friends) and Kyle live under the same roof and or the fight for custody of Lux.

Despite the plot holes – the bleeding obvious, why wouldn’t anyone want a smart, pretty teenage caucasian as their daughter, there is plenty to like about this warm family drama, ‘Life Unexpected.’ The characters are funny, charming and the relationships are well played out making them believable and hopefully this will be the breakout role for Polaha who charmed and entertained us on the short lived CW series ‘Valentine.’ ‘Life Unexpected’ is a flashback to the feel good dramas on The WB, where it was more about being nice to each other than bitching and whining.

4 out of 5 stars

Today The CW held their part of the Television Critics Association press tour, and several journalists caught up with CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff to discuss the prospects of Smallville going for a tenth season.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello, Ostroff sounds optimistic about the show’s chances, and seems pleased with the show creatively. But regarding whether or not the show will be back for another year, Ostroff says the decision will come in May. “[The producers] haven’t even pitched us the last episodes yet, so we haven’t even gotten to how we’re going to deal with the last episode and whether it’s a season finale or series finale,” Ostroff said to Ausiello. “But right now, I think it’s just aseason finale.”

Ostroff also made chances sound good in an interview with IGN’s Eric Goldman. “If the show doesn’t come back, I think it will be a sort of really last minute decision, because either development [for new series] was great or the show wasn’t doing as well on Friday nights. But we still have a whole half a season to go before we have to determine that,” she said.

So, while no official decision has been announced, at least things ARE sounding good.

Source: Kryptonsite

According to The Wall Street Journal, CBS Corporation and The Walt Disney Company are seriously considering a proposal from Apple to kill off cable TV with a subscription based TV show service through iTunes.

The report explains that under Apple’s proposed subscription model, users would have “access to some TV shows from a selection of major networks” and basic cable channels for a flat monthly fee of around $US30.

CBS Corp. could offer programs from both CBS and The CW, including ‘NCIS’, ‘The Good Wife’ and ‘90210′; while The Walt Disney Co. could offer programs from ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel, including ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘Greek’ and ‘Hannah Montana’.

As to how this could kill off pay TV, the WSJ notes that the networks could actually make more money per subscriber via iTunes than they do from cable TV providers, with broadcast networks receiving up to $US2-$US4 per subscriber, and basic-cable networks receiving $US1-$US2 per subscriber.

While CBS and Disney have plenty to gain from an iTunes subscription service, the two companies are also quite nervous about giving Apple more control and market-share. Apple already have a stranglehold over TV episode pricing on iTunes, with all episodes priced at a fixed $US1.99 — which lead to a brief fallout with NBC in 2007.

Even if Apple can win over CBS and Disney, the California-based company will have a tough time convincing other networks to join the bandwagon, with NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television holding significant cable TV interests — with Comcast’s recent acquisition of NBC and Warner’s own TimeWarner Cable.

How this could affect the Australian market remains to be seen. Although it’s worth noting that all major US networks and content providers (sans CBS) currently distribute shows via the Australian iTunes Store.

Provided the local networks have no objections (though that could be a whole other can of worms), would you be interested in seeing a subscription based iTunes TV show service?

Source: The Wall Street Journal via Apple Insider

THE CW CONTINUES TO SCORE BIG IN LIVE+7

VAMPIRE DIARIES, SMALLVILLE, TOP MODEL Each Add 1 Million or More Viewers Once All DVR Playback is Factored In

December 2, 2009 (Burbank, CA) – The CW Network again led all networks in primetime gains from all DVR playback for the week ending Nov. 15, 2009, according to Nielsen Live+7 day vs. Live-Only viewing.  The CW’s biggest increases came in its young target demos of women 18-34 (53%, 2.36rtg v. 1.54rtg) and adults 18-34 (53%, 1.68rtg v. 1.1rtg), followed by adults 18-49 (51%, 1.39rtg v. 0.92rtg) and women 18-49 (50%, 1.85rtg v. 1.23rtg).

Monday tandem of GOSSIP GIRL and ONE TREE HILL continues to deliver big DVR gains, with GG up 57% in women 18-34 (3.84rtg v. 2.44rtg), 59% in adults 18-34 (2.38rtg v. 1.5rtg) and 53% in women 18-49 (2.57rtg v. 1.68rtg); while OTH grew 43% in women 18-34 (3.02rtg v. 2.11rtg), 45% in adults 18-34 (1.91rtg v. 1.32rtg) and 41% in women 18-49 (2.15rtg v. 1.53rtg).

On Tuesday, 90210’s ratings improved 64% in women 18-34 (3.14rtg v. 1.91rtg), 66% in adults 18-34 (2.02rtg v. 1.22rtg) and 74% in women 18-49 (2.16rtg v. 1.24rtg), and MELROSE PLACE improved 80% in women 18-34 (1.69rtg v. 0.94rtg), 70% in adults 18-34 (1.19rtg v. 0.7rtg) and 70% in women 18-49 (1.19rtg v. 0.7rtg).

The penultimate episode of this cycle’s TOP MODEL’s ratings improved by 63% in women 18-34 (3.39rtg v. 2.08rtg), 59% in adults 18-34 (2.05rtg v. 1.29rtg) and 56% in women 18-49 (2.9rtg v. 1.86rtg).

Freshman smash THE VAMPIRE DIARIES only gets bigger once all DVR playback is included, gaining 57% in women 18-34 (3.82rtg v. 2.43rtg), 51% in adults 18-34 (2.68rtg v. 1.77rtg) and 57% in women 18-49 (3.09tg v. 1.97rtg).  SUPERNATURAL improved 40% in women 18-34 (1.85rtg v. 1.32rtg), 47% in adults 18-34 (1.78rtg v. 1.21rtg) and 41% in women 18-49 (1.71rtg v. 1.21rtg).

Friday’s SMALLVILLE remains in heavy DVR demand, as its Live+7 ratings rose above its live viewing by 82% in adults 18-34 (1.69rtg v. 0.93rtg) and 80% in adults 18-49 (1.62rtg v. 0.9rtg).

Several The CW shows added about a million more viewers once all DVR playback was factored in, with VAMPIRE DIARIES adding nearly 1.6million more viewers (4.89mil v. 3.32mil), SMALLVILLE gained nearly 1.3 million additional viewers (3.47mil v. 2.2mil) and TOP MODEL improved by an even 1 million viewers from DVR playback (3.66mil v. 2.66mil).

Hayden Panettiere

The CW is hoping to snag just a little bit of the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ crowd next year with the new medical school drama ‘HMS’, from ‘Mystic Pizza’ writer Amy Holden Jones.

The ensemble drama, which follows a group of students at Harvard Medical School, will mark ‘Heroes’ star Hayden Panettiere’s producing debut.

The project was recently brought to The CW’s attention, after originally being developed for The WB Network in the 2004-05 season.

Panettiere will co-executive produce the Warner Bros. Television project with Jones.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Kerr Smith, Britt Robertson, Shiri Appleby and Kristoffer Polaha star in The CW's 'Life Unexpected'.

The CW has finally found a timeslot for its most highly regarded new series of the season.

‘Life Unexpected’, is set to air on Monday nights starting January 18.

The series follows 15-year-old Lux (Britt Robertson), who’s looking to get out of foster care by becoming an emancipated minor. However, a judge instead places her in the care of her biological parents Cate (Shiri Appleby) and Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) — who had given her up for adoption as a baby.

The series has already received strong positive nods from the critics.

‘Life’ is expected to fill the 9pm ‘Gossip Girl’ timelslot — which is set to go on hiatus for several weeks, before returning in March to complete its 24-episode order.

‘Life’ will then shift forward to 8pm, filling the ‘One Tree Hill’ slot — which will also go on hiatus for several weeks.

The CW hope to have a Monday night full of all original episodes, from January through to the end of the 09/10 season. Further midseason plans are due shortly.

‘Life Unexpected’ is from Mojo Films, CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television. Liz Tigelaar (‘Brothers and Sisters’, ‘What About Brian’), Janet Leahy (‘Boston Legal’, ‘Gilmore Girls’) and Gary Fleder (‘October Road’) serve as are executive producers.

Source: Variety

Evicted - Colin Egglesfield and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.

Entertainment Weekly talks to show runners Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer about the major renovations set to take place at 4616 Melrose Place, including the eviction of Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield; and the introduction of some new characters.

What was behind the decision to let Ashlee and Colin go?

Todd Slavkin: Well, we always knew that this murder mystery would end in episode 12. And we always knew that [Ashlee's] character of Violet would be instrumental in that as a suspect, and [Colin's character of] Augie as well. And once that murder mystery was solved, she would go on her way. That was the original plan going into the development of the show.

So it was always the plan for Ashlee to leave after episode 12?

Slavkin: Yes. Because we felt that once the murder mystery was resolved, the tone of the show was going to shift into a much more fun, romantic, sexy upbeat kind of show, and [her] character would move on.

Same thing with Colin?

Slavkin: Colin was always meant to be the ultimate suspect. And his brooding alcoholic [character] tonally didn’t fit the paradigm moving into post-murder mystery Melrose Place.

Is it fair to say that if either of those characters clicked you would’ve found a way to keep them?

Slavkin: Well, you never know when you go along. But in the end, we felt like it was right [decision].

Darren Swimmer: The nature of soaps is that as things progress along, the story takes on a life of its own and the characters come and go in relation to that.

How did Ashlee and Colin take the news?

Slavkin: They’re total professionals and they took it like professionals. When you go into a show you never know what’s going to evolve and what the possibilities are. But because they knew ahead of time [that leaving was a possibility], it wasn’t a complete shock.

People are going to look at these changes and assume it’s a direct result of the show’s disappointing ratings.

Slavkin: Well, I understand that perspective. None of us foresaw the ratings; there’s nothing we can do about that. All we can do is write and produce the best show we know how. It’s fine to speculate, but in the end there was always a plan.

What about Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro? Are they leaving, too?

Slavkin: Thomas is very much a part of the fabric of this show. Many storylines are ahead for him. You’ll get to see him interact with his old friend Amanda Woodward as well as all the characters on our show. With Laura, we would never close the door officially. She did her part in the murder mystery. We love her. We think she is gorgeous and a great actress and would love to have her be involved in the future, but there is no plan at the moment.

Can you elaborate on the tonal shift?

Slavkin: Now that the characters are no longer suspects, they can have a great time, they can focus on their careers, they can get into bed with each other without having this ominous cloud hanging over the building… But this is still Melrose Place. There’s still going to be intrigue on the show.

Do you think viewers were turned off by the dark nature of the show?

Swimmer: Who knows why the ratings aren’t better? I think for us, it’s just a matter of moving on in the direction we [always] wanted to go.

Some people might wonder why you’re fixing what’s not broken. Personally, I love the show.

Slavkin: Which we understand and I totally get that. I think our feeling is that TV shows need to evolve. Mike, you’re a fan of Smallville. You’ve watched that show and you’ve seen the evolution in that show. Characters come and go. This being much more of a soap opera, we feel that it’s heated up more rapidly, where characters come and go and have arcs and move on. There will be new characters coming in.

Tell me about those new characters.

Slavkin: There’s a doctor, a new resident at the hospital who is irreverent and funny and will mix it up and move into the building. He will be a roommate of one of the characters and interact with Lauren. He’s a guy that, even though he’s a doctor, he doesn’t take life very seriously. Medicine can be very fun as well as serious to him and he ends up lightening up Lauren. We think this guy’s a lot of fun and is going to mix it up in a great way with the rest of the cast.

Has the role been cast?

Slavkin: Not yet.

Any other new characters?

Swimmer: We have [Heather Locklear's] new love interest played by Billy Campbell. He has a three-episode arc. He plays basically a billionaire version of Jonah. He’s the equivalent of a Mark Cuban. Again, a lot of fun, funny, irreverent, and is someone who can actually make Amanda Woodward smile.

How long do you have Heather for?

Slavkin: A long time. She’s in every episode moving forward. She’s a major focus [of the show]. She has a hidden agenda that will become not so hidden as the episodes move along. She’s not just the boss of Ella [Katie Cassidy].

Does Heather still have it?

Slavkin: Absolutely. Not only is she so fun as Amanda, but she’s such an amazing, hysterical woman. Her [return] is going to be a big moment on Melrose Place.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

'The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley.

The CW has finally given an official back-nine pickup to ‘The Vampire Diaries’, following the additional scripts they ordered last month.

The hot new series, developed by Kevin Williamson, has become to highest rated series on The CW — consistently topping 3.5 million viewers each week and boasting strong figures in the demos.

‘Vampire Diaries’ hit a series high this past week, with 3.85 million. Should the series continue on this path, it’s more than likely that the show will be snapped up for a second season.

Meanwhile, the network have also upped the episode order for ‘Melrose Place’, giving the struggling drama an additional 5 episodes.

The network are clearly hoping the ratings will pick up, especially come next month, when Heather Locklear returns to the famous apartment complex.

‘Melrose’ is unlikely to see a cancellation before seasons end, as The CW are only housing one additional drama for midseason (‘Life UneXpected’). It’s been speculated that the series is headed on a similar trajectory as last season’s ‘Privileged’, which played out though the entire season, before finally being cancelled.

No word on full season pickups for ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘90210′, ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Smallville’ just yet, but they’re probably a given.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Lucy Hale - In negotiations to top-line 'Pretty Little Lairs'.

Competition between The CW and ABC Family has really heated up over the last two seasons, with both channels targeting the same young female demographic.

Last season, ABC Family’s ‘The Secret Life of an American Teenager’ even topped the reboot of The CW’s ‘90210’.

Now it looks as though ABC Family are taking a page from The CW’s playbook, with the cable channel eyeing a project from Warner Bros. Television and Alloy Entertainment — the duo behind ‘Gossip Girl’, ‘Privileged’, and this season’s breakout hit, ‘The Vampire Diaries’.

The project, entitled ‘Pretty Little Liars’, is based on the series of novels by Sara Shepard.

Adapted for television by Marline King (“Just My Luck”), ‘Liars’ revolves around four 16-year-old friends, Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna, who’ve had a falling out following the disappearance of their manipulative and vindictive “Queen Bee”, Alison. Three years after her disappearance, the girls begin to receive mysterious messages suggesting that Alison is watching them and knows all their dirty secrets. The messages continue to arrive, even after Alison’s body is finally discovered.

‘Privileged’ star Lucy Hale is said to be negotiations to top-line ‘Liars’, with Bob Levy, Leslie Morgenstein and King serving as executive producers.

Alloy and Warner had previously attempted to turn ‘Liars’ into a TV series, with a project in development for The WB back in 2005. Mimi Schmir had penned the script, but it wasn’t green-lit for pilot by the network.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Sophia Bush

Entertainment Weekly is reporting a couple of CW pick ups this morning.

The network have picked up ‘One Tree Hill’ for a full season, bringing to season total to 22 episodes. The show has been one of the networks strongest performers this season, topping ‘Gossip Girl’ this past week with 2.5 million viewers.

Meanwhile, the network have also ordered nine additional scripts for ‘The Vampire Diaries’, which scored the highest series premiere for The CW with 4.9 million viewers. Curiously, they haven’t picked it up for a full season just yet.

Finally, six more scripts were ordered for ‘Melrose Place’, which has struggled to find an audience this season. The network hopes the ratings will see a turn around once Heather Locklear arrives on November 17.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder

From the moment, I first heard The CW would be commisioning ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ I have been holding out with bated breath for the pilot of this show and judging by its premiere, I will definitely be back for more blood.

From the creator who brought you ‘Dawson’s Creek’, Kevin Williamson returns to the scene for this decade’s smash theme, vampires. There have been numerous similaritires between ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Twilight’ and the similarities do not just stop at the vampire theme, from love interests and teenagers, right down to the physical appearance of the two leads. The similarities can not be more pronouce.

Like ‘Twilight’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ is based on a series of novels, by L.J. Smith. After surviving a car accident which killed both her parents, Elena (Nina Dobrev) and her brother Jeremy (Steven McQueen) move in with their aunt in Mystic Falls. When Elena isn’t mourning over her parents or listening to her BFF, Bonnie, tell her she may be psychic, she has to cope with her whining emo, pill popping brother Jeremy (Steven McQueen).

In comes Stefan (Paul Wesley), the pretty boy who gets all the girls talking as he walks down the hallway. Like Edward Cullen, Stefan is a vampire who has been 17 for centuries, apparently. Before long, Elena and Stefan embark on the sort of cheesy love, you expect from all high school flicks, she secretly looks at him, he secretly smiles at her. He begins to appear outside her window at night, she typically dreams of him every night.

Here comes the twist, Stefan may be the good vampire, but his long lost brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is the evil one who is capable of killing anyone to stay alive and he has his eyes on Elena. Ian does a good job of portraying the evil brother as everything he does looks evil, from his dark stare right down to his evil voice.

The special effects are limited, but there is a lot of blood. The bloodlust eyes in the sight of blood are really cool and the final fight scene was dramatic and exciting. Here’s hoping we see more fight scenes like that.

Overall, despite the similarities to a lot of vampire flicks – vampire falls in love with a sweet teenage girl, teenage girl is threatened by another blood sucking vampire, good vampire does his best to protect her – the pilot was a good start to the show and set the characters up nicely for hopefully a good season of blood.

3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing results for '90210’ season premiere.

The ratings ‘preseason’ began last week with the series premiere of ‘Melrose Place,’ ‘Glee’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and sophomore premiere of ‘90210.’

The CW started off the preseason with ‘90210,’ despite the heavy promotion and The CW’s spin doctors, the show got off to a slow start with only 2.561M, a 1.3/4 (rating/share) with A18-49 , 1.7/6 in A18-34, 2.6/8 in W18-34 and 1.8/5 in W18-49. Proceeding ‘90210′ was the freshman premiere of ‘Melrose,’ retention was almost perfect but keep in mind numbers were on the low side. ‘Melrose’ mustered a paltry, 2.270M, A18-49 1.3/3 (rating/share), A18-34 1.5/5, W18-34 2.5/7 and W18-49 1.8/5.

On a brighter note, The CW’s other freshman class, ‘The Vamire Diaries’ bit off a lot more viewers, 4.84M, A18-49 2.1/6, A18-34 2.2/8, W18-34 3.0/10 and W18-49 2.8/8. The debut saw the highest audience numbers ever for a CW series premiere.

Elsewhere at Fox, Fall premiere of summer hit ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ posted 6.465M, with A18-49 2.7/8 and A18-34 3.0/9. Lead out Glee managed to build from its lead in, pulling 7.136M, A18-49 3.3/9 and A18-34 3.6/10

Nielsen TV Ratings: ©2009 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.

The CW seem to be going all out with their marketing this year, with the WTF ‘Gossip Girl’, hump-tastic ‘Melrose Place’ and love sucking ‘Vampire Diaries’ campaigns.

So it comes as no surprise that the green network have decided to push the boundaries even further with stars Sara Paxton, Ben Hollingsworth, Corbin Bleu and Ashley Madekwe stripping down to their birthday suits for their latest marketing campaign for ‘The Beautiful Life’.

Source: Fanpop and Just Jared

'The Vampire Diaries' coming soon to The CW and GO!

The season will kick-off with The CW’s sophomore drama ‘90210’. You might remember that ‘90210’ premiered to The CW’s biggest numbers in history (4.65M, A18-49: 2.6/7) but those viewers abandoned it in droves with the finale only mustering a little more than half that audience (2.49M, A18-49: 1.3/3). This is a make or break season for the remake and if it continues to shed viewers it will not only damage The CW’s brand but will have a detrimental effect on the heavily promoted freshman drama ‘Melrose Place’ 2.0. The CW is pinning their hopes on ‘Melrose Place’ and their other fall freshman ‘The Vampire Diaries’, which was inexplicably added to their Thursday line-up at the expense of The CW’s highest rating drama ‘Smallville,’ which has now been bumped to Fridays. If both ‘Melrose’ and ‘Vampire’ fail, it may well be the final year for the struggling network as CBS and WB cannot continue to run a network at a loss in this sort of climate. Elsewhere, Tuesdays will be a little dull with procedurals occupying CBS and reality on ABC, NBC and Fox. However, recently the alphabet made a late change noticing a chance to pounce in that timeslot, by pushing mid season sci-fi drama ‘V’ forward for a November 3 start.

The following night sees the fall premiere of summer reality show, ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’  Fox’s decision to air a second cycle of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ was quite bizarre, the show captures a solid but not spectacular audience during the summer and who’s to say airing it twice a year won’t damage the franchise? Fall has always been the achilles heel for the News Corp. Network and no doubt ‘Dance’ will improve on past year offerings, but will viewers return for future seasons? The decision to move ‘Dance’ to fall was to provide some lead-in support for freshman drama ‘Glee,’ which squandered its ‘Idol’ lead in when Fox aired a sample episode behind one of Idol’s final 2009 episodes, in the ended it averaged only 9.62M, A18-49: 4.4/11.

The aforementioned ‘The Vampire Diaries’ has its series premiere on Thursday, September 10 and it will be partnered with The CW’s other sci-fi drama ‘Supernatural’. The CW greenlighting ‘Diaries’ was no surprise as they wanted to capitalise on the ‘Twilight’ and ‘True Blood’ hype. Even though ‘Diaries’ has generated a lot of negative press, initial sampling will be large but the million dollar question is how long will the audience give it? The following Thursday sees the return of JJ Abram’s latest demo hit ‘Fringe’. ‘Fringe’ will have its work cut out going up against heavyweights, ‘CSI’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ which both return on September 24. ‘Fringe’s’ departure from a solid lead in indicates the confidence Fox has in the sophomore drama, however in comparison to Abram’s previous projects, ‘Fringe’ focuses less on mythology and more on individual episodes which should make it easier to follow but less intriguing to the dedicated fans. Another huge Thursday development is the movement of last year’s freshman hit ‘The Mentalist’ to 10/9c following CSI. CBS is grooming it as the next CSI, which I might add has lost a lot of steam since the departure of William Petersen, however the timeslot is somewhat of a bogey one for CBS as nothing has remained there for more than one year.

Thursdays also see the return of ‘Survivor’ for its 19th season, the 6th season of the Office, the 2nd season of ‘Parks and Recreation’ and the debut of critical darling ‘Community’ which all premiere on September 17. For those waiting for ’30 Rock’ it returns on October 15. The biggest premiere to Thursdays is ‘Flash Forward’, which is being promoted by ABC as the new ‘Lost.’  ‘Flash Forward’ looks to be the biggest show to come out of the states since ‘Lost’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’ and it comes with a lot of buzz. Just recently, the directors noted, they will need at least three seasons to complete the arc they have planned. In a nutshell, ‘Flash Forward’ follows the life of an FBI agent who investigates the reason for a mysterious event, which sees everyone blackout for two minutes and seventeen seconds, travelling six months into the future.

The following two Mondays see the return of ‘WTF’ (No, not What The Beep, but Watch This Fall) drama ‘Gossip Girl’ and veteran ‘One Tree Hill’. This fall, Dawn has decided to do a switcheroo with the two, moving her baby ‘Gossip’ to a higher household viewing time and avoiding direction competition with ‘House’. The aforementioned ‘House’ and the trouble ridden ‘Heroes’ both return with two hour premieres on September 21. It has been quite a steep fall for ‘Heroes’, if Kring can’t stop the bleeding, this might be the end of the one season wonder. The following Monday sees NBC launch their new high-octane medical drama ‘Trauma,’ a number of photos/clips for this show have being doing the rounds on the internet, so expect a large initial sampling. ‘Lie to Me’ will occupate the post ‘House’ slot as Fox tries to groom this as a replacement for ‘House’. Over at CBS, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ has been moved to 8/7c providing some lead in support for the dead on arrival ‘Accidently on Purpose’. ‘Two and a Half Men’ remains, but ‘The Big Bang Theory’ moves to the post ‘Men’ slot. ‘Bang’ was trialled in the slot late last year or early this year and maintained close to 100% retention, so look for ‘Bang’ to reach series highs again.

Wednesdays will be interesting for a number of reasons, ABC has a completely new line up with critical darlings ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Cougar Town’ occupying the key 9/8c and 9:30/8:30c timeslots. ‘Cougar Town’ follows Jules (Courtney Cox), a recently divorced single mother exploring honest truths about dating and aging in our beauty and youth obsessed culture, while ‘Modern Family’ explores the complications that come with being in a family in this day and age. The entrees ‘Hank’ and ‘The Middle’ debut the following week. ‘Eastwick’ a cross between ‘Valentine’ and ‘Sex and the City’ also debuts in the same week as ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Cougar Town’, but things don’t look good for the romantic drama.

The landscape for Fridays has completely changed; networks are finally getting aggressive with their programming. There is less reality from the other three networks which might finally give CBS’ combo of Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case and Numb3rs some headaches. Fox kicks off with a comedy hour with waiting to be cancelled ‘’Til Death’ and ‘Brothers’ followed by the ever improving and surprise renewal ‘Dollhouse’ which all premiere on September 25. The CW veteran ‘Smallville’ has been yanked to Thursdays along with the ever fading ‘Ugly Betty’.

Nothing much has changed on Sundays, with ABC’s ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ starting on September 27. Fox has shuffled their line up knocking out the every reliable – ‘King of the Hill’, for Seth McFarland’s new, albeit belated project ‘The Cleveland Show’. ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Family Guy’ and ‘American Dad’ all return for their 21st, 8th and 5th season respectively. ‘The Cleveland Show’s’ pilot has been leaked for a while and it doesn’t look too different to ‘Family Guy’ or ‘American Dad’.

Finally, the biggest news this fall is Jay Leno moving to primetime, which begins daily from September 14, 10/9c. All eyes will be on the ratings for ‘The Jay Leno Show,’ but NBC isn’t expecting much, as long as it remains profitable, NBC will be satisfied. Jay Leno recently said he doesn’t expect his show to beat first run CSI, but hopes to push CSI repeats to the limit. The format of the show is: Leno will begin with a 10 second opening sequence which leads into a monologue. He will have at least one special guest a night and music will come from multiple acts. Jaywalking and newspaper headlines will be held until the end of the show to give News affiliates a strong lead in. Leno also gave us a snippet of the ‘Green Car Challenge’ where you can see, as Leno puts it, “who is faster, Shaquille O’Neal or Cameron Diaz.” There will be pre-recorded segments from D.L Hughley and Rachel Harris.As always, this is will be an interesting fall, with networks trying something different.

I hope everyone enjoys the fall TV season and wish for everyone’s favourite TV show to survive.

Premiere Dates

• ‘90210’ 2nd Season Premiere September 8
• ‘Melrose Place’ Series Premiere September 8
• ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Fall Premiere September 9
• ‘Glee’ Series Premiere September 9
• ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Series Premiere September 10
• ‘Supernatural’ 5th Season Premiere September 10
• ‘One Tree Hill’ 7th Season Premiere September 14
• ‘Gossip Girl’ 3rd Season Premiere September 14
• ‘The Jay Leno Show’ Series Premiere September 14
• ‘The Beautiful Life’ Series Premiere September 16
• ‘Bones’ 5th Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Survivor’ 19th Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Parks and Recreation’ 2nd Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Fringe’ 2nd Season Premiere September 17
• ‘The Office’ 6th Season Premiere September 17
• ‘Community’ Series Premiere September 17
• ‘Heroes’ 4th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘House’ 6th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘How I Met Your Mother’ 5th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘Accidently on Purpose’ Series Premiere September 21
• ‘Two and a Half Men’ 7th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘The Big Bang Theory’ 3rd Season Premiere September 21
• ‘Castle’ 2nd Season Premiere September 21
• ‘CSI: Miami’ 8th Season Premiere September 21
• ‘NCIS’ 7th Season Premiere September 22
• ‘The Goode Wife’ Series Premiere September 22
• ‘The Forgotten Series’ Premiere September 22
• ‘Mercy’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Criminal Minds’ 5th Season Premiere September 23
• ‘Modern Family’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Cougar Town’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Eastwick’ Series Premiere September 23
• ‘Flash Forward’ Series Premiere September 24
• ‘The Mentalist’ 2nd Season Premiere September 24
• ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ 6th Season Premiere September 24
• ‘Brothers’ Series Premiere September 25
• ‘Smallville’ 9th Season Premiere September 25
• ‘Dollhouse’ 2nd Season Premiere September 25
• ‘The Amazing Race’ 15th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘The Simpsons’ 21st Season Premiere September 27
• ‘The Cleveland Show’ Series Premiere September 27
• ‘Desperate Housewives’ 6th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Brothers and Sisters’ 4th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Family Guy’ 8th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘American Dad’ 5th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Lie to Me’ 2nd Season Premiere September 28
• ‘Trauma’ Series Premiere September 28
• ‘Hank’ Series Premiere September 30
• ‘The Middle’ Series Premiere September 30
• ‘Private Practice’ 3rd Season Premiere October 1
• ‘Ugly Betty’ 4th Season Premiere October 9
• ‘30 Rock’ 4th Season Premiere October 15
• ‘V’ Series Premiere November 3
• Cable Premiere Dates
• ‘Dexter’ 4th Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Californication’ 3rd Season Premiere September 27
• ‘Stargate Universe’ Series Premiere October 2
• ‘Sanctuary’ 2nd Season Premiere October 9

The CW have announced their fall premiere dates, beginning Tuesday, September 8 with the season premiere of ‘90210′ and the series premiere of ‘Melrose Place’.

The fall premiere dates are as follows:

Tuesday, September 8
8:00-9:00 p.m. 90210 (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Melrose Place (Series Premiere)

Wednesday, September 9
8:00-10:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model (2-Hour Season Premiere)

Thursday, September 10
8:00-9:00 p.m. The Vampire Diaires (Series Premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Supernatural (Season Premiere)

Monday, September 14
8:00-9:00 p.m. One Tree Hill (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Gossip Girl (Season Premiere)

Wednesday, September 16
8:00-9:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model
9:00-10:00 p.m. The Beautiful Life (Series Premiere)

Friday, September 25
8:00-9:00 p.m. Smallville (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. America’s Next Top Model (Encore Episodes)

The CW today revealed their plans for next season with their 2009 fall schedule.

Their focus will now shift to a more female orientated strategy much like their predecessor The WB, unlike the African-American focus of UPN which is no more after the official axing of ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ and ‘The Game’.

Next season also marks the official closure on comedy programs for the network, instead they will focus exclusively on one-hour series and scripted dramas.

As previously announced, ‘Melrose Place’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘The Beautiful Life’ were all picked up to series, in addition to ‘Parental Discretion Advised’ (formally know as ‘Light Years’) for midseason.

Like in their heyday on FOX, ‘90210′ and ‘Melrose’ re-team once again on Tuesday nights for The CW, ’America’s Next Top Model’ forms an suitable running mate for Ashton Kutcher’s model industry drama ‘The Beautiful Life’ and Thursday nights become the new night for all things scary with the double up of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Vampire Diaries’.

THE CW’s 2009-2010 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM GOSSIP GIRL
9:00-10:00 PM ONE TREE HILL

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM 90210
9:00-10:00 PM MELROSE PLACE (New Series)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
9:00-10:00 PM THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (New Series)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (New Series)
9:00-10:00 PM SUPERNATURAL

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM SMALLVILLE (New night)

For more upfront announcements from The CW, visit our special coverage section.

THE CW ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR 2009-2010 SEASON

A NEW SEASON OF TV TO TALK ABOUT LAUNCHES IN THE FALL WITH RETURNING HITS “GOSSIP GIRL,” “90210″ AND “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL,” ALONG WITH HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW SERIES “MELROSE PLACE,” “THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE” AND “THE VAMPIRE DIARIES”

Monday Night Stays Strong with Winning Team of Hit Dramas “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill”

Tuesday Night: “90210″ Returns for a Second Season in The Zip, Followed By New Updated Version of Iconic Drama “Melrose Place”

On Wednesdays, “America’s Next Top Model” Leads Into New Fashion-Fueled Drama “The Beautiful Life” From Producer Ashton Kutcher

New Drama “The Vampire Diaries” From Producers Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek”) and Julie Plec (“Kyle XY”) Teams with “Supernatural” For a Spine-Tingling Thursday Lineup

Fan-Favorite “Smallville” Moves to Friday Night, Followed by an Encore of “America’s Next Top Model”

New Drama Premieres Midseason: “Parental Discretion Advised”

May 21, 2009 (New York, New York) – The CW Network unveiled the schedule for its 2009-2010 season today at a presentation for advertisers, affiliates and national media in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The announcement was made by Dawn Ostroff, President of Entertainment, The CW.

“In just three years, The CW has become TV to talk about, with culturally current, quality programming,” said Ostroff. “Next fall, we will have great flow from Monday through Friday, starting with the Monday pairing of Gossip Girl’ and One Tree Hill,’ which made The CW one of the top destinations for young women this season. Tuesday night gives us a perfect match with 90210′ and Melrose Place.’ And what could be better than our Wednesday night shows from Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher the all-model lineup of America’s Next Top Model’ and The Beautiful Life.’ On Thursdays, The Vampire Diaries’ taps into the continuing fascination young women have with all things vampire, and makes the perfect lead-in for Supernatural,’ which is coming off its strongest year ever. Moving Smallville’ to Fridays gives us a major player with a loyal fan base to kick off the night. Top all that off with our heartwarming and humorous midseason drama Parental Discretion Advised,’ from writer/producer Liz Tigelaar, and we have a full slate of great programming to keep our viewers watching, chatting, texting and tweeting all next season.”

On Monday, the powerhouse combination of GOSSIP GIRL and ONE TREE HILL will remain in place. Last fall, this winning team made The CW the Number One network with women, and sent Monday night ratings up 118 percent in women 18-34. GOSSIP GIRL, which continues to be one of the most talked-about shows on television, will return to its 8:00-9:00 p.m. slot, followed by ONE TREE HILL from 9:00-10:00 p.m.

On Tuesday, 90210 returns for its sophomore season in the 8:00-9:00 p.m. timeslot. Last season, 90210 gave The CW its highest-rated series premiere ever and improved the 8:00 p.m. time period by 35 percent in women 18-34. The highly anticipated, updated version of the 1990s monster-hit drama MELROSE PLACE will premiere in the 9:00-10:00 p.m. timeslot. The new MELROSE PLACE features a dynamic ensemble of up-and-coming stars, along with two original cast members reprising the roles they made famous: Laura Leighton as Sydney Andrews and Thomas Calabro as Dr. Michael Mancini. MELROSE PLACE promises to deliver all the backstabbing and sizzle of the original series. And, as they did once before, 90210 and MELROSE PLACE will combine for a great night of television.

On Wednesday, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL returns in its successful 8:00-9:00 p.m. timeslot, followed by the glamorous new drama THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE. Last season, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL ranked second in its time period with young women. Tyra Banks is one of the few women who is seen regularly on both daytime and primetime television. Beginning this fall, The CW’s daytime block will feature two hours of THE TYRA BANKS SHOW, with an encore episode from 3:00-4:00 p.m. and an original episode from 4:00-5:00 p.m. AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and THE TYRA BANKS SHOW provide perfect symmetry and a natural fit for The CW brand by targeting the same audience in both primetime and daytime.

New drama THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE joins TOP MODEL on Wednesdays. From producers Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg, Karey Burke, Mike Kelley and Carol Barbee, the fashion-based series gives viewers an exciting, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the cutthroat world of a group of young, beautiful and very sexy models living together in a models’ residence in New York City. The show features a stunning ensemble cast, featuring Sara Paxton (“Last House on the Left”), Mischa Barton (“The O.C.”) and supermodel Elle Macpherson (“Friends”). Together, AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL and THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE will be television’s most fashionable night.

Thursdays go Goth with the new teaming of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES from 8:00-9:00 p.m., followed by SUPERNATURAL in the 9:00-10:00 p.m. hour. Based on the best-selling series of books, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is the story of two vampire brothers obsessed with the same beautiful girl, and battling to control the fate of an entire town. Starring Nina Dobrev (“DeGrassi: The Next Generation”), Paul Wesley (“Mad Men”), Ian Somerhalder (“Lost”) and Steven R. McQueen (“Everwood”), THE VAMPIRE DIARIES makes the perfect new lead-in to SUPERNATURAL. Last season, SUPERNATURAL’s Winchester brothers gave the network ratings growth across key young demos, despite the highly competitive timeslot.

Big changes are in store on Fridays when SMALLVILLE relocates to the 8:00-9:00 p.m. hour, bringing young viewers from Thursday into Friday nights. With non-stop action and classic DC Comics characters from Lois Lane to Doomsday, SMALLVILLE continues to give loyal viewers the stories and characters they love.

The heartwarming and humorous drama PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED will premiere midseason. From writer/producer Liz Tigelaar, (“Brothers and Sisters”), PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED is the story of a young girl who finds her biological parents and how that discovery changes all their lives. The show stars Britt Robertson (“Swingtown”), Kristoffer Polaha (“Mad Men”), Shiri Appleby (“E.R.”) and Kerr Smith (“Eli Stone”).

Following is The CW’s 2009-2010 primetime schedule, a night-by-night breakdown and accompanying details on all the programs.

THE CW’s 2009-2010 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM GOSSIP GIRL

9:00-10:00 PM ONE TREE HILL

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM 90210

9:00-10:00 PM MELROSE PLACE (New Series)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL

9:00-10:00 PM THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (New Series)

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (New Series)

9:00-10:00 PM SUPERNATURAL

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM SMALLVILLE (New night)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 P.M. “GOSSIP GIRL”

Returning for its third season, GOSSIP GIRL is a one-hour drama based on an exclusive group of privileged teens on Manhattan’s Upper East Side whose lives revolve around the blog of the all-knowing albeit ultra-secretive Gossip Girl. No one knows Gossip Girl’s identity, but everyone in this exclusive and complicated vicious circle relies on her website and text messages for the latest scoop. The series stars Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen, Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf, Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey, Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald, Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey, Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass, Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams, Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen and Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey. Filmed in New York and based on the popular series of young-adult novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, GOSSIP GIRL is from Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Josh Schwartz (“Chuck,” “The O.C.”), Stephanie Savage (“The O.C.”), Bob Levy (“Privileged”), Leslie Morgenstein (“Privileged”), John Stephens (“Gilmore Girls,” “The O.C.”), and co-executive producer Joshua Safran.

9:00-10:00 P.M. “ONE TREE HILL”

In season seven of ONE TREE HILL our beloved characters learn the struggle to live an exceptional life doesn’t end once you’ve achieved your dreams. Whether they found true love, answered a call to greatness, or sought redemption for sins of the past, nothing that’s come before compares to the challenges our characters now face to keep their dreams alive, their friendships intact and their lives full in the place they call home. ONE TREE HILL was created by Mark Schwahn and is executive produced by Schwahn, Joe Davola, Greg Prange, Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins. ONE TREE HILL is a Mastermind Laboratories and Tollin/Robbins Production in association with Warner Bros. Television.

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 P.M. “90210″

The second season of “90210″ focuses on the West Beverly group as they begin their all-important Junior year. They’ll go through all the ordinary teenage struggles and triumphs crushes, sexual discovery, academic pressure, evolving friendships, shunning and isolation, love and relationships, family issues, SATs, STDs, a desire to fit in, a desire to stand out, fear and humiliation, joy and exultation but they’ll do so in the extraordinary world of LA a world of movie stars and overnight success, glamour and glitz, surfing and sunshine; a city where the American dream is writ large in the Hills and yet failure could come around any corner of the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. We’ll follow Naomi, the well-meaning, but delightfully narcissistic rich girl with a heart of cubic zirconium; Adrianna, the gifted, artistic drama queen whose personal life is as dramatic as any role she could hope to play; Silver, the outspoken free spirit who marches to the beat of her own drum machine; Annie, the good girl from Kansas who has gotten a bit lost in the land of Oz; Dixon, her charming, good-natured brother who adapts easily to any challenging situation and yet is still struggling to find his own voice; Navid, whose geeky charm makes all the Blaze girls swoon; and Liam, the troubled New York transplant who abhors the decadent materialistic world of Beverly Hills. These stories could only happen in LA…and only on “90210.” The series stars Rob Estes as Harry Wilson, Lori Loughlin as Debbie Wilson, Shenae Grimes as Annie Wilson, Tristan Wilds as Dixon Wilson, AnnaLynne McCord as Naomi Clark, Ryan Eggold as Ryan Matthews, Jessica Stroup as Silver, Michael Steger as Navid Shirazi, Jessica Lowndes as Adrianna Tate-Duncan and Matt Lanter as Liam Court. 90210 is produced by CBS Television Studios with executive producer Rebecca Sinclair.

9:00-10:00 P.M. “MELROSE PLACE” (New Series)

In an elegant Spanish-style apartment building in the trendy Melrose neighborhood of Los Angeles, a diverse group of 20-somethings have formed a close-knit surrogate family. Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton, the original “Melrose Place”) is the landlady, still beautiful at 40, and a central figure in the lives of all her tenants, especially handsome and rebellious David Breck (Shaun Sipos, “Shark”). Sydney started an affair with David despite her turbulent history with his estranged father, Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro, the original “Melrose Place”). Both father and son learned through experience that Sydney was not above using blackmail to control people. Another tenant, high-powered publicist Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy, “Supernatural”), once considered Sydney her mentor, but their friendship was destroyed by betrayal, and Sydney threatened to evict Ella and ruin her career. Sydney also played a pivotal role in the career of Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield, “All My Children”). After they met at an AA meeting, she became Auggie’s sponsor and encouraged his dream to become a chef. Now a successful sous chef at the trendy restaurant Coal, Auggie has been avoiding Sydney since she began drinking again. The other tenants include Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), a medical student in desperate need of money to pay her student loans, and Jonah Miller (Michael Rady, “Swingtown”), an aspiring filmmaker who has just proposed to his live-in girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas, “Cloverfield”), a first-grade teacher. The newest tenant, 18-year-old Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, “7th Heaven”), has just arrived in LA with her own secret connection to Sydney. When a bloody body is found floating in the courtyard pool, David is the leading suspect. However, as the police are soon to discover, almost everyone living at Melrose Place had a reason to want the deceased out of the way. An updated version of the popular 1990s series, MELROSE PLACE is from CBS Television Studios with executive producers Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer (“Smallville”). Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) is the director and executive producer of the pilot.

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 P.M. “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL”

Returning with its thirteenth and fourteenth cycles, the runaway runway hit series stars Tyra Banks. The show gives real people an opportunity to prove that they can make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of supermodeling. With mentoring by Tyra Banks and exposure to high-profile fashion-industry gurus, young women of various backgrounds, shapes and sizes must endure a highly accelerated modeling boot camp and face weekly tests to determine who will make the cut as they vie for a professional modeling contract. The executive producers are Ken Mok (“Making the Band”), Tyra Banks and Daniel Soiseth (“Hell’s Kitchen”). The reality series was created by Tyra Banks and developed by Mok and Kenya Barris. AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL is produced by 10 by 10 Entertainment in association with Bankable Productions.

9:00-10:00 P.M. “THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE” (New Series)

The life of a high-fashion model appears glamorous and sexy, but as every new model quickly learns, behind the beautiful faade is a world of insecurity and cutthroat competition. Two teenage models who are about to discover this world for themselves are Raina Collins (Sara Paxton, “Last House on the Left”), a stunning beauty with a secret past, and Chris Andrews (Benjamin Hollingsworth, “The Line”), a strikingly handsome Iowa farm boy. When Raina makes an unforgettable impression at a show introducing the new line from designer Zac Posen (appearing in a cameo role), she steals the spotlight from her friend Sonja (Mischa Barton, “The O.C.”). Sonja has been out of the country for mysterious reasons and is now desperate to reclaim her standing as the reigning supermodel. While Raina and Sonja live at the top of the fashion food chain, Chris is starting at the bottom, having just been discovered by agent Simon Lockridge (newcomer Dusan Dukic) of the Covet Modeling Agency, which is owned by former supermodel Claudia Foster (Elle Macpherson, “Friends”). At his first photo shoot, Chris’ inexperience almost derails his career until Raina comes to his rescue, showing him how to relax and work the camera. That afternoon, Raina brings Chris to the “models’ residence” where she lives along with other young hopefuls, including Marissa Delfina (Ashley Madekwe, “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”), Egan (Jordan Woolley, “As The World Turns”), Issac (Corbin Bleu, “High School Musical 2″) and the current alpha-male-model known as Kai (Nico Tortorella, “Twelve”). At an exclusive industry party that night, Chris is again impressed by Raina’s generosity when she steps aside to make sure Sonja lands a job that will resurrect her career. However, after an ugly scene with Simon, Chris is left to question whether he can survive in this world of dangerous excess and fleeting fame. THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE is from Katalyst Films in association with CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television with executive producers Ashton Kutcher & Jason Goldberg (“True Beauty,” “Punk’d”), Karey Burke (“True Beauty”), Mike Kelley (“Swingtown,” “Jericho”) and Carol Barbee (“Swingtown,” “Jericho”). Christian Duguay (“Coco Chanel”) directed the pilot.

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 P.M. “THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” (New Series)

Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, 17-year-old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev, “DeGrassi: The Next Generation”) and her 15-year-old brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, “Everwood”) are still trying to cope with their grief and move on with their lives. Elena has always been the star student; beautiful, popular and involved with school and friends, but now she finds herself struggling to hide her sadness from the world. As the school year begins, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a handsome and mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley, “Army Wives”). Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to one another, and Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder, “Lost”) is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality. Now these two vampire brothers – one good, one evil – are at war for Elena’s soul and for the souls of her friends, family and all the residents of the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is from Alloy Entertainment and Bonanza Productions Inc in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer”), Julie Plec (“Kyle XY,” “Wasteland”), Leslie Morgenstein (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”) and Bob Levy (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”). Marcos Siega (“Dexter”) directed the pilot.

9:00-10:00 P.M “SUPERNATURAL”

Returning for its fifth season, this haunting series follows Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers bound by tragedy and blood to their dangerous, other-worldly mission. This past season, Dean was rescued from Hell by the angel Castiel, who told Dean he was meant to avert the impending Apocalypse, as well as Lucifer rising from Hell. As the brothers were caught up in the epic battle between angels and demons, Sam and Dean found their relationship was strained almost to the breaking point until ultimately, both brothers were betrayed. Now, in season five, they must battle the Devil himself. The series stars Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester and Misha Collins as Castiel). SUPERNATURAL is from Warner Bros. Television in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision, with executive producers McG (“Charlie’s Angels,” “The O.C.”), Eric Kripke (“Boogeyman”) and Robert Singer (“Midnight Caller”).

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 P.M. “SMALLVILLE”

Returning for its ninth season, last season SMALLVILLE was filled with twists and surprises, starting with the disappearance of Lex Luthor. However, someone quickly arrived to take his place the enticing Tess Mercer. As Tess maneuvered her way through town, she flirted with her old flame Oliver Queen, discovered Clark’s true identity and unleashed a new world of danger. As if that hurdle wasn’t enough for Clark, he also met his greatest match Doomsday. SMALLVILLE explored the origins of Doomsday, revealing a sympathetic guy named Davis Bloome, who battled an inner demon the Doomsday character fans have loved to hate for years. When Clark wasn’t busy battling the beast, he was knee-deep in work at the Daily Planet. Last season threw Clark and Lois Lane together literally across the desk from each other. As Clark’s persona as the cub Planet reporter emerged, so did his feelings for Lois, the fated love of his life. The series stars Tom Welling as Clark Kent, Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan, Erica Durance as Lois Lane, Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen and Cassidy Freeman as Tess Mercer. Reinterpreting the Superman mythology from its roots, SMALLVILLE was developed for television by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (“Shanghai Noon,” “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”), based on the DC Comics characters. Copy/pasted from Futon Critic Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson serve as executive producers, along with James Marshall, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins and Joe Davola. The series is produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television. SUPERMAN was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

9:00-10:00 P.M. “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL” (Encore Presentation).

MIDSEASON

“PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED” (New Series)

After spending all of her 15 years bouncing from one foster family to another in Portland, Oregon, Lux (Britt Robertson, “Swingtown”) has decided it’s time to take control of her life and become an emancipated minor. Her journey through the legal maze leads Lux to her biological father, 30-something Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha, “Mad Men”), who owns a bar, lives like an aging frat-boy with two slacker roommates, and is astonished to learn that he has a teenage daughter. Lux is equally astonished when Baze reveals that her mother is Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby, “E.R.”), a star on the local “Morning Madness” radio show, along with her on-air partner and real-life boyfriend, Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith, “Eli Stone”). Lux has been listening to Cate’s voice on the radio as long as she can remember, so she feels an instant connection with the mom she’s never met. Baze takes Lux to meet Cate, who is shocked and saddened to learn that Lux has grown up in foster care, but thrilled to finally meet her beautiful daughter. When a judge decides that Lux isn’t ready for emancipation and unexpectedly grants temporary joint custody to Baze and Cate, they agree to try to get past the awkwardness and make a belated attempt to give Lux the family she deserves. PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED is produced by Mojo Films in association with CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television with executive producers Liz Tigelaar (“Brothers and Sisters,” “What About Brian”) and Gary Fleder (“October Road”). Gary Fleder directed the pilot.

Lucy Hale as Rose Baker in 'Privileged'.

As the CBS and CW upfronts draw closer, both networks have started making official announcements of cancellations and early pick ups.

On the CBS front is the cancellations of ‘Eleventh Hour’ and the long running crime drama ’Without a Trace’ which starred Australia’s Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery.

Over at the CW the cancellations are equally as devastating, including ‘Reaper’, ‘The Game’, ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ and the worst news of all ‘Privileged’.

Despite much talk about ‘Privileged’ returning as a midseason replacement, The CW’s strong development plate left little room for a number of bubble series on the green network.

“It’s truly heartbreaking,” said ‘Privileged’ series creator Rina Mimoun. “I’m so grateful to everyone out there who supported our little show and fell in love with Megan Smith. She was the most delightful character I’ve ever had the pleasure to write and watching JoAnna Garcia bring her to life every day was a gift I will never forget. I’m incredibly proud of the work we did and forever indebted to all the fans, critics and to Warner Bros. for being so wonderful and supportive. I will miss this more than you know.”

So long ‘Privileged’, we hardly knew you.

On a lighter note, CBS have renewed ’Numb3ers’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘Gary Unmarried’, ‘Rules of Engagement’, and ‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’.

The CW have officially picked up ‘Melrose Place’, ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘The Beautiful Life’ for next season.

Stay tuned for more announcements from the CBS and CW upfronts over the next two days.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

For those who have given up all hope on a renewal for ‘Reaper’, here’s a little rumour to re-ignite your fire.

Sources say that ABC Studios is in talks with The CW affiliate stations to continue ‘Reaper’ next season as a syndicated series on Sunday nights.

While the show has failed to make a major mark on viewers this season, CW affiliate stations are said to be big fans of the show.

Since the series returned as a midseason replacement, ‘Reaper’ has been averaging a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demo, coming in as the lowest-rated drama on The CW. However, these figures still trump what the network was scoring on Sunday nights during it’s short partnership with Media Rights Capital.

Now that The CW have dropped Sunday nights from their schedule, the prime-time programming block has reverted back to their local affiliates. This move is what has said to have triggered the preliminary discussions between ABC Studios and the affiliates.

Sources also say that ABC Studios are exploring a possible move to cable.

While both scenarios are considered a longshot, it does give us a little bit of hope in something we thought was all but dead.

According to Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, ‘Melrose Place’ looks like a lock for next season on The CW, while the much talked about ‘Gossip Girl’ spin-off is dead.

The CW's 'Gossip Girl' spin-off is dead.

‘Melrose Place’ (CBS-Paramount) rebooted is a lock. The show is already hiring.

‘The Beautiful Life’ (CBS-Paramount/Katalyst Films) looks very good to be picked up since The CW likes its relationship with Ashton Kutcher and this is a drama about models starring young and old babes like Mischa Barton and Elle McPherson. “It’s sexy and very Dawn Ostroff,” one source tells me.

‘Vampire Diaries’ (Warner Bros/Alloy Entertainment) is next in line with the most heat. It’s a drama based on the series of books about vampire brothers and their girlfriend. “It screened very well the other day.”

‘Gossip Girl’ spin-off (Warner Bros/CBS-Paramount/Alloy Entertainment): As I reported at 2:45 PM today, put a fork in it. It’s done. Next Monday’s episode of ‘Gossip Girl’ is a flashback that was supposed to be a tempting taste for next fall’s spinoff following the wild teen years of now mom Lily van der Woodsen (played by Brittany Snow) in Los Angeles in the 1980s. But even though I heard Peter Roth loved its yesteryear vibe, the show went from hot, to lukewarm, to “fading but wouldn’t count out”, to now dead, according to my insiders. I’m really surprised.

With prospects for the ‘Gossip’ spin-off fading, things are suddenly looking much brighter for our favourite underrated drama ‘Privileged’. Go team Baker! Woo! (Shout out to Megan)

Source: Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily via TV Tonight

The cast of The CW's 'Privileged'.

E! Online are back again this year with the “Save One Show” campaign.

Here’s why E! thinks you should save Chuck.

Since its second season premiere, ‘Chuck’ has progressively dropped in the ratings each week. Going up against heavy hitters like Dancing With the Stars and House probably hasn’t helped Chuck’s mission (Chuck vs. the Audience), but the show has a devoted fan base, near-universal critical acclaim and the amazing Zachary Levi. As far as getting that coveted third-season pickup, NBC is holding out on us until upfronts, so this show needs a major show of support, pronto.

And here’s why they think you should help save ‘Privileged’.

CW sources assure me that this show is very definitely in danger. This season was already cut down to the bone (with just 18 hours this season, instead of the typical 22), but there’s still much more Palm Beach glamour to come if it gets a pickup! Show runner Rina Mimoun tells us exclusively, “Who wants to see Joanna Garcia wrangle her way out of bed with the hot British boy before Will shows up at the house? Who wants to see more adorable Rose and Sage getting into millionaire mischief? Brian Hallisay and Robert Buckley are at the gym this second trying to win the ‘whose abs are more shredded’ contest. Don’t you want to be the judge of that?” Well, don’t you?!

Vote on which show you’d most like to save on E! Online. Other shows up for the vote include ‘Cold Case’, ‘Dollhouse’, ‘Everybody Hates Chris’, ‘The Game’, ‘Kings’, ‘Lie to Me’, ‘Life’, ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’, ‘The Unit’, ‘Without a Trace’ and ‘Worst Week’.

Laura Leighton will reprise her role as Sydney Andrews on the CW's reboot of 'Melrose Place'.

Just like The CW’s reboot of ‘90210′, the upcoming drama pilot for ‘Melrose Place’ will see some old faces return.

Laura Leighton, who played the irresponsible and scheming Sydney Andrews, one of the most popular characters on the original ‘Melrose Place’, will reprise her role on the new CW pilot.

Her character was almost killed in the season finale of the show’s fifth season when Sydney was run over by a car on her wedding day in a near-fatal accident.

The dramatic season finale was Leighton’s last episode on the original FOX series as her character was presumed dead.

While the script for the new ‘Melrose’ is a tightly guarded secret, sources say she will be the landlord to the new group of tenants.

It is still unclear at this stage whether or not any other original cast members will be returning to the new ‘Melrose’.

Meanwhile, newcomer Shaun Sipos (‘Shark’), has landed the last series regular role on the CW reboot.

Sipos will play David Patterson, the son of Jake Hansen, played by Grant Show on the original.

His character has been described as bad boy with smoldering good looks who grew up as a rich kid but has been cut off from his family money.

Leighton and Sipos join previously cast Michael Rady, Jessica Lucas, Katie Cassidy, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Colin Egglesfield and Stephanie Jacobson.

Dustin Milligan won't be back next season on '90210'.

Entertainment Weekly is today reporting that ‘90210′ will be getting a bit of a shake up next season, with teen drama’s new boss, Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair, telling EW that the soap’s second season would be “significantly” different than the first.

Sources confirm that Dustin Milligan, who plays Ethan on The CW drama, won’t be returning to the show when it begins it’s second season in the fall. Though the source adds that the door is being left open for the actor to briefly appear to wrap up Ethan’s story.

Milligan’s exit from the show appears to be a creative decision. “Everyone loves Dustin,” says EW’s insider source. “There was just a feeling that the character had run its course.”

Meanwhile Matt Lanter, who appeared as bad boy, Liam, last month, has been confirmed as a series regular next season.

‘90210′ returns from it’s mid-season hiatus this week, with upcoming episodes marking the first eps with Sinclair in charge. So expect to see a few changes around Beverly Hills.

As previously reported, Sinclair last month told EW that she wanted to “reconceive things visually. There are opportunities to embrace California culture visually in terms of fashion and style; I want it to be more contemporary.”

“If Gossip Girl is about youth in New York, I want to [make '90210'] about youth in L.A. and Beverly Hills.”

The showrunner also plans to rely less on the original ‘90210′ stars to boost ratings, meaning Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty’s guest spots may be coming to a halt. Though not before Tori Spelling drops by at the end of this season.

So will all these changes be for the better? I guess we’ll have to wait and see, when ‘90210′ returns Tuesday night on The CW.

Brittany Snow (as the young Lily van der Woodsen) and Andrew McCarthy on The CW's 'Gossip Girl'.

Tori Spelling reprises her role as Donna Martin on '90210', returning April 14th on The CW.

Tori Spelling, Jessica Stroup, Jennie Garth and guest Diablo Cody on the set of The CW's '90210'.

Photos: Michael Desmond/The CW (Source Entertainment Weekly)

Gabrielle Union and Brian Austin Green

The cast of The CW’s drama pilot ‘The Body Politic’ continues to build.

A week ago, it was reported ‘Friday Night Lights’ star Minka Kelly landed the lead role with Jason Dohring (‘Moonlight’) playing second fiddle. Now, in the space of two days, The CW has picked up another two big guns in Gabrielle Union (‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Life’) and Brian Austin Green (‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’).

The series, if green lit, will follow the life of young government staffers in the capital. Kelly will play a woman from Michigan who after her mother’s death takes a job on the staff of her estranged dad (Tim Matheson), a senator who’s just been appointed Attorney General. Dohring is set to play a reporter.

More casting news has broken on upcoming CW pilots ‘Melrose Place’ and ‘The Beautiful Life’.

‘Cloverfield’ and ‘Life As We Know It’ star, Jessica Lucas, has landed a lead on the reboot of ‘Melrose Place’.

She will play ‘Melrose’ resident Riley Richmond, a wealthy and beautiful 24-year-old who works as an inner-city elementary school teacher.

Lucas joins previously cast Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Katie Cassidy and Michael Rady. She was last seen on fellow CW drama ‘90210′.

Over at Ashton Kutcher’s CW pilot, ‘The Beautiful Life’, there have been a number of casting announcments over the past week, with Aussie supermodel Elle Macpherson making her return to acting.

She’ll will play Claudia, the owner of Focus Models, the top modeling agency in New York in which the series is set.

Macpherson joins Sara Paxton, Ben Hollingsworth, Ashley Madekwe and Nico Tortorella who have also landed lead roles in the pilot.

Both series will be produced by CBS Paramount for The CW.

Mischa Barton at Burberry and GQ Celebrate Burberry The Beat For Men In Los Angeles.

It was reported the other week that Misha Barton was hoping to score a gig on The CW’s ‘Melrose Place’, but it looks like those plans have fallen though.

It now seems that Barton is being tapped for another CW pilot, ‘The Beautiful Life’, the Ashton Kutcher drama series about a group of models living in New York.

Barton will play Sonja, a supermodel and veteran of the high-fashion circuit who is struggling to keep on top and is in danger of slipping.

‘The Beautiful Life’ will be produced by CBS Paramount Network Television and Katalyst Films for The CW.

Multiple sources are today citing that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is joining the cast of ‘Melrose Place’.

It will be the actress/singer’s first major gig since her breakthrough role on The WB’s ‘7th Heaven’ seven years ago.

In the new ‘Melrose’, Simpson-Wentz will play Melrose Place’s newest resident, Violet, a bright-eyed but shrewd small-town girl and recent L.A. transplant who has come to town with a secret.

Simpson-Wentz joins Michael Rady and Katie Cassidy who’ve also been cast in the ‘Melrose’ update.

The pilot will be produced by CBS Paramount Network Television for The CW.

‘Lipstick Jungle’ is starting to looking deader than dead.

Another actor from the NBC drama has signed on to another potential fall season series with Andrew McCarthy joining the CW’s ‘Gossip Girl’ spin-off pilot.

McCarthy will play Rick Rodes, a music company exec and father of the young Lily Van Der Woodsen.

McCarthy joins Brittany Snow who’ll play Lily, and Krysten Ritter as her sister Carol Rodes.

‘Sex and the City’ producer Darren Star will re-team with HBO after signing a new two-year first-look deal with the cable network.

Under the two-year deal, he’ll develop a new series for the network (his first solo project in over a decade) and help foster in a number of new comedy and drama projects from other writers.

“They say you can never go home again, but with this deal at HBO, I feel I am,” Star said. “I can say from my fortunate experience that there is nothing in the world quite like having a series on HBO.”

In addition to the his Emmy-winning ‘Sex and the City’, which has since spun off into a box office hit, Star is also seeing success wit his 90’s dramas ‘90210′ and ‘Melrose Place’ seeing rebirth on The CW.

Star’s most recent television series ‘Cashmere Mafia’, based at Sony Pictures Television, only lasted seven episodes on ABC.

According to a few insiders, Mischa Barton (aka Marissa from ‘The O.C.’) is auditioning for a role on The CW’s ‘Melrose Place’ remake.

This comes as no surprise to us as Barton rejected the role of Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg) on ‘Gossip Girl’ last season, citing it as “too teenish” for her.

So perhaps the older skewed ‘Melrose’ will be a better fit for the young actress.

If she does score a gig, she will work alongside Michael Rady and Katie Cassidy who were recently cast in the CW drama project.

Oh by the way, is anyone else excited about some of The CW’s shows this fall, ‘Melrose Place’ 2.0 and the “Twilight” wannabe ‘Vampire Diaries’?

Clockwise: Katie Cassidy, Steven R. McQueen and Michael Rady

The daughter of David Cassidy, Katie Cassidy (Supernatural), has been cast in The CW’s new Melrose Place, while grandson of Steve McQueen, Steven R. McQueen (Everwood), has landed a role in another CW pilot, Vampire Diaries.

The reboot of Melrose Place, set to be directed by David Guggenheim, will star Cassidy, as the sexy and stylish Ella Flynn, an up-and-coming publicist with a big career ahead of her.

She’ll join Michael Rady (“Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants”), who has been cast as aspiring filmmaker, Jonah Miller.

Vampire Diaries, is based on Alloy Entertainment’s (Gossip Girl, Privileged) series of books of the same name.

It centers on Elena, a tragic young heroine who is torn between two vampire brothers – one good, one evil – who are fighting for her soul and for the souls of her friends, family and other residents of the small town in which she resides. McQueen will play Jeremy, Elena’s younger brother.

Vampire Diaries will be helmed by “Scream” and Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson.

Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair - Former 'Gilmore Girls' scribe, is set to take '90210' into the future.

Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair is set to take over the reins of The CW’s 90210. The producer/scribe has inked a new seven-figure deal with CBS Paramount, to helm the high school drama for the 2010-11 season.

This new deal will most likely see current head honchos Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah step down at the end of this season.

Sinclair boarded the 90210 school bus as an executive producer September last year, and has been credited with helping the new 90210 find its feet.

But Sinclair admits her early experience on the teen series was rocky, ”I felt the show was confused and too cynical for me.”

Brittany Snow did the 60's in 'American Dreams,' but is she ready for the 80's?

According to multiple sources, Brittany Snow (American Dreams,  ”Hairspray”) is in final negotiations to join the Gossip Girl spin-off, which chronicles Gossip’s Lily Van Der Woodesen (played by Kelly Rutherford) in Los Angeles during the 80’s.

Shilo Fernandez (Jericho) and Krysten Ritter (Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, “Confessions of a Shopoholic”) have also been cast.

The spin-off follows then-Lily Rhodes (Snow), who moves to Los Angeles, after a falling-out with her parents. She moves in with her sister, Carol (Ritter), who’s considered the black sheep of the family.

Overnight, Lily has to transition from a life of luxury and education at a wealthy Montecito boarding school to living deep in the San Fernando Valley she once made fun of and going to public school. Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the ’80s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own.

Fernandez will play Owen, a hot Valley punk guy with a caustic wit.

The backdoor pilot  will air May 11 as an episode of Gossip Girl on The CW and is considered a shoe-in for next season.

Update: It’s official. Brittany Snow is in.

The CW have ordered a pilot for The Beautiful Life, the Ashton Kutcher produced drama based on young models living in New York.

The CBS Paramount and Katalyst drama, centers on Christopher, a likable, hard-working 22-year-old with “catalog model” potential, and Raina, a savvy, grounded 15-year-old destined to become the next Heidi Klum.

The pilot was written by Adam Giaudrone, based on his own experience as a former model. Swingtown creator Mike Kelley and showrunner Carol Barbee will exec produce, alongside Kutcher and Karey Burke.

Clockwise: Tom Welling, Leighton Meester, Jensen Ackles and Anna Lynne McCord.

Smallville, Supernatural, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and 90210 have all received early renewals for next season by The CW. America’s Next Top Model has also been given two additional cycles.

“As we continue to build The CW Network as a destination for young women, these six shows have clearly contributed to strengthening our schedule and our brand identity,” CW boss Dawn Ostroff said in a statement.

“By securing these signature hits for next season, we’re furthering our commitment to deliver high-quality, original programming to our viewers, advertisers and affiliates.”

The renewals of Gossip Girl and America’s Next Top Model were pretty much in the bag from day one, however the futures of Smallville, Supernatural, One Tree Hill, and 90210 were less certain.

According to Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello, Smallville and One Tree Hill we’re both riding on which core cast-members would be returning.

“Smallville’s renewal clearly signals that Tom Welling has successfully concluded his contract negotiations with producer Warner Bros., but the same can’t be said for One Tree Hill leading man Chad Michael Murray. The actor-writer’s participation next season is TBD, although insiders say he’s expected to return in some capacity.”

One show which seems to be missing from the pack is Privileged. What’s the deal CW? Doesn’t this freshman dramedy fit your teen-skewed mould? Let’s hope it gets a renewal sooner than later.

In other CW news, the net have also green-lit pilots for a Gossip Girl spin off and a reboot of Melrose Place.

The CW are hoping to cash in on some of that “Twilight” vampire craze.

With the current popularity of vampires, courtesy of  ”Twilight” and HBO’s True Blood, it’s no wonder The CW network have greenlit a new pilot based on the Vampire Diaries, a series of books published by Alloy Entertainment. The same company behind Gossip Girl and Privileged.

Vampire Diaries revolves around a young woman whose torn between two brothers, who happen to be vampires. One good and one evil.

The first book in the series was originally published in 1993, years before Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” series were even a blimp on the radar.

Kevin Williamson (“Scream” , ”I Know What You Did Last Summer”, Dawson’s Creek, Hidden Palms) will write and produce, along with Julie Plec, who’s coming off the recently cancelled Kyle XY.

The project will be housed by Warner Bros. TV under Alloy’s executive producers Les Morgenstein and Bob Levy .

Hooray for The CW!

The CW has pushed the season 2 premiere of Reaper forward a few weeks to March 3! Season 2 will now premiere 8/7c March 3 as a lead in to 90210. This pips the quirky drama against ratings juggernaut American Idol, fingers crossed it won’t be a casualty.

This decision comes as both 90210 and Privileged had the highest percentage of DVR viewing in the week January 12-18 (33.5% and 33.9% respectively).

Now for the bad news, a thirteen episode order still remains.

• NBC’s new winter show King’s will now premiere at 8/7c Sundays, effectively swapping timeslots with freshman cop show Southland.

• The Office, 30 Rock and The Biggest Loser have all been renewed for another season.

• The Philanthropist, another NBC freshman may air earlier than expected

• The CW are close to ordering a Gossip Girl spin off. It will surround ‘a rich girl who loses a wealthy lifestyle and has to go to public school’.

         
• An official announced hasn’t been made yet, but Desperate Housewives will be around for at least another four years. Creator Marc Cherry is currently in talks with ABC in regards to a deal extension which will see the Housewives remain on our small screens until 2012-2013. The current season, which fast-forwarded five years has received a lot of positive feedback and has opened a can of worms for the writers.

• NBC recently announced they would be scrapping their 10pm shows for a talk show hosted by Jay Leno. For weekending December 5th , the Tonight Show finished with its highest ratings since February – 5.3M A18-49: 1.4 and won its timeslot against The Late Show with David Letterman and Nightline, 4.2M A18-49: 1.0/4 and 4M A18-49: 1.1/4 respectively.

• On Friday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced our Hugh Jackman will be hosting the Oscars.

• HBO’s critically acclaimed Tru Blood will be back for a second season and creator Alan Ball has dropped a few secrets in regards to season two: 

WARNING SPOILERS “Jason goes into the Fellowship of the Sun church in a big way and is surprised by what he finds there. There’s a new creature in town that is unlike any other. Nobody knows what this creature is, I’m not sure if it will be entirely explained in the show — it’s not a werewolf. There are new romances for Tara, Jason and Sara. Bill and Sookie have a lot of issues to sort out — including having made a new teenage vampire that’s living in their house. Bill and Sookie also go to Dallas to find one of their own who has gone missing.”

• Showtime is developing a new reality series concerning gay people coming out to friends and family. It will be led by Bryn Freedman and will be titled Way Out.

• Privileged hasn’t been doing too well out of a friendly Gossip Girl lead-in, with the first episode mustering only 2.20M A18-49:1.0/2 A18-34:1.5/4 and the second episode slipping even further to 1.90M A18-49: 1.0/2 A18-34: 1.5/4. Fans should enjoy the remaining episodes as I don’t see The CW renewing it.