By: Aleks Chan
HIGH SOCIETY is very much a reality show of the post-Lauren Conrad HILLS era: starring the exotically boring socialite Tinsley Mortimer and some of her associates in the New York social scene, it does not try to hide the fact that its cast is frequent tabloid fodder (one cast member even flaunts his own infamy in tonight’s premiere). But there seems to be little consensus on how to handle the cross-section of reality with “reality”: parents were none too pleased over the behavior exhibited in NYC PREP and the cast of JERSEY SHORE have fielded their fair share of controversy, from punches in the face to the determining whether the glorification of a racial epithet is in fact more derogatory than the show itself.
The CW has been caught goosing the production to make up for Ms. Mortimer’s lack of real life drama – it seems that they didn’t learn from MTV, who after previously shooting a series with Mortimer and having difficulty using the footage, scrapped the production altogether. But even if we abandon the pre-tense of accuracy when it involves reality television and just consider it a form of fiction, a style chosen for effect and for its extra cheap price tag, HIGH SOCIETY is made so scattershot and disorienting by the producers’ thirst for drama that it’s difficult to engage with even at a purely cheesy-fluff level. The show feels pieced together by an unhappy girl on the town: she flocks to party after party, looking for anything worth looking for.
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While we at theTVaddict.com have traditionally shied away from speculative pieces on whether or not your favorite “on the bubble” shows will be coming back next season, the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Entertainment Weekly do not. Which is why — coupled with the lack of television news thank-you-very-much Olympic Games — we’ve decided to take the if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em approach this year and present our take on which shows might soon be joining the likes of EVERWOOD and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT in that great television graveyard in the sky. Today’s focus: The CW.
MELROSE PLACE
Working in its favor: Much like its predecessor (90210), the built-in name recognition that comes with an iconic franchise is worth big bucks worldwide.
Working against it: Dismal ratings.
Renewal Odds: About as good a chance as Ashlee Simpson has at finding another acting gig.
ONE TREE HILL
Working in its favor: A very loyal, albeit small group of super-passionate fans.
Working against it: What show on the CW doesn’t have a very loyal group of super-passionate fans?
Renewal Odds: 50/50.
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… Not to mention, the fun out of tomorrow’s post that had us irresponsibly speculating on which of your favorite CW shows will be coming back next season by officially awarding early season pick-ups to THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, GOSSIP GIRL, 90210, SUPERNATURAL and AMERICA’s NEXT TOP MODEL.
Meanwhile, SMALLVILLE, LIFE UNEXPECTED, ONE TREE HILL and MELROSE PLACE fans (or in the case of MELROSE PLACE, ‘fan,’ singular), should probably keep in mind that a lack of an early pick-up doesn’t necessarily mean your show is canceled. Rather, the CW simply needs more time to analyze the numbers or make those numbers work. But just to be on the safe side, we recommend kicking those fan campaigns into high gear in 3… 2… 1… 
Good News: GILMORE GIRLS creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and executive producer Dan Palladino are returning to the CW, with the network giving the green light to their UNTITLED WYOMING PROJECT which is said to revolve around a family horse farm in the Midwest. Bad News: For the future of Sherman-Palladino’s HBO series, remember that? [Source]
Good News: HEROES is making headlines for something other than its sinking ratings. Bad News: Adrian Pasdar busted for a DUI.
Good News: For SMALLVILLE fans, who thanks to today’s announcement by the CW that they’ve picked up a reboot of the 90’s action-thriller LA FEMME NIKITA may have found the ideal time slot companion for a possible 10th season of their favorite show. Bad News: For those of us who were hoping the success of LIFE UNEXPECTED might have paved the way for more original ideas on the network that has yet to meet a book, movie and/or 90’s franchise with name recognition that they haven’t wanted to turn into a hit. [Source]
The Good: Finally giving its audience something to talk, tweet and text about, the CW successfully bit into the Vampire craze with THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, resulting in their first bonafide breakout hit since the creation of the network. Meanwhile, after a slow start to the season, loyal fans of the Red-Blue Blur finally seemed to have discovered where SMALLVILLE landed on the schedule (Hint: Friday). While Rebecca Sinclair, a super-hero of an entirely different nature proved that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword by turning the train-wreck that was 90210’s freshman season into a flirty, fun and increasingly addictive night time sudser.
The Bad: Aside from the unmitigated disaster that is MELROSE PLACE’s first season, the fact of the matter is that the CW simply backed the wrong horse demographic. While studies indicate that the network’s audience (particular teenagers) are watching TV in record numbers, they [unfortunately for the network's bean counters] aren’t doing so live (Shows such as SMALLVILLE, TOP MODEL, GOSSIP GIRL and 90210 frequently add 1 million plus viewers when DVR playback is factored in). Which means that until advertisers start to see the value in online and DVR viewership — or Nielsen gets their act together and starts measuring viewers properly — the CW will continue to be a virtual non-factor in the ratings game.
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In an effort to avoid the dubious distinction that comes with green-lighting the first cancelled show of the Fall, the CW tried their best to bury the news that production has been officially halted on THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE: TBL late Friday afternoon. But try as they might, the CW couldn’t stop the tweet. Which is why we thought it might be fun to compile our ten favorite TBL related ones, starting off of course with our own shameless twitter plug reaction upon hearing the news.
“Sorry CW, there is no hiding your massive failure on “Take Out the Trash Day.” THE WEST WING taught us well” @theTVaddict
“When the CW didn’t even bother sending out finished review copy of TBL pilot, the writing (or lack of) was already on the cancellation wall.” @roushtvguidemag
“I’m sad that Corbin Bleu took off his clothes for nothing. Colon TBL we hardly knew ya” @duckydoestv
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By: Vlada Gelman
Next season, The CW will introduce LIFE UNEXPECTED, a heartfelt midseason entry that may remind some viewers of the network’s predecessor, The WB.
The resemblance to the shows that defined the WB is not unjustified. Creator Liz Tigelaar’s college internship at DAWSON’S CREEK turned into a staff job, where she worked alongside Greg Berlanti. She later went on to write for Berlanti’s ABC drama BROTHERS & SISTERS.
LIFE UNEXPECTED stars Britt Robertson as Lux, a teenage girl searching for her biological parents after being bounced around in the foster care system for fifteen years. The subject is close to Tigelaar’s heart, who was briefly in foster care as a baby before being adopted.
“One thing that came to light when I was meeting with the writers was just how much of this story was something that had been with me my whole life,” Tigelaar said during a Q&A on Wednesday. “This idea of, ‘Where are my young, cool parents?’ No matter how great your own family is and my parents are wonderful, you can’t help but when you’re sixteen be in a fight with your mom and be like, ‘My real, cool, young, hot mom would totally understand! She would buy me beer!’”
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What am I looking at? Well, since you asked (1) A network that has so little faith in the intelligence of their audience — not to mention the show itself — that they’re taking the easy out by selling sex as opposed to such silliness as a plot or even concept; (2) A network that cancelled PRIVILEGED, a warm, witty, heartfelt show I wouldn’t be ashamed to let my non-existent daughter watch and replaced it with a show headlined by an actress who is no one’s idea of a role model; (3) A network so worried about the possibility (read: likelihood) of said actress’ well-publicized “personal problems” resurfacing that she’s been all-but-eliminated from the latest pre-launch publicity push (more of which can be seen after the jump); and (4) A show that will no doubt be a big hit — within the desired demographic — for the network, proving yet again that this TV Addict is rapidly becoming both too old and too smart for some of the crap being foisted upon us by The CW.
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Like a dead man woman walking, CW President Dawn Ostroff tried her best to delay the inevitable. But alas, at the annual press tour, it’s surprisingly difficult to avoid the firing squad that is the Television Critics Association as they anxiously await their opportunity to unleash a flurry of questions, most of them revolving around the current status of Mischa Barton’s health. So after distracting the audience with shiny beautiful things (namely Elle Macphersen’s sparkly sequined jacket during THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE panel), the smoldering Robert Pattinson-esque looks of new VAMPIRE DIAIRES bad boy Paul Wesley and promo after promo after promo for the network’s slew of new shows that the CW swears — you’ll be like totally blogging, tweeting and im’ing about — it was time. Time for Ostroff to answer for her crimes against humanity (Read: EVERWOOD’s cancellation!) Okay not really (and yes, still bitter!). But here’s what she did have to say, minus a few really inane questions from a few traditional print journalists who shall not be named.
On why SMALLVILLE was the best choice for Friday: It was the best way to open up Friday, with a big established hit like SMALLVILLE.
On what the CW can offer to guys over 35: There are a lot of men who watch SMALLVILLE, SUPERNATURAL and TOP MODEL. Maybe they don’t admit it, but people come up to me all the time and tell me they love the network.
On the future of SMALLVILLE: This season I think the producers have done a great job. Zod is going to be the big villain and we’re all going to be kneeling to Zod. The cast is excited, as are the producers and we have high hopes for it staying on the air.
On the future of SUPERNATURAL: Eric Kripke has done a great job with the show and creatively it has gotten stronger every year. The cast is wonderful and we’re hopeful that it will stay on the air. (FYI: That noise you just heard was the squee of 2 million fangirls.)
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In response to our Open Letter to Dawn Ostroff that we posted yesterday, CW Executive Vice President, Network Communications Paul McGuire left a comment that we wanted to bring to everyone’s attention. (And not just because we think it’s really really cool that the who’s who of Hollywood reads theTVaddict.com!)
Wait until you all see the new shows. Life UneXpected and Vampire Diaries are classic WB and perfect for CW. Life will remind many of Felicity, Gilmore and Juno. Melrose Place is just plain Fun. Full disclosure–I work for The CW. I also worked at The WB, including Everwood, GG, Smallville et. al, and our new shows have great potential. It isn’t easy building a network–especially in the digital age–but we are well on our way. See what you think a year from now. Thank you.
Thoughts?
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