It's been a quiet fall on CW for original programming, with a lineup that's been filled with repeats, international acquisitions, and even some sports programs.
Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble: This season, CW launched a new game show block centered around two classic game shows. Trivial Pursuit got off to a much stronger debut, but over time, they've come to post just about the same average, with Trivial Pursuit leading Scrabble by a single thousandth (0.054 vs 0.053), after Scrabble began to match or even surpass Trivial Pursuit in later weeks. The difference between them is so small that it's barely even worth mentioning, and I'm even writing about the two of them as a block rather than giving each a separate writeup, due to their fates very likely being the exact same when all is said and done. Their ratings seem meager upon first glance - and they are - but CW's ratings are absolutely abysmal lately, and this ended up being their strongest lineup this fall. Everything on CW is cost-effective, but these game shows with simple set-ups seem to be extra affordable for them to air. CW also seems to have a real interest in these shows, having moved them from their originally-scheduled Monday night slots to Thursday after ABC announced plans for their own Monday night game show block (these shows ultimately never aired, save for one-off holiday specials, due to a late NFL deal coming through for ABC). They will air on Monday, though, just not like we were expecting them to: CW will air truncated, half-hour repeats of the shows in the 9 PM hour after All American in February, after their seasons will have already wrapped. This is a positive sign for any show on CW - no show that aired regularly-schedule repeats was canceled by the show last season. With respectable (by CW standards) ratings, a low production cost, a lack of any contractural negotiations for the network, and favorable scheduling by the network, all signs point to another season. Still, it's hard to be all that certain about anything with CW these days, so they start as LIKELY RENEWALS.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Whose Line is one of the last of its kind. Along with Penn & Teller and Masters of Illusion, it's a rare reminder of the CW of days gone by, when a 0.5 was a hit for the network, rather than a 0.05. Whose Line has been on the CW for over a decade, a far longer run than its original run on ABC or the first revival run on the now-renamed ABC Family, both hosted by Drew Carey. It's their longest-running show, and a show that was supposed to have ended by now. Star Colin Mochrie stated two years ago that the show was filming its final season, later clarifying that the cast and crew felt mistreated by the CW, not receiving fair compensation for their work, and they had intended for it to be their final season, even if it wasn't necessarily the show's. Well, that didn't ultimately prove to be the case. It was renewed for another new batch of episodes earlier this year, with the cast returning. Still, one can't help but wonder how much longer it can go on, especially with the cast having discontent over their compensation during a time where CW is slashing budgets and canceling even decent performers due to costs being too high. Ratings-wise, the show is still a success, rating as the network's #2 show for the season so far, and that's why I'm still expecting the show to score another renewal. It LEANS RENEWAL.
What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll of the week!
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