Here is my analysis for The CW's fall 2015 schedule.
Monday
8-My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
9-Jane the Virgin
After taking a hit on Mondays, The CW decided to move The Originals yet again. In its place will be My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, whose pilot had to be redone from a half-hour cable pilot to an hour-long broadcast pilot. I'm not exactly sure who the show is supposed to target. Females, because it is paired with Jane the Virgin? Or males, considering that many men probably consider themselves to have "crazy ex-girlfriends"? I'm not really sure, but either way its time slot and unexpected pick-up don't give the show much going for it. Meanwhile, low-rated dramedy Jane the Virgin will remain at 9 after much critical success and steady ratings through the season. Although Monday won't be their highest-rated night, it will still do better than that Hart of Dixie-Beauty and the Beast duo from a couple seasons back.
Tuesday
8-The Flash
9-iZombie
iZombie staying behind The CW's one true decently-rated show (by the standards of the other networks, that is) really surprised me considering the weak retention despite the seemingly compatible theme. I'm almost surprised they didn't pick up Cordon and didn't air it there. iZombie should do pretty well in raw numbers, but not in retention. Meanwhile, I expect more of the same out of The Flash, and perhaps even ratings growth once DC's Legends of Tomorrow arrives. The executives over at The CW are sure hoping that The Flash doesn't see a sophomore slump, but so far there are no signs of that.
Wednesday
8-Arrow
9-Supernatural
Keeping this Wednesday schedule the same was probably the smartest thing to do, considering Supernatural wouldn't be able to endure yet another time slot change, plus it would rate better than The 100. Very conservative here, but I wouldn't be too worried about this night falling apart.
Thursday
8-The Vampire Diaries
9-The Originals
After two seasons of seeing Reign rate poorly behind The Vampire Diaries, The CW decided to give the 9pm time slot to its spin-off, arguably where it should have been the entire time for compatibility purposes. Only now, The Originals is no longer a CW hit, not is The Vampire Diaries. I don't think The Originals will go too low, and we should be seeing another season of it, but a string of 0.4s and 0.5s are highly likely. If anything though, it will be getting a lead-in for the first time.
Friday
8-Reign
9-America's Next Top Model
The fact that Reign being renewed consistently would confuse me had it not be for the fact that it is produced by CBS Studios. Being dumped on Friday with no lead-in even further mystifies me, considering that it has gone as low as a 0.3 this season and never saw strong retention out of The Vampire Diaries on Thursday. Could we possibly see a 0.1, or even a 0.0? Only time will tell, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing The 100 here sooner rather than later.
Final Thoughts
The CW didn't really do much different this time around, which was to be expected considering they renewed all of their fall shows. Reign being on Friday may be somewhat of a bold move, but who knows, maybe it will see a Hart of Dixie-like hold (not like it saved the latter). With DC's Legends of Tomorrow coming in midseason and the decline of female-skewing dramas such as The Vampire Diaries, The CW is becoming an increasingly male-skewing network. Considering that demographic is typically hard to reach, the otherwise struggling network may have a real future there if they invest more into male-skewing shows.
What is your analysis of your schedule? Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts? Leave a comment below and maybe it will become the Comment of the Week next Saturday!
