Super-News:

Though I wasn't there (work and like no money and stuff), the Internet is there to fill in the details of what's to come on my favorite TV Shows (both rest of the summer, and returning in the fall), plus a few good movies (well one I find myself really excited about).

First, Thursday had the Ringer panel, which marked Sarah Michelle Gellar's second trip to the Con ever. The CW released an extended look trailer:



Series premieres, September 13th, 2011 at 9/8c PM (Mark it on your calendars)

Friday was the day of the Big Bang Theory panel, and the tidbits I saw from G4's Coverage is wedding planning and the aftermath of Penny/Raj drunken night.

True Blood, now there's a panel I would love to see. Nearly all the major players present, and Alan Ball of course, and like always, a look at what's to come the remainder of this season (steamy, action-packed, wonderfulness):



It's a lot to take in, spoilery, sure, but most of the time once we get to those episodes, whatever we may have took from it, ends up a little different. But, it is looking to be an awesome season, and I look forward to more seasons of those fantastic series.

Saturday saw a big bulk of shows, Chuck's final panel as the upcoming 5th season is it's last, and that of course meaning a video release as coming into it, Morgan is now the intersect so enter the Rocky themed workout video:



Oh, and this is Chuck, so no Chuck season will be complete with a guest star or two. One confirmed actor: Mark Hamill.

The Fringe panel started, sans Joshua Jackson (who plays Peter Bishop, which, if you've yet to catch up on your DVR, then avert your eyes, ... seemed to have been wiped from existence), and a video of Peter auditions went out with some familiar faces (Greg Grunberg, Zachary Quinto, Jorge Garcia, to name a few), before showing Peter as an...Observer. Then back to the panel, Jackson appears to take a seat at the panel with rest of cast. Read more at BuddyTV

Other TV tidbits:

Vampire Diaries: We know Stefan has a bloodlust now, we haven't seen the last of Elijah, Tyler and Caroline are just friends, and Damon shirtless and soapy (seriously, that's a headline for a few articles, such as from Entertainment Weekly)

And as we knew, Supernatural, of all the Warner Bros. shows returning, is the lowest rated as well, but it's strong core fanbase means, this little show, got Hall H (the largest at the Con, usually held for movie panels), and packed it. What we know, first ep of season 7 will pick up RIGHT AFTER the end of the 6th. Crowley will be back (yay!). They showed some video from the 3rd ep (which Jensen Ackles directed, and Jewel Staite (Firefly) guest stars in). Sam and Dean no longer have a friend is Castiel. And Ben Edlund has eyes set for a ninja story (as there are throwing stars in the trunk of the Impala, would be nice to see them used). (Entertainment Weekly)

And, also a Hall H panel, Doctor Who returns to BBC America on August 27 at 9/8c PM. Video was released for what's to come in the 2nd half of the 6th season, including that the Doctor may have accidentally saved Hitler's life and Cybermen:



We also learned Matt Smith (the 11th Doctor) is a True Blood fan. (FEARnet).

The CW shows don't have much towards videos, at least not online yet, as I could find. All that is available online are clips of the previous season to essentially pump us all up for the upcoming seasons.

And the movie, aside from there being the 4th Underworld film (Awakening), which I'm extremely looking forward to as I am firm on it being the best Vampire/Werewolf (Lycan) franchise ever, there is a different movie to talk about: Knights of Badassdom. First, the title: Awesome. Second: it's got Summer Glau (Firefly, Sarah Connor Chronicles), super Awesome. Third: also stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) & Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Fourth: innocent LARPing becomes real, a bit interesting (okay, hilarious). Check out G4tv.com to read more.

I know I usually use the Supernatural avatar whenever an article mentions the show, but this fall, all eyes are on the new CW series, Ringer, starring the one and only Sarah Michelle Geller (you know, Buffy). The new series will premiere September 13, at 9/8c PM, and don't think it's lost on me that that is exactly 6 years after Supernatural premiered on the WB, the network Buffy the Vampire Slayer helped save when it was in its infancy. Of course, we know the WB did merge into UPN to form the CW network we have now. So the big question, can Geller do it again? Can this series, originally meant for CBS (who is the C in the CW), bring in more viewers to the near 5 year old network (it first signed on September 18th of 2006, just for the record). True, the CW has had seen success with the likes of The Vampire Diaries, it's highest rated show, but I should remind that Smallville had similar 18-49 demo ratings when it was on Thursdays at 8. The difference came with the Women 18-34 demo, where Smallville had among the lowest.

But, with all of broadcast seeing numbers take a dive, and CW can't really afford to lose what it has, could Ringer bring in more ratings? With Dawn Ostroff gone and the new Prez, Mark Pedowitz (who's first decision was bringing in Ringer, BTW), on board, could the CW potentially shed away from the likes of Gossip Girls and 90210 and find the balance that the WB had when it had the family dramas of 7th Heaven, Everwood, and Gilmore Girls, while still having teen dramas of Dawson Creek and Felicity, mixed with supernatural thrills of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Charmed, and let is not forgot the adventures of the young Clark Kent on Smallville spanning half it's life on the WB first. One Tree Hill and Supernatural were also on the WB first before the merger. The CW started with a decent amount of programming, with mostly stuff from the WB, including Gilmore Girls, as well as some good stuff from UPN, such as Veronica Mars, which both ended that very year, while some comedies from UPN managed a year or two before meeting their ends. Only thing from UPN now is America's Next Top Model, a reality show. With the exception of the CW adding more reality crap, their offers are fairly strong.

Expanding on the success of The Vampire Diaries, they've added The Secret Circle, based on books written by the same author of the Vampire Diaries books, plus same creator dude behind it as well. The Vampire Diaries returns for a third season on September 15th at 8/7c, followed by the premiere of The Secret Circle.

Then, other than also Ringer, which I've already mentioned, there's the new Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) series, Hart of Dixie, which is neither supernatural or a teeny angsty series, like Ringer, it has the potential of a sold viewing audience. While Ringer has the thriller part, Hart of Dixie goes more for the southern small-town charm. There is no high school, and no vampires, in either show. Both are grown-up shows, and see two actresses who've previously been on TV, return to TV. Though, Hart of Dixie could suffer like how Life Unexpected did, skewing a little more on the older side of things. Also, Mondays and Tuesdays lately haven't been strong for the CW, not like Thursday and Friday (yes, Friday, I said it). So Bilson and Geller both have some obstacles for their respected shows, trying to not only bring in a good amount of viewers, but also trying to make a good portion of that within the 18-49 demo, which, they could do, especially with the 30-49 portion of that who previously watched the actresses in their previous series', and don't care for any teen dramas anymore. Unfortunately, it's the shows they air after that woudl hurt them most (Dixie is after Gossip Girl, while Ringer is after 90210). Hart of Dixie premieres September 26 at 9/8c PM.

And, the return of Supernatural is September 23 at 9/8c PM. The 7th season looks like it'll deal with the aftermath of the events that transpired at the end of the 6th, as Castiel absorbed the souls of Purgatory and essentially became the new god, which he asks that Sam and Dean worship him or else, he'll destroy them.

Here's the full scheduled dates:

Tuesday, September 13
8pm-9pm 90210
9pm-10pm Ringer

Wednesday, September 14
8pm-9pm H8R
9pm-10pm America's Next Top Model

Thursday, September 15
8pm-9pm The Vampire Diaries
9pm-10pm The Secret Circle

Friday, September 23
8pm-9pm Nikita
9pm-10pm Supernatural

Monday, September 26
8pm-9pm Gossip Girl
9pm-10pm Hart of Dixie

One Tree Hill is set for its last season and is being held midseason. Honestly, I hope well for Dixie and Ringer, so that more solid shows can be on instead of the "who is sleeping with whom" teen/young adult dramas of Gossip Girl and 90210, which have reached a point where just watching the trailers is confusing enough as to what the hell is going on. It's not the same as what the WB had with their teen dramas, which even Buffy shared into (first three seasons, they were in high school). But if Hart of Dixie can capture a Gilmore Girls style of witty and charming enough that even I can find myself watching it, and it can pull in an audience that matches, and if Ringer can bring in Buffy-like audience and captivating storylines, then maybe the CW can stand a chance. They need to do something, 'cause, Supernatural is in its 7th season, and last I heard, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were contracted through 7, and, there's always that chance that this could be the last season. So the CW needs a few more shows to go along with Diaries to pull this network out of a pit of sub-4 million viewers and, at last rating, 1.3 demo.

...Well, in a way. The actress that played Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar, is starring in the new series Ringer (which was originally made for CBS, but they passed (for shame), but new Prez of CW, Mark Pedowitz, is the greatest network prez, since he picked it up). Not only that, it'll be on Tuesday, the day Buffy the Vampire Slayer ruled on TheWB and UPN (fun fact, SMG along with Shiri Appleby (who was the int CW series, Life Unexpected are the only 2 actresses that have been on on 3 nets, at least that I can think of, given that Buffy moved from the WB to UPN, and so did Appleby's Roswell).

Here's the schedule, very easy to remember:

MONDAYS
8 - Gossip Girl
9 - Hart of Dixie (NEW SERIES)

TUESDAYS
8 - 90210
9 - Ringer (NEW SERIES)

WEDNESDAYS
8 - Hater (NEW SERIES) -sorry, dumb shorthand H8r
9 - America's Next Top Model

THURSDAYS
8 - The Vampire Diaries
9 - The Secret Circle

FRIDAYS
8- Nikita
9 - Supernatural

Also new to the lineup, the, well "duh!"-it was picked up series, The Secret Circle, will, as expected, be on Thursday after The Vampire Diaries, while the other new drama, Hart of Dixie will follow Gossip Girl on Mondays. And, CW is sticking to a reality Wednesday lineup, and as rumored, Nikita is moving to Fridays. One Tree Hill is coming back midseason, for what is being told as a 9th and final season, for 13 episodes.

Since CW has so few shows, plus I want to spread the word of Ringer, instead of linking to an external page with embedded videos, let me do that here:

Ringer:


The Secret Circle:


Hard of Dixie:



I embedded the clip for Hart of Dixie, though it's a bit too light for me, but it doesn't look half-bad, and given my Mondays at 9pm isn't overly congested (having on House against it), I might just check it out. But I won't embed a clip for any reality show.

RECAP TALLY:
CW - 3 new shows I can watch on top of 2 returning
CBS - 4 new shows I can watch on top of 5 returning
ABC- 4 new shows I can watch on ABC on top of 4 returning
NBC- on top of 2 returning series, add only 3 new ones (2 dramas, 1 comedy)
FOX - on top of 7 returning series, add 6 new ones (4 dramas, 2 comedies)

Hopefully before today is over with I'll post a RECAP of what I consider the MUST watch new series, and maybe play with some statistical data stuff (like how many new shows I'm watching vs number the net picked up vs what was renewed, kind of thing).

CW Fall Schedule on TVLine

It's not a surprise that The Vampire Diaries would be renewed for its third season, given it is the highest rated show the tiny little network has. It's not overly surprising for Supernatural, since it's typically the third highest rated scripted series for the network, and it's on the evil Friday.

With Smallville exiting this year, question is, what's getting paired with Supernatural, and will it take over the 8pm slot on Fridays?

Other series renewed were Gossip Girl, 90210, and America's Next Top Model. Life Unexpected was already canceled this year, and One Tree Hill is an aging show, though it's ratings are still good for the network. Freshman series Hellcats, may be in trouble, so that leaves Nikita. The CW only programs ten hours, and with a few drama pilots in the waiting, there's not a whole lot of room to renew all the other shows or pick up all new shows.

Among the pilots, is Secret Circle. Given that it is based on books by the same author of the Vampire Diaries books, it's more likely that will be picked up and if the CW is smart, paired with TVD. Another pilot is Awakening, which has zombies. Despite a female lead, and depending on the prospects of Nikita, if this were to be picked up, maybe it'll see a Friday slot. There are a few others, including non-sci-fi/fantasy ones, but the small list can be viewed at the futon critic.

But, in going by TVByTheNumber's Cancel/Renew Index for the CW, the only reason for OTH to not return, would be if cast/crew call it quits, so as of now, there is 2 hours available (LUX and Smallville void). By mid May we'll know the fates of the other three series that are up in the air.

CW Blog

This is a quick post to spread the word that the January 28, 2011 winter return of Smallville and Supernatural has been delayed a week, because the CW decided to air encores of tonight's (Jan. 27) returns of The Vampire Diaries and Nikita. It seems that it's an effort to allow viewers who for some reason choose to watch the dumbass Idol instead of what they were watching in the fall which ended in the typical midseason cliffhanger (I never understood how viewers don't watch the conclusion of something, it makes no sense). [EDIT: 1/27/11 9:42pm] Turns out, the reason is that the Thursday night shows are pre-empted in the Chicago and Baltimore markets, therefore the re-air is technically for them. So, it'll help them watch it with a second chance airing. Why Friday, though? Especially since they were originally gonna re-air next Wednesday (then again, that's a stronger Idol day, so never mind). Probably also in terms of getting a second sampling of viewers for the highly promoted series.

Plus, wasn't Idol supposed to die when that Simon dude left? Why are you people still watching it?

I updated the Countdown Timer to reflect the new dates. So, FEBRUARY 4th

CW Delays Smallville and Supernatural Returns - TVByTheNumbers