Can The CW Survive Without Superheroes and Teen Soaps?
14.09.2023 - 15:29
/ variety.com
The CW systematically stripped away its superhero dramas and teen-centric soaps during the 2022-23 television season, taking the foundation of its primetime programming slate down to the studs. Now comes the reveal of a renovation that leans heavily on niche sports, noisy unscripted series, procedural dramas and broad-skewing comedies. The change comes a year after Texas-based Nexstar Media Group acquired a majority stake in The CW from its founders, CBS and Warner Bros.
(the “C” and “W” in “CW”). A new owner inevitably brings new priorities and a new regime, and The CW’s freshly appointed leadership team of president Dennis Miller and entertainment president Brad Schwartz have a nail-biter of a season ahead. There’s little doubt that The CW will see a ratings drop, at least early on, as it implements a radical shift in content strategy.
The new CW team can only hope that Nexstar, led by local TV news anchor-turned-investor Perry Sook, shows as much patience with its makeover as it has over the past three years with NewsNation, the cable news channel that Nexstar revamped from entertainment-focused channel WGN America. Birthed in 2006 by the merger of The WB network and UPN, The CW is taking a hard pivot into new programming lanes at a time when traditional ad-supported networks are struggling to maintain an audience. “We’re broadcast; we’re not a niche cable channel.
We have to reach the largest audience possible, and we need those audiences to fall in love with us and want to spend a lot of time with us,” Schwartz says. According to Schwartz, The CW has more than a dozen unscripted series in production in the U.S. and five scripted series that are either international productions, including the Sophie Turner-led
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