Kemo
05-20-2010, 10:24 PM
NEW YORK – The young CW network will add its first action series to the schedule this fall, along with a drama in which Ashley Tisdale of "High School Musical" plays the captain of a college cheerleading squad.
The CW also said Thursday that the Superman drama "Smallville" will end after its 10th and final season next year.
The sixth most popular broadcast network (after CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC and Univision) targets its programming primarily at women aged 18 to 34. Its most popular series, "The Vampire Diaries," was introduced only last year.
"Nikita" gets the Thursday time slot after the vampires. The show stars Maggie Q — whose movie credits include "Mission: Impossible III" and the fourth installment in the "Die Hard" series, "Live Free or Die Hard" — as an assassin trained by the U.S. government who breaks the rules by falling in love. Now her shadowy old agency wants her dead.
"We've been trying to develop a female-oriented action-adventure show since we started the CW," said Dawn Ostroff, entertainment president at the network, which enters its fifth season in September.
Tisdale is in the Wednesday night drama "Hellcats," about cheerleaders at a mythical, football-crazed college based in Memphis. Aly Michalka of the movie "Bandslam" is the series' star, playing a student who must get a cheerleading scholarship or she's kicked out of school.
"Melrose Place," "High Society" and "Fly Girls" were all canceled.
The CW will air a makeover series, "Plain Jane," this summer, and a reality competition about couples trying to lose the most weight drew laughs from the audience of advertisers at the mention of its name, "Shedding For the Wedding."
The final season of "Smallville" will be a nostalgic one with many people who have been on the show over the years returning, Ostroff said.
"The fans want to see the show go out in a big way and we will give it to them," Ostroff said.
The CW also said Thursday that the Superman drama "Smallville" will end after its 10th and final season next year.
The sixth most popular broadcast network (after CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC and Univision) targets its programming primarily at women aged 18 to 34. Its most popular series, "The Vampire Diaries," was introduced only last year.
"Nikita" gets the Thursday time slot after the vampires. The show stars Maggie Q — whose movie credits include "Mission: Impossible III" and the fourth installment in the "Die Hard" series, "Live Free or Die Hard" — as an assassin trained by the U.S. government who breaks the rules by falling in love. Now her shadowy old agency wants her dead.
"We've been trying to develop a female-oriented action-adventure show since we started the CW," said Dawn Ostroff, entertainment president at the network, which enters its fifth season in September.
Tisdale is in the Wednesday night drama "Hellcats," about cheerleaders at a mythical, football-crazed college based in Memphis. Aly Michalka of the movie "Bandslam" is the series' star, playing a student who must get a cheerleading scholarship or she's kicked out of school.
"Melrose Place," "High Society" and "Fly Girls" were all canceled.
The CW will air a makeover series, "Plain Jane," this summer, and a reality competition about couples trying to lose the most weight drew laughs from the audience of advertisers at the mention of its name, "Shedding For the Wedding."
The final season of "Smallville" will be a nostalgic one with many people who have been on the show over the years returning, Ostroff said.
"The fans want to see the show go out in a big way and we will give it to them," Ostroff said.