Reaper

Upfront week is an exciting time for any TV fan.  By and large, this is the first time most viewers will learn about what new shows the networks are going to war with next season.  For The CW network, upfronts are a time of unbridled optimism.  As the far and away least successful major network, CW executives can hope and pray that this is the year they break through into the mainstream.  FOX, if you remember, took many years to finally gain traction and eat into the big three networks.  Now, we refer to FOX, ABC, NBC, and CBS as the big four.  The CW would very much like to make it a big five.  As upfront week gets underway, we have news from TVGuide and E!Online about a couple new series from the CW (one that is set in Beverly Hills...hint, hint) and how Reaper may return.

Michael Ausiello from TV Guide is reporting that Reaper is definitely back for a second season.  Before you get too delighted, it also seems as though it will only return as a mid-season show with a 13-episode season.

The Game, despite tepid ratings, will return next season while the show it spun off from, Girlfriends, won't be so lucky.  Also on the comedy block, Everybody Hates Chris gets a new season, while Aliens in America will go the way of fellow freshman series Life is Wild, as in canceled.

Stylista, a new reality series from Tyra Banks, will most likely be paired with America's Next Top Model next season.  The series is a competition among fashion journalists, with the grand prize being a job at Elle.

The new Beverly Hills 90210 series has, not surprisingly, been picked up for next season.  The CW is hoping for big things with the 90210 update.  Lori Laughlin has already been cast, as has original 90210 alum Jennie Garth.

Privileged (formerly Surviving the Filthy Rich) was also picked up.  The one-hour drama is about a Yale graduate hired as the live-in tutor of two spoiled rich heiresses.  It's hard to imagine a more perfect companion for Gossip Girl.

These three pickups, combined with news that the CW is subletting its Sunday nights and Reaper will be held until mid-season, suggests there is still one hour of CW programming unaccounted for in the Fall.  This could be great news for the only other high-profile drama pilot the CW has, Austen Golden Hour, a real-time medical drama that takes place in Texas and stars Justin Hartley.

Also Read:
FOX Upfront Preview
ABC Upfront Preview
CBS Upfront Preview


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TVGuide
(Image courtesy of the CW)