Now that the writers' strike is about to come to an end, the networks are figuring out how quickly they can return their shows to the airwaves.  The good news for fans is that many shows will be back with brand new episodes in April or May, which means that the wait for new content is nearly over.  The CW recently announced how many more episodes they plan to produce this season for their biggest hits, including Supernatural, Smallville, Gossip Girl, and One Tree Hill.  Read on for more details as to when these shows, and a few others, will be back with new installments.

While many freshman shows on other networks won't be returning until the fall, the CW has made an exception with Reaper and Gossip Girl.  With Reaper, three pre-strike episodes still remain, and five or six additional installments will be shot to air in April or May.  Gossip Girl, which ran out of fresh episodes a few weeks back, is also set to shoot five or six episodes to air around the same time.

The biggest question for these two shows is what time slot they'll be airing in.  The CW recently moved Gossip Girl repeats to Monday nights, and planned to air new Reaper episodes in Supernatural's Thursday at 9pm slot.  However, now that Supernatural is also set to film four or five additional episodes for April or May, it's unknown if Reaper will keep that slot.  The CW may have to do some last minute schedule tinkering.

As for Smallville, it has four pre-strike episodes remaining and will shoot five or six additional installments to wrap up the season.  One Tree Hill, which currently has six pre-strike episodes yet to air, will also shoot the same amount.  And for the three of you who watched Life is Wild, don't expect any new episodes in this lifetime.  The show is done for.

This is great news for fans of the CW, as they'll get to see nearly full seasons for all of their favorite shows.   Now we just have to be patient until April comes around.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TVGuide.com
(Image courtesy of the CW)