Getting a head start on pickups for the 2013-2014 season, The CW has renewed three of its most popular shows.
Earning pickups on Monday (February 11) morning were “Arrow,” “The Vampire Diaries” and “Supernatural.”
Astoundingly, this is a renewal for a ninth season of “Supernatural,” which looked like it was heading for a graceful exit when The CW shipped it to Friday nights a couple years back. Instead, “Supernatural” has done the near-unprecedented, going to Friday, surviving and being pushed back to mid-week, where it has been up 15 percent in total viewers and 18 percent among adults 18-49 on Wednesdays this season.
The “Supernatural” comeback has been at least somewhat related to the first season success of “Arrow,” which has been The CW’s most watched show, averaging 4.3 million weekly viewers (including various amounts of DVR usage).
“Arrow” has been The CW’s biggest hit since, yes, “The Vampire Diaries,” which has been slightly usurped in overall viewership, but remains The CW’s top-rated show in all of its targeted demographics, including adults 18-34 and women 18-34. Next season will be the fifth for “The Vampire Diaries,” which is spawning a potential backdoor pilot tentatively titled “The Originals” and airing this spring.
“We said last year that one of our goals was to establish building blocks to grow on, and now with our new hit ‘Arrow’ and fan favorite ‘Supernatural’ on Wednesday night, and the continued success of ‘The Vampire Diaries’ on Thursday, we”ve been able to do that,” blurbs CW President Mark Pedowitz. “Not only do ‘Arrow,’ ‘Supernatural,’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ perform well on-air, they”re also extremely successful for us both digitally and socially. I”m thrilled to have all three shows returning to our schedule next season.”
Realistically, these three renewals were absolutely no-brainers, but The CW will make decisions on the majority of its schedule in May. Expect much more deliberation regarding the fate of bubble shows like “Hart of Dixie,” “Nikita” and “The Carrie Diaries” as the spring progresses.