We’ve talked about how genre shows are turning into surprisingly reliable money-makers for broadcast and cable networks before, but a recent look at the CW’s ratings indicates that this may be truer for them than most networks.
Granted, the CW and its ancestors had a pretty strong genre bent; we are talking about the networks that aired Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Birds Of Prey and Star Trek: Voyager. They’ve never been genre-averse, but it’s always been tempered with stereotypically “girly” shows.
On the other hand, ratings really don’t get more stark than this. Arrow, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries (OK, it’s Twilight, the show, but it’s still a genre show) are all regularly pulling 1.0 or 1.1 in the ratings. That’s not Walking Dead money but the CW isn’t looking for that. Supernatural‘s numbers are particularly impressive because it’s on its eighth season, just got renewed for a ninth, and might actually cross the decade mark if it keeps these numbers up.
And it’s about to add a fourth, with the show Cult premiering tomorrow.
All the shows ostensibly aimed at teenage girls, like The Carrie Diaries, Emily Owens M.D., and 90210? They’re pulling literally half what the shows above collect.
It’s not a bulletproof trend: Beauty and The Beast is not a hit by any standard, and neither is Nikita, but it’s worth noting that the reason those three shows we mentioned are successful is because they’re incredibly popular with The CW’s target fanbase, teenage girls.
This has likely taken the CW a bit by surprise. While any nerd who pays attention knows that women are a key fan base in any science fiction property, TV networks have been slow to pick up on this because of “conventional wisdom”. But it’s never been this drastic, and more to the point, there’s little sign the CW is picking up a new audience: It’s still young women watching the network, just showing more of a taste for genre material.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Cult, but we suspect the CW may be offering a lot more genre shows in fairly short order, either way.
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Weren’t they developing a Booster Gold/Blue Beetle show at one point too? Or was that SciFi? I remember them both being on the same episode of Smallville
ScyFy was discussing the Booster Gold show
*fingers crossed for a reboot of Homeboys in Outer Space*
(and to balance out the UPN and WB quota, they can bring back Unhappily Ever After as well…that counts as “genre” right? A talking stuffed rabbit?)
Somehow, I don’t think those are in the cards.
My girlfriend got into Supernatural about two weeks ago. She’s about half way through season 7 now. It’s not…terrible. It’s not great, but not awful.
that can be said about most of their shows, and frankly I’ll take that over most of the bullshit on network TV.
It’s certainly better than what she was watching, which was shit like CSI and Criminal Minds. God those shows are awful.
Is Supernatural still on? After the whole apocalypse thing…where do you go?
I don’t know how I stumbled on that show, but I watched it up untill that point and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Seemed like such a natural jumping off point so I treated it as the end.
Yeah, the end of season 5 was meant to be the finale and then to the surprise of all the writers, the show was renewed.
Seasons 6 and 7 were pretty bad, but season 8 is really good again. Plus its interesting to see so much character development after 8 seasons for 2 main characters.
^ I agree with all that. 6 and 7 nearly killed my interest but it’s somehow turned it around.
I don’t know that I’d agree that season eight is “really good” again but it’s arguably slightly better than six and seven. I mean, that whole storyline with Sam and the vaseline-smeared flashbacks and drippy chick with the dog was as bad as anything that’s happened.
At any rate, while I wish it would have ended after season five, I still can’t stop watching. If the show only gave half a shit about its own continuity and mythology and quit with the recycled plotlines than maybe I wouldn’t get so frustrated with it.
I will admit to being a Supernatural watcher. Got hooked when I was unemployed and it was the best thing on at 9 & 10 AM on TNT. Watched everyday, got caught up, found myself still watching. Yeah it’s not always great, but it’s high-points are fantastic. Arrow has been surprisingly good too.
It has been, although if you’ve been following our liveblogs, you know I feel it just finally is starting to gel into a cohesive whole.
I think that’s really the key, that you mentioned about Supernatural. My fiancee started watching it via Netflix and she’s hooked.
Supernatural was solid, then really good, then forgettable and now it’s back to being solid.
Arrow is pretty good.
But saying The Vampire Diaries is Twilight is an unforgivable sin. The first half of season one was tweeey bullshit, but since then it’s been one of the most entertaining shows on TV.
My wife watches The Vampire Diaries, and I keep catching myself paying more and more attention to it. I kinda like it, actually.
I saw the first few episodes, which reinforced my opinion, and I see the previews and it just looks… awful. But hey, it’s on Netflix, so I’ll give it a shot.
Yea, you have to power though the first half of that initial season. But it’s worth it, no doubt.
I really loved the first 2 seasons of TVD (minus the pilot, obviously) but seasons 3 and especially 4 have just been awful for me. There are very few characters I even like as people at this point.
How were they NOT already a genre network? I feel like they’ve ALWAYS been a teenage girl, slightly nerdy network… how is this new????…..????
I’m not sure, but I think that on websites like this, genre doesn’t mean genre.
In “the business”, “genre” usually refers to fantasy and sci-fi specifically. But yeah, pretty much everything CW has aired has either been sci-fi, fantasy, or (and mostly) shows directly aimed at young women unapologetically.
My parents, who are approaching 60, watch The CW mainly for the genre shows. Although now it is through Hulu+ because they record a lot of TV.
Ever since they cancelled Gossip Girl, this network only has genre shows to cling to.
XOXO
As someone who grew up on the 80s-90s versions of all the great comic book characters, I was prepared to HATE the CW version of Arrow (Oliver Queen 90210 as I was hilariously calling it, you guys). Although some of the acting is still iffy from time to time, the show is hitting its stride. And I am not ashamed to say, I am LOVING this show, and this version of Oliver Queen. Jonathan Nolan’s influence is obvious. Crossing fingers for appearances by Richard Grayson, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, etc.
I really tried to like it, but I have a hard time getting past bad acting, especially in the lead. He just looks like he’s trying to blue steel through the action sequences a lot.
Cult will not do well. It has an incompatible lead-in and a very confusing premise (a hit CW show within a show about a Cult.) In its seven year run, it has only produced two “hits”, The Vampire Diaries and now Arrow. Supernatural is an old WB show and nothing else has gained any traction. There’s at least three “genre” pilots in development including the Vampire Diaries spin-off, The Originals.
If you go into a CW genre show and expect something of the quality of Ronald Moore, you’re fooling yourself. But when it comes to network shows it does a pretty solid job. Furthermore, and this is a big pull for a lot of us, they will give a show enough time to develop and pull in a devoted fan following before they decide to can it.
With that said, if the CW would really want to prove this they are becoming the prime genre network by bringing back Reaper I would be more than happy to buy the products of their paid sponsors, I promise.
I might be wrong but I think Supernatural and Arrow demos actually skew older and with somewhat of a more female/male split. But definitely a high female %. About time the networks realized women are interested in more than just soapy melodramas!
I’ve always loved scifi/fantasy and so I watch the CW shows, Supernatural being my favorite. I am not the age of the demographic and I wonder if they have it correct. Certainly shows like 90210 and Gossip girl have mostly a teenage audience but I think the scifi shows may age older. Either way I’m glad for the CW because these shows would not be on otherwise.