Last year, in the CW preview, a couple of you expressed trepidation about the direction the network was heading in. There was a lot of concern given that they were about to lose Jane the Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and iZombie all in the same season. I told y’all to have faith because generally The CW is good at picking interesting shows. I don’t have that blind confidence anymore. With their choices for the new season, they seem to be doubling down on the IPs they already have or creating shows from the blueprints of things that were successful. And I don’t necessarily blame them. Every time they’ve tried to create something quirky and light (well, light-er) in the last few years, it hasn’t gone well. I’m excited for these new shows and love many of the series they have on now but their inability to make a new CXG or a Jane has me a little frightened for my favorite network.
Batwoman
Three years after Batman mysteriously disappeared, Gotham is a city in despair, and it’s under the watch of Jacob Kane and his military-grade Crows Private Security, which now protects the city with omnipresent firepower and militia. When the Alice in Wonderland gang targets the firm, Kane’s daughter Kate returns home, deciding that if she wants to help her family and her city, she’ll have to become the one thing her father loathes — a dark knight vigilante. With the help of her stepsister Mary and the crafty Luke Fox, the son of Wayne Enterprises’ tech guru Lucius Fox, Kate Kane continues the legacy of her missing cousin, Bruce Wayne. Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate soars through the shadowed streets of Gotham as Batwoman.
Starring: Ruby Rose, Meagan Tandy, Camrus Johnson, Nicole Kang, Rachel Skarsten, Dougray Scott, Elizabeth Anweis
Pros:
The CW DC Universe has a pretty good track record of putting queer superheroes on your screen but none of them have ever headlined their own show before (I’m not counting Legends of Tomorrow because that is an ensemble). Watching a gay, Jewish Batwoman beating the shit out of rabbit people in the trailer was deeply satisfying. I thought Ruby Rose did great as a more seasoned Batwoman in her introduction during last year’s crossover. I look forward to seeing what Kate Kane is like when she’s just starting out. I wonder how soon her love interest, Sophie, will be clued into Batwoman’s secret identity. Will she figure it out immediately or will we get the Lois Lane thing where she’s half in love with Batwoman? The producers have said that they are bringing in villains like Hush and Magpie for Batwoman’s Rogues’ Gallery but I’m most interested in Alice. This is mostly because Rachel Skarsten played Dinah Lance in the WB’s Birds of Prey show. I can’t imagine that this shared universe that loves to hop to alternate realities will just let that opportunity pass by. I’m very excited for that.
Cons:
Remember when we all loved Oliver Queen and Barry Allen? Because I do. With the exception of Legends (WHICH IS AMAZING), it all gets kind of same-y and stale after awhile. It feels like they need to do something drastically different here to keep this shared universe from being those Chicago shows but for nerds. I shouldn’t only want to tune in when there’s an interesting crossover.
The crossover this year is going to be fucking sick though.
Premieres October 6th, Airs Sundays 8PM EST
Nancy Drew
Set in the summer after her high school graduation, 18-year-old Nancy Drew thought she’d be leaving her hometown for college, but when a family tragedy holds her back another year, she finds herself embroiled in a ghostly murder investigation — and along the way, uncovers secrets that run deeper than she ever imagined.
Starring: Kennedy McMann, Tunji Kasim, Alex Saxon, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Scott Wolf, Riley Smith
Pros:
I loved reading the Nancy Drew books when I was a kid and I’m not particularly upset at the changes made to update it. Nancy is now college aged and forever altered by tragedy. Ned is an ex-con. Bess is a new person in her life. George is her nemesis instead of her childhood best friend. As for the mysteries, they’re going to go the Veronica Mars route. A season long mystery with episodic mini-mysteries along the way. That was an excellent way to do a mystery show and I have faith that Melinda Hsu Taylor, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage can create something compelling.
Cons:
This wants to be Riverdale so bad. From the little diner to the Jughead narration, to the ominous girl standing on a cliff, the bottle dyed redhead protagonist, the hints over whether or not the mystery is supernatural. I really hope this is just how they’re marketing it because we don’t need another Riverdale. I love it, but that show makes me so tired that I stop watching it at midseason like clockwork. Also Riverdale’s allure comes from being super fucking weird and I can’t see that happening here.
Premieres October 9th, Airs Wednesday 9PM EST
Katy Keene
In a timeless New York City, as enchanting as Riverdale is moody, aspiring fashion designer Katy Keene meets Josie McCoy, fresh off the bus to chase her musical dreams. Their world is populated with kindred-spirit starving artists, including mysterious socialite Pepper Smith and Broadway-bound performer Jorge Lopez — and his drag queen alter ego, Ginger. While their climb to the top is rife with obstacles, this found family will stop at nothing to see their names in lights. Based on the Archie Comics characters
Starring: Lucy Hale, Ashleigh Murray, Jonny Beauchamp, Julia Chan, Camille Hyde, Lucien Laviscount, Zane Holtz, Katherine LaNasa
Pros:
Oh thank Christ Josie McCoy is out of that fucking serial killer town. Two. Two whole ass different serial killers there were…I think there technically might have been three. THREE WHOLE SERIAL KILLERS JUST WANDERING AROUND WHILE CREEPY AS HELL CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY AND HIS CULT INDOCTRINATED THE TOWN. ALSO I THINK THEY GOT PUT UNDER QUARANTINE AT ONE POINT?
*ahem*
We’re glad you’re free of that demon hive, Josie. This feels a lot like artsy, East Coast Good Trouble by way of Smash and Gossip Girl. Those are good signs. I’m tickled by the fact that Alexander Cabot is now as hunky as possible when he was just kind of a stalker dweeb with Donny Osmond hair in the comics and the movie.
Cons:
WHERE ARE THE PUSSYCATS? First you make Valerie suffer the indignity of dating Archie Andrews for however many episodes. And then you disappear Val and Melody without giving the latter a single line of dialogue in the entire season they were in. Don’t erase the Pussycats from Josie’s story.
Premieres Midseason
What Show Do We Wish They Had Picked Up?
The idea of an anthology series following a new book of Jane Villanueva every season really made me want to see Jane the Novela but I guess since I went on a whole rant up there, it’s gonna have to be Glamorous. The only CW pilot this season based on an original idea, the show would have followed a gender-nonconforming teenager given an internship at a cosmetics company after shit talking their products on YouTube. It was supposedly so funny and the CW was so high on it that they actually made attempts to retool the series so they could pick it up later. The lead, Ben J. Pierce, was apparently much adored so I imagine you’ll see him showing up on a CW series at some point.