Taking it to the hoop, eh?
When you're the CW, anything near a 2.0 rating in the adult demographic looks frickin' sweet. So after waiting to see how One Tree Hill performed during the first few weeks of the season and liking the results, the network has opted to order a full season of the teen drama, according to Variety. But things didn't stop there; The CW also made moves that are good signs for two other shows.
One Tree Hill generally flies under the radar, getting little promotion from The CW. But guess what? It's outperforming Gossip Girl in ratings and total viewers (2.48 million vs. 2.09 million last Monday), even without the photo shoots, gossip-column dish, and nip slips that Blake Lively and Leighton Meester get caught up in. In fact, because OTH is Gossip Girl's lead-in, it means people are tuning out once Gossip Girl comes on. So take that, you spoiled Manhattan brats!
Yes, it's somewhat unusual for a returning show to start a season without a full order. But CW execs were likely waiting to see how everything on their schedule played out; with One Tree Hill outperforming Gossip Girl -- and on a smaller budget, no less -- upping the show to 22 episodes was an easy decision. Another factor in holding off on the full-season order? The network needed time to gauge viewers' reactions to the messed-up off-season firings of lead actors Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton, who were let go due to budget cuts.
The CW's two new darlings also received good news. The network has ordered nine more scripts for Vampire Diaries and six more for Melrose Place. Ordering scripts is usually a precursor to a full-season pickup, and despite a ratings drop-off in its second week, Vampire Diaries looks like a full-season lock.
The future of Melrose Place, however, is still up in the air. Execs can't be impressed with its performance so far (its most recent episode netted only 1.5 million viewers), and are holding onto the hope that the return of Heather Locklear will give it a boost. Guess what? It won't.
Comments (10)
I think getting rid of CMM was bad idea!! He was my favorite guy on that show!! Surely cuts could have been made elsewhere!!
it's not good show any more
I'm definitely liking the fact they're starting to pick up more scripts of Vampire Diaries up
Haven't seen a single episode of OTH...Really enjoying The Beautiful Life, The Vampire Diaries...and Melrose Place just needs some time!...i guess.Not loving it as much as i'm loving 90210....yet
I am glad One Tree Hill gets full season.
i'm hook on vampire diaries right now & hoping that they'll stay away from the whole issue of sex, make it a sex-free series would be awesome, getting sick of series with so much sex in it.
OTH is still awesome - :)
one tree hill isn't one tree hill anymore...it sucks
I thought MP was doing better but guess not but hey must be doing better then the beautiful life. TBL wasn't even on there. You never know with Heather Locklear it may do better. Think positive. It's bringing back some original characters so that should help.
one tree hill ftw