The WB unveiled its fall lineup Tuesday in New York, adding five new comedies, a pair of reality series and one new drama as expected.
Network programmers also ordered comedy A Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star (Warner Bros.) and drama Glory Days (Warner Bros. and Miramax TV) for midseason. The WB is also going to air original drama Dead Last from co-owned Warner Bros. this summer and it's dedicating one night to theatrical movies. On the loss of Buffy The Vampire Slayer to rival UPN this fall, WB co-Entertainment President Susanne Daniels said, "Buffy will always be a show close to our hearts, but when networks get sixth or seventh year renewals on series, it often dramatically depletes their resources. Then why do it? Well you do it out of the fear that you can't replace the show and the effect that it has on the network. But we saw the teen audience start to erode on Buffy and typically the longer you leave a show on the air, the older its audience gets. As we continue to position ourselves as the network for teens and young adults, it's up to us to embrace change like young people who ask, `what's next?"
The new comedies at The WB consist of Men, Women & Dogs (Sunday 8:30), Off Centre (Sunday 9:30), Maybe I'm Adopted (Friday 8:30), Deep in the Heart (Friday 9:00) and Raising Dad (Friday 9:30). The lone drama addition is Smallville (Tuesday 9:00) and the reality series are Lost in The U.S.A. (Sunday 7:00) and Elimidate Deluxe (Thursday 8:30).
- Joe Schlosser
