PASADENA, Calif.
— Maybe it’s because they haven’t read “Twilight.” Maybe it’s because they don’t have tween daughters hooked on that book and movie franchise.
Or maybe it’s just that they are mostly cranky older males.
For whatever reason, the majority of TV critics assembled for the annual network season unveilings here seem skeptical about the CW’s plan to position itself as the femme-centric network for young babes.
The “Gossip Girl” net is expanding its IM’ing, OMG’ing and vampire-adoring brand this year, going full-steam into age 18-35 female mode. Or younger.
The CW wants to be the prime destination for the ingenue crowd, an idea well-received by advertisers. To stand out further, the network will launch its season three weeks ahead of the competition.
On Sept. 8, the CW (on KWGN-Channel 2 in Denver) will premiere “Melrose Place,” an update of the old soap opera involving sexy, scheming singles in an L.A. apartment house, billed as still the hottest address in town.
It looks like a hoot (better than the “90210” update), a guilty pleasure populated mostly by actors too young to have seen the original. CW president Dawn Ostroff told critics she aims to do more remakes because they have built-in brand recognition.
CW will launch “The Vampire Diaries” on Thursdays, based on a book series that predates “Twilight,” hoping to cash in on the buzz. The current popularity of the undead owing to “True Blood” can’t hurt, either. “Vampire Diaries” creator Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek” and the “Scream” movies) said the drama is more about small-town life than vampires, per se.
“Once you get past the premise of girl and vampire, we start to develop the town,” he said. The author of the books created an intricate mythology. “The vampire story is our way into that.”
“The Beautiful Life: TBL,” coming Wednesdays next month, is a sassy and eye-popping hour about the cutthroat modeling and fashion industries from model-turned- actor-turned-producer Ashton Kutcher.
The most intriguing, most potentially substantive new CW drama, “Life Unexpected,” won’t appear until midseason. It borrows from “The Gilmore Girls” the theme of a young, immature mother growing up with her daughter and introduces the concept of an emancipated minor seeking her biological parents. It’s all about delayed adolescence and finding oneself.
For now, it’s glitz, glamour and vampire-longing on CW. Expect lots and lots of longing, not terribly much consummation of that longing, in stories of love triangles and more love triangles, built to satisfy a certain pubescent demographic.
Now, if they could just introduce diversity in the casting. Is there ever going to be a homely character on a CW show, or does everyone have to look pretty to the point of unreal?
NBC dodges
NBC’s executive session at the press tour featured artful dodges of questions about every aspect of the business.
The heads of scripted and unscripted programming deftly deflected inquiries about the departure of former co-chairman Ben Silverman (they claim he wanted it that way), the NBC ratings spin regarding Conan O’Brien and the ratings expectations for Jay Leno in prime time.
Believe any of it at your own risk.
Angela Bromstad, president of NBC Primetime Entertainment, denied there would be any difference in the content of dramas airing at an earlier hour (now that Leno will be at 9 p.m. weeknights locally). “We’re not playing in dangerous standards territory,” she said.
The tap dance continued.
Bromstad said “Kings” was a great show but “too highbrow, too difficult to sell in a 30-second (promotional) spot.” “Southland” was unfocused and too diffused among the large ensemble; it will continue with a narrower focus. “Friday Night Lights,” while considered “on brand,” doesn’t have the ratings it needs, Bromstad said. It will continue as “a premiere summer program.” “Chuck” will return at midseason. “The Biggest Loser” will be trimmed to 90 minutes at midseason from its flabby two hours.
And giving up “Medium” (picked up by CBS) was largely a financial choice, Bromstad acknowledged. That I believe.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
