Kick-Ass Ladies of the CW

Last Friday, on the penultimate day of the Television Critics of America tour in Pasadena, CA, the CW network presented a panel of its finest ladies, calling it the "Kick-Ass Women of the CW."

On the panel were Nikita's Maggie Q and Lyndsy Fonseca, Vampire Diaries' Candice Accola, Hellcats' Aly Michalka, and Smallville's Erica Durance. Check out my coverage for web site wetpaint.com, where I spoke to each of these ladies (except Durance) and Vampire Diaries' showrunner Kevin Williamson as well, to get the scoop on what to expect this spring.

IT'S OFFICIAL: Smallville renewed for 10th season

A few weeks back, when the CW Network announced early renewals for five of its series and Smallville wasn't on that list, fans of the show continued to wonder -- as they had at this time last year -- whether this, the show's 9th season, might be its last.

But thanks no doubt in large part to the introduction of the Justice Society, the show's ratings are on the upswing, with the February 6 episode "Absolute Justice," introducing those characters (like Green Arrow and Hawkman, pictured) attracting the show's largest audience of the season at 2.8 million, and the largest CW Friday night results in over a year.

“SMALLVILLE” TO RETURN FOR A TENTH SEASON ON THE CW

March 4, 2010 (Burbank, California) € The CW Network has announced that its hit series “Smallville” will return in the fall of 2010 for a momentous tenth season.

“Smallville,” a modern retelling of the Superman legend, stars Tom Welling as Clark Kent. The series moved to Friday nights this season, where it currently ranks as network television’s #1 show in its time period among men 18-34 and men 18-49. Additionally, “Smallville” has dramatically improved The CW’s ratings performance in its Friday 8:00-9:00p.m.time period by 67% among adults 18-34 (1.5/6), 200% in men 18-34 (1.8/7), 75% in adults 18-49 (1.4/5), 183% in men 18-49 (1.7/6) and 74% in total viewers (3.12million).

“Smallville” joins the five previously announced series – “The Vampire Diaries,” “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” “Supernatural” and “America’s Next Top Model” – which will all return for another season on The CW.

“Smallville” was developed for television by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (“Shanghai Noon,” “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”), based on the DC Comics characters. Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson serve as executive producers, along with James Marshall, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins and Joe Davola. The series is produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions, Millar/Gough Ink and Warner Bros. Television. SUPERMAN was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

BREAKING NEWS... CW announces 5 early renewals

Breaking News: The CW has taken the somewhat unusual step of announcing early pickups for five of its series. And hmmm... I notice that Melrose Place and Smallville aren't mentioned...

THE CW ANNOUNCES EARLY PICKUPS FOR FIVE SERIES

Freshman Hit “The Vampire Diaries,” “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” “Supernatural” and “America’s Next Top Model” To Return Next Season

February 16, 2010 (Burbank, California) € The CW Network has given early pickups to five series for next season, including four signature dramas and the reality hit AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. All five shows will return in Fall 2010.

The series receiving early renewals include this season’s breakout hit THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, The CW’s most-watched show (4.6 million viewers) and the network’s number one show among adults 18-34 (2.5/8). THE VAMPIRE DIARIES premiere generated the largest audience in network history for a series debut (5.7 million total viewers). THE VAMPIRE DIARIES has improved The CW’s performance Thursday at 8:00 p.m. by 114% among women 18-34 this season. The network also renewed fan favorite SUPERNATURAL, which will enter its sixth season next year. SUPERNATURAL has one of the most loyal audiences of any show on television and does heroic work in a perennially tough time period. It has improved over last season among women and adults 18-34 (29% and 8%, respectively) this season, a remarkable accomplishment for a fifth-year show.

Also given early pickups for next season are The CW’s Monday night sensation GOSSIP GIRL, which is The CW’s number one show among its target demographic of women 18-34, and Tuesday’s trend-setting drama, 90210, which sees some of TV’s largest percent increases from DVR playback, nearly doubling its women 18-34 live-only ratings once live+7 data is included. Wednesday anchor AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL will also be back for cycles 15 and 16 with superstar Tyra Banks and new groups of aspiring models. TOP MODEL continues to rank second in the competitive Wednesday 8:00 p.m. hour among young women 18-34 (3.4/10.)