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.

A Vampire Masquerade

With Halloween being a natural time to perk up additional interest in its sophomore series The Vampire Diaries, the CW has been sending around the below promo for this coming Thursday's episode, "Masquerade." Just passing it along, for those vamp fans looking for a new screensaver or wallpaper...

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.)