The CW, CBS’s sister network, unveiled its 2015-16 fall schedule at the Upfronts, too, and you’ll see that very little has changed. The network was quick to mention that The CW is coming off its most-watched season in years, and the crowd applauded its success during awards seasons with Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress. And as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Only one new show will debut in October when The CW kicks off its fall programming slate, a one-hour romantic comedy with musical elements called Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It gets the Mondays-at-8 slot leading into Jane the Virgin. On Tuesdays there’s The Flash with iZombie, Wednesday airs Arrow with CW veteran Supernatural entering its 11th season, executive producer Julie Plec gets her own night a la Shonda Rhimes with The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals paired on Thursday nights, and period soap Reign moves to Fridays tagged with America’s Next Top Model.
Saved for midseason is another Greg Berlanti superhero series, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (an Arrow/Flash spinoff) and another Julie Plec drama, the apocalyptic Containment. Returning series Beauty and the Beast and The 100 sit on the bench for a future debut.
Jump after the break to preview The CW’s new fall and midseason series with video clips and descriptions.
2015-16 THE CW FALL SCHEDULE (new programs are CAPITALIZED)
MONDAY
8 PM – CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND
9 PM – Jane The Virgin
TUESDAY
8 PM – The Flash
9 PM – iZombie
WEDNESDAY
8 PM – Arrow
9 PM – Supernatural
THURSDAY
8 PM – Vampire Diaries
9 PM – The Originals
FRIDAY
8 PM – Reign
9 PM – America’s Next Top Model
NEW FALL COMEDY SERIES
CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND: Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) is a successful, driven, and possibly crazy young woman who impulsively gives up everything – her partnership at a prestigious law firm and her upscale apartment in Manhattan – in a desperate attempt to find love and happiness in that exotic hotbed of romance and adventure: suburban West Covina, Calif. (it’s only two hours from the beach! Four in traffic). Crazy Ex-Girlfriend stars Rachel Bloom, who also serves as executive producer along with Aline Brosh McKenna, and Marc Webb. From CBS Television Studios.
NEW SERIES HELD FOR MIDSEASON
DC’s LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: When heroes alone are not enough… the world needs legends. Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat — one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known? DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow stars Victor Garber (“The Flash”); Brandon Routh (“Arrow”); Arthur Darvill (“Doctor Who”); Caity Lotz (“Arrow”); Ciarra Renee (“Pippin”); Franz Drameh (“Edge of Tomorrow”); with Dominic Purcell (“The Flash,” “Prison Break”); and Wentworth Miller (“The Flash,” “Prison Break”). Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Sarah Schechter executive produce. Based on the characters from DC Comics. From Bonanza Productions Inc., Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television.
CONTAINMENT: When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced, forcing those stuck on the inside to fight for their lives while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure. Trying to keep the peace on the streets is police officer Lex Carnahan, who has quickly risen through the ranks of the Atlanta PD. But Lex’s job becomes even harder when he learns that his longtime girlfriend, Jana, and his best friend and fellow officer Jake, are trapped within the cordoned area. Also quarantined in viral ground zero is 17 year-old Teresa, who is eight months pregnant and now separated from her boyfriend on the other side; Katie Frank, an elementary school teacher now placed on lockdown with her entire class, including her young son; and CDC researcher Dr. Victor Cannerts, the doctor who initially made the controversial call to quarantine the area and is now racing to find a cure for the virus. On the outside, Dr. Sabine Lommers is leading the government efforts to contain the outbreak, and has asked for Lex’s help in enforcing the cordon – which grows increasingly difficult as the public trust deteriorates. And the public has reason to be wary, as journalist Leo begins unraveling a conspiracy, finding that something doesn’t add up in the official story being told. Torn apart from their loved ones, the survivors trapped within the cordon are fighting against not only fatal infection, but also isolation, fear, and the disintegration of society around them. But as they begin to gain each other’s trust, hope remains, and on either side of the cordon unlikely heroes will rise. Containment stars David Gyasi, Christina Moses, Chris Wood, Kristen Gutoskie, Claudia Black, George Young, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, and Trevor St. John. Julie Plec and David Nutter executive produce. Based on the original Belgian series created by Carl Joos for Eyeworks. From My So-Called Company and Warner Bros. Television.