Inside The New CW: Network Chiefs Explain How They’re Measuring Success, Leaning Into Adult Dramas and the Path to Profitability
The CW that audiences see when they tune in this fall won’t look like the CW of years past – but it also won’t look like the CW that new owner Nexstar actually intends to offer consumers moving forward.In a move similar to its broadcast competition, the CW released a fall schedule meant to be practically immune to the effects of the ongoing writers strike. It’s an acquisition-heavy lineup that’s a mix of comedies (Canadian sitcoms including “Children Ruin Everything” and “Run the Burbs”), dramas (former AMC series “61st Street”) and unscripted fare (the salvaged HBO Max hit “FBoy Island”). The only potential hiccup would be a strike-related production delay for “All American,” one of two CW shows that new network president Dennis Miller and entertainment president Brad Schwartz have decided to keep moving forward.As much as Schwartz doesn’t like the perception that there is anything wrong with an acquisition, he and Miller told Variety that isn’t the center of their scheduling strategy, but rather a path they had to take this first year because of production uncertainties.Here, Variety speaks with Schwartz and Miller about the network’s plans for adult dramas, programming to Black audiences following the success of “All American,” going hard on unscripted with “FBoy Island,” and the path to making the former Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channel profitable for Nexstar.