Fall TV Preview: The CW Network Combines WB and UPN Networks

On Tuesday January 24, 2006 Warner Brothers and CBS Corporation announced that both the WB and UPN Networks would be rolling into one network, The CW. The CW will air beginning in the fall of 2006 and will feature programming from both networks, as well as two new programs.

The upcoming fall schedule for The CW was announced on May 18th. An overview follows.

SUNDAY

Kicking off the week in the 7:00 time slot is The UPN's critical success, Everybody Hates Chris. The show, created by Chris Rock, and starring Tyler James Williams as Chris, was nominated for a Golden Globe last year in the Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy. Everybody Hates Chris is followed by the fourth season of All Of Us at 7:30. Like Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us was created by some big screen talent, namely Will Smith and wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The show is based on the real-life couple's extended family dynamics. 8:00 ushers in the return of a UPN staple. Girlfriends will begin its seventh season. Following Girlfriends is the lone new comedy on the schedule, The Game. The Game is a humorous take on the lives of the women who date and are married to professional football players. Veteran television actors Tia Mowry (Sister Sister) and Coby Bell (Third Watch) lead the cast. At 9:00 the network will air an encore presentation of the previous week's America's Next Top Model episode.

MONDAY

Back from the dead is 7th Heaven at 8:00. Though the family drama aired a series finale this springon The WB, The CW decided to resucitate the Aaron Spelling created show. The Camden clan will be heading into its eleventh season. Following 7th Heaven is The CW's first foray into the dramatic genre. Runaway is about a seemingly normal family that includes teenage daughters and a young son. The Rader family, however aren't your everyday neighbors. The father, played by Donnie Wahlberg (Boomtown) has been falsely assused of a crime, and has taken his family on the run. Leslie Hope (24) also stars.

TUESDAY

Girl power is alive at the CW. Beginning the night is the return of Gilmore Girls. The mother-daughter tandem of Lorelei (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) are back for their seventh season. For the first time, the series will be without creator Amy Palladino. At 9:00 is another UPN critical darling, Veronica Mars. Kristen Bell settles in for a third season as she no doubt will have another season-long mystery to solve.

WEDNESDAY

Tyra Banks' hit America's Next Top Model will be back for its seventh cycle. Once the top model has been crowned, look for Beauty and the Geek to return. The beautiful cast of One Tree Hill keeps its old time slot at 9:00, and should be interesting as the characters are set to enroll in college. Something else to consider - will there be a baby along soon? As the show ended in the spring, Karen (Moira Kelly) had just found out she was pregnant with her dead fiancee's baby.

THURSDAY

If Tuesday night is girl's night, then Thursday night is arguably geared towards the guys. Smallville starring Tom Welling as young Clark, returns for its sixth season. Following the super-hero drama is last year's WB break-out hit Supernatural. The show boasts former WB alums Jared Padalecki (Gilmore Girls) and Jensen Ackles (Dawson's Creek) as brothers searching for their father.

FRIDAY

Friday night brings the return of WWE Smackdown (alternately titled Friday Night Smackdown). The show will begin its eighth season in the fall.