The CW Finds New Building Blocks

In its first year, the CW focused more on making sure viewers of the WB and UPN could find old favorites rather than on developing its own identity. Unfortunately, this development also proved a struggle for the network, and rumors abound that Dawn Ostroff will soon be replaced. Yet, with a few promising new dramas and a full season of Beauty & the Geek, the network may actually see some gains.

The biggest move finds the Ashton Kutcher-produced reality series leading off Tuesdays, followed by comedic horror show Reaper. The tonal shift to a more male audience may help, should FOX return Idol to the night. The CW's most buzzed about series, Gossip Girl, gets slotted for Wednesdays. It should get a boost from America's Next Top Model, but faces tough competition in Private Practice.

The sole new comedy, Aliens in America, replaces All of Us on Monday nights. About a Pakistani Muslim exchange student living with a white-bred Wisconsin family, the sitcom seems a good fit for the under-appreciated Everybody Hates Chris. The ratings for Girlfriends and The Game may take a hit of ABC's new Monday comedy strategy works.

Sundays, the CW kicks the night off with Online Nation, featuring the week's Internet highlights, and CW Now, an entertainment newsmag from the producers of Extra. Life is Wild, an adaptation of the UK family hit Wild at Heart and filmed entirely in Africa, tries to capture that old 7th Heaven magic, while the night is again capped by encores of Top Model.

Between cycles of America's Next Top Model and Beauty & the Geek, the CW has three reality series on tap: Crowned: The Mother of All Beauty Pagents, featuring mother/daughter teams working together to win a beauty pageant; Farmer Wants a Wife, in which a real-life farmer will search for a wife from the big city; and Pussy Cat Dolls 2, which next year will focus on creating a similar group. One Tree Hill, which shifts four years into the future (post-college) when it returns, will run repeat-free starting in midseason. The fate of Veronica Mars, meanwhile, remains up in the air, as do the fates of two comedies still in contention for midseason: Dash4Cash and Eight Days a Week.

With Thursdays and Fridays remaining stable, the bottom line for the CW depends on if its two strongest reality shows can launch its two strongest new series and create the next generation of youth hits in the mold of Dawson's Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The bottom line? Next year the network needs to ramp up pilot production and make a couple bold moves, because it's either the third time's the charm - or three strikes and out.