TCA Winter 2015: The CW Announces Early Renewals; Reveals iZombie and The Messengers Premiere Dates; Moves Supernatural Again but Spinoff Still in Play
Debi Moore
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Today it was The CW’s turn to take on the Television Critics Association during that organization’s currently under way 2015 Winter Tour in Pasadena, CA; and if you’re among the fans of the network’s horror slate, we have a lot of good news for you so settle in and read on!
First up, The CW’s president, Mark Pedowitz, said that, in essence, they’ve picked up all of the scripted series from their fall 2014 schedule to next season.
The series being ordered for the 2015-2016 season include “Supernatural” (Season 11), “The Originals” (Season 3), and “The Vampire Diaries” (Season 7). Also renewed are “Arrow” (Season 4), “Jane the Virgin (Season 2), “Reign” (Season 3), “The 100” (Season 3), and “The Flash” (Season 2).
“Each of these series have helped define what The CW is today, a network that is home to smart, provocative, quality programming, targeting a savvy adult audience,” said Pedowitz. “By picking up these shows now, our executive producers can start planning next season’s storylines, and rolling these shows out throughout next season guarantees The CW will have more proven original series for our fall, midseason, and summer 2016 line-ups.”
In addition, The CW announced its midseason schedule, including the series premieres of “iZombie” (which is the impetus for “Supernatural’s” move) and “The Messengers,” two shows we’ve been following closely.
From executive producer Rob Thomas (“Veronica Mars”), “iZombie” makes its series debut on Tuesday, March 17 (9:00-10:00pm ET), following an all-new episode of “The Flash” (8:00-9:00pm ET).
What can we expect? Per Deadline, exec producer Rob Thomas acknowledged he “didn’t hew terribly close to the source material” in adapting the DC comic book for CW’s midseason series. Whereas the comic has a “whole monster universe,” he wanted to the show to “stay strictly zombie” because the producers really wanted a “case-of-the-week show,” and having a zombie working in a morgue eating corpse brains gave them that vehicle. The writers went for a “very Raymond Chandler-esque, hard-boiled cynical world view” in Liv’s voiceover narration. We also heard the series being referred to as “CSI” or “Law and Order” for the younger set so whether or not we continue coverage is up for debate, especially taking into account Thomas’ other remarks…
While a zombie, Liv is “softer” and “sweetness and light” as she discovers “things worth living for” as one of the undead. As for why she stays pasty with other zombies in the show opting to go “under cover” via spray tan and hair dye, “The reason she does not spray tan or die her hair to look like everyone else is because she will look great on our poster,” Thomas said. “The truth is, it’s for the CW subway poster.”
Catch a new “first look” preview of “iZombie” below.
“iZombie” Synopsis:
Rose McIver (“Masters of Sex,” “Once Upon a Time”) stars as Olivia “Liv” Moore, a rosy-cheeked, disciplined, over-achieving medical resident who had her life path completely mapped out until the night she attended a party that unexpectedly turned into a zombie feeding frenzy. Malcolm Goodwin (“Breakout Kings”), newcomer Rahul Kohli, Robert Buckley (“One Tree Hill”), and David Anders (“Once Upon a Time,” “The Vampire Diaries”) co-star. As one of the newly undead, Liv has devised a way to resist her baser urges to devour fresh human brains: She’s taken a job in the Seattle coroner’s office. In this appropriately dead-end job, she can secretly snack on the brains of the many Jane and John Doe corpses that make a final stop in the morgue.
Liv remains resigned to an eternity without hope or purpose, until she realizes that with every brain she consumes, she retains a portion of that person’s memories, and she begins to experience visions from the point of view of the murder victims. It’s not the same as being alive again, but at least she can find purpose in her undead existence by helping to solve the murders of those who are indeed fully dead.
On Friday, April 10, The CW presents the series premiere of its apocalyptic new drama “The Messengers” (9:00-10:00pm ET).
“The Messengers” Synopsis:
When a mysterious object plummets to Earth, the blinding explosion it causes sends out a shock wave that instantly connects five strangers who awaken after the pulse with extraordinary gifts they can barely believe. Most mysterious of all is a figure known only as “The Man,” who brings death and suffering wherever he appears. The wheels of Revelation have begun to turn, and these five newly christened Angels of the Apocalypse may be the only hope for preventing the impending Rapture.
“The Messengers” stars Shantel VanSanten (“Gang Related,” “One Tree Hill”), Jon Fletcher (“City of Dreams”), Sofia Black-D’Elia (“Betrayal,” “Gossip Girl”), JD Pardo (“Revolution”), Joel Courtney (Super 8), Anna Diop (“Everybody Hates Chris”), Craig Frank (“Mixology”), and Diogo Morgado (Son of God, Sol de Inverno) as The Man.
Of course we have a new “first look” preview of “The Messengers,” too.
With “iZombie” on Tuesdays, the Winchester brothers move to their new night as “Supernatural” returns to Wednesdays, beginning March 18, 9:00-10:00pm ET, the week after “The 100” concludes its second season.
Deadline provided a tiny update on the show’s potential spinoff: “I’ve been pretty outspoken that I’ve wanted another spinoff,” Pedowitz said. Now that “Supernatural“ has been renewed for an 11th season, “hopefully next year they will come with something.”
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