Variety: Buffy’s Loss Take Bite Out Of WB

Thanks to Tara for this :)

I was just watching the monring news on the wb.They said that Roswell and popular won’t be on the wb anymore.That means that upn is going to be getting Buffy,Roswell,and Popular.Angel will be nexts.

Thanks to JEEPY91 for this :)

Buffy” loss takes a bite out of WB

By Josef Adalian

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) – Losing “Buffy the Vampire Slayer (news – Y! TV)”
won’t kill the WB — but it’s gonna sting.

While the 20th Century Fox TV-produced series isn’t the WB’s top-rated show
— that honor belongs to Monday powerhouse “7th Heaven” — “Buffy” is the
anchor of the WB’s Tuesday lineup, with an average audience of about 4.5
million viewers. Star Sarah Michelle Gellar is one of the WB’s icons.

It’s too early to say just what the WB will do on Tuesday nights next season.
First up, the network must decide whether to keep or kill “Buffy” spinoff
“Angel.”

Ratings-wise, some industry insiders believe “Angel” would suffer without
the benefit of a “Buffy” lead-in. The network may also want to make a clean
break from the entire “Buffy” franchise.

On the other hand, canceling “Angel” would mean giving UPN another hour of
successful programming, which the latter network would likely use to build a
whole new Tuesday.

Assuming “Angel” flies, one leading contender for the 8 p.m. Tuesday slot
would be “Smallville,” the young Superman series that already has a
13-episode commitment. The show’s superhero-as-teen plot mirrors that of
early “Buffy.”

Another possibility would be “Dead Last,” which revolves around a “Scooby
Doo”-like rock band that solves mysteries. It also has a 13-episode order.

In addition to its Tuesday problem, the WB will have other holes to plug next
season.

On Mondays, “Roswell” was all but dead before the “Buffy” move. It’s now
buried. On Fridays, the WB will have to fill an hour left by the likely
cancellation of teen drama “Popular.” The WB will also need at least
another hour of programming on Sunday, and quite possibly two hours.

Perhaps most importantly, losing “Buffy” means losing the WB’s most-praised
series. Last year, the series snagged Emmy and Golden Globe nods and made the
10-best lists of critics from Time, TV Guide and USA Today.

While plaudits don’t always equal ratings, the WB has used praise for
“Buffy” — and other shows, including newcomer “Gilmore Girls (news – Y!
TV)” — to build a brand as a home for quality young adult drama. That
mission now gets a bit tougher.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS