Only one thing could be said about the upcoming merger of UPN and WB: the names may change, but the shows remain the same.
The new network cancelled about a dozen shows, but a few shows missing from the new lineup were at the end of their contracts like the WB's girl-powered franchises "What I Like about You" and "Charmed." Other cancelled shows were not really staples of either network like WB's "Pepper Dennis" and "Twins" or UPN's "Love Inc." because they had only recently been added to the lineup.
Although a few girl-powered shows were cancelled, the combined network remains heavy on the female friendly fare — especially Tuesday night's paring of UPN's teen sleuth "Veronica Mars" with WB's "Gilmore Girls." The main exception to the estrogen laden shows would be Friday night's heavily testosterone driven WWE Smackdown from UPN's old lineup.
Unfortunately for sci-fi fans, the new network has no plans to introduce a new Star Trek series — prior to the most recent season, Star Trek was a cornerstone to UPN's line up. However, comic book fans can take solace in knowing that Superman pre-quel "Smallville" was renewed and will be pared on Thursdays with UPN's "Supernatural," a series about two ghost hunting brothers.
On the programming front, the deal does have a few wrinkles namely Reba McEntire's self-named sitcom about a single mother. Shortly before the merger, WB had renewed the show for two seasons. However, it doesn't have a home in the new lineup. Rumor has it that should any new show like "Runaway" or "Game" fail to attract viewers, than "Reba" will fill the void midseason.
Either way, the lack of innovation in the lineup suggests that the CW may continue to struggle like its predecessors.—Matthew Wurtzel
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