While at The CW portion of the TCA Press Tour, President Mark Pedowitz took some time to talk about new and returning programming.  During the interview, he spoke about the success of The Flash/Arrow two-night event cross-over and how they’re only looking to do big cross-over episodes once a year, the chances of a The Vampire Diaries/The Originals cross-over, whether they’re looking at other DC properties, just how many DC shows they could have on the air at once, how Supergirl ended up at CBS, whether there have ever been discussions about something being set in The Lord of the Rings universe, if another Star Trek series could happen, and that he’d still like to make a Supernatural spin-off work.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

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Image via The CW

Question:  Given the success of The Flash/Arrow two-night event cross-over, do you have any want to try that same thing with The Vampire Diaries and The Originals? 

MARK PEDOWITZ:  We did some last year.  That’s really in Julie Plec, Caroline Dries and Michael Narducci's bailiwick.  For me, when you’re doing cross-overs, they have to have a level of organic basis.  Otherwise, they feel forced and the audience recognizes it.  But as far as that goes, it’s up to them.  If they think it’s the right way to go, I’m fine.  At this point in time, the mythologies and the universe all criss-cross.  In terms of The Flash and Arrow, those big cross-overs we’re only planning to do pretty much once a year, in the fourth quarter, similar to the Doctor Who Christmas specials.

Are you looking at any more DC properties, and are you looking at any other Warner’s properties?  Have you ever had discussions about The Lord of the Rings, or anything out of that universe as a series?

PEDOWITZ:  We’ve had no discussions on The Lord of the Rings.  I believe that’s a very strong theatrical property that is staying put, at the moment, with the studio and the feature film side.  In terms of DC properties, we are having some preliminary discussions in terms of expanding The Flash/Arrow universe, but we have not yet fully vetted them out.  That’s really about the extent I can talk about it.

How many shows could you have in that universe on the air at once, before there would be too many?

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PEDOWITZ:  You have to be judicious.  Could there be another hour in that universe?  Possibly.  We don’t know, as far as that goes.  No one has really pitched out what that would be or not be.  That’s why we’re in preliminary discussions about it.  If there should be, for some chance, something like that again, it has to stand on its own legs.  At this point in time, there is nothing going down, in that direction.

If there were to be another Star Trek series, which everyone thinks eventually there may be, do you anticipate it will be a giant battle between you and CBS over who might get that?

PEDOWITZ:  As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I would hope to have Star Trek at The CW.  That’s a conversation at a different point in time.  Hopefully, it will get released and we’ll be able to look at it as a TV series.  At the moment, it’s a feature film, and I have heard no discussion about it going out as a TV show, at all.

When Supergirl was announced, a lot of people probably expected that The CW seemed like the most logical of homes for it, and maybe not CBS.  Did you have any discussions about that, and how do you feel about it not being a CW show?

PEDOWITZ:  I’m happy for the studio that they were able to sell it to CBS.  We were aware of it.  We knew about it.  You don’t want to become just one thing to everybody.  It’s good to have some diversity, and I’m very happy that they sold it to another network.

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The Supernatural spin-off did not work, but is there going to be any more exploration of spin-offs for that show?

PEDOWITZ:  I’ve been pretty outspoken in wanting another Supernatural spin-off.  It is really in Jeremy Carver and Eric Kripke and Bob Singer’s court, as far as what is the best idea.  They’ve been busy working on the show this year.  Obviously, it didn’t come together, but we are completely open to looking at a spin-off.  And hopefully next year, since we’ve just renewed the show, they will come up with something that we can use.  I’m very happy with how Supernatural has done, and god bless them.  They keep going, and they go strong.

As far as the new season of Beauty and the Beast, can we expect another summer premiere?

PEDOWITZ:  One of the reasons we picked it up for this year was to begin bringing scripted programming into the summer, so we anticipate a late May/June start for Beauty and the Beast.

Is this the last season of Hart of Dixie?

PEDOWITZ:  Not necessarily.  We’re going to see the ratings.  We were happy to launch the show in December.  It was a little fun holiday gift for the fans, as well as getting an opportunity to see how it plays with Jane the Virgin.  We are happy to see how it plays.  I think (show creator) Leila [Gerstein] a great job in the ten episodes this year of making something fun for the fans.  So, if it ends, there’s a great finale.  If it doesn’t end, there’s a great season finale.  But, we’re not committed one way or the other yet.

When you have post-apocalyptic shows like The 100 and The Messengers, just how intense can you make those shows?  Are you always mindful that you’re aiming at a specific network audience of a certain age? 

PEDOWITZ:  The 100 is pretty intense.  It’s as intense as most cable shows.  We do have a broadcast standards and practices department, and we are a broadcaster where we have to be mindful of what time the show is going on and where it’s being placed around the country.  So, there is that moment where you have to walk a line.  But for intensity purposes, if we can go as far as we can go, we’ll go there.  It depends on the show.  (Show creator) Jason [Rothenberg] has done a terrific job of making The 100 a dark show.  It’s one of the reasons I think it’s worked.