As part of The CW portion of the TCA Press Tour, network president Mark Pedowitz took some time to discuss current programming, upcoming series and shows in various development stages.  During the interview, he talked about how The Carrie Diaries came about, what attracted the network to Cult, the genesis for the possible The Vampire Diaries spin-off about the Originals (with Joseph Morgan and Phoebe Tonkin, and set in New Orleans), that The Selection and Wonderland are still in pilot contention, how the Wonder Woman project Amazon is progressing, their interest in other DC Comics characters, that they are no longer pursuing a Battle Royale series, and how they feel about current shows Supernatural, Beauty and the Beast, Nikita and Hart of Dixie.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The ratings for Friday evening’s programming are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The season premiere of Nikita premiered quite low, as the episode netted a 0.3 rating and 950,000 viewers.
• Though the show has been on an uptick as of late, this week’s episode of Grimm was down a tad with a 1.4 rating and 4.9 million viewers.  That’s a 13% drop from last week’s 1.6.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Friday, October 19th. 

As part of The CW portion of the TCA Press Tour, network president Mark Pedowitz took some time to talk about their new fall (including Arrow and Beauty and the Beast) and mid-season line-ups (including The Carrie Diaries and Cult).  During the interview, he spoke about what went into the decision to cancel Ringer, the possibility of The Selection still getting ordered to series, the rumors that they’re planning to do something with Battle Royale, how Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along ended up airing on the network, and what fans can expect from the upcoming seasons of Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Nikita and Hart of Dixie.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

As we reported last month, The CW has plenty of shakeups afoot in their new fall lineup:

• Supernatural is moving to Wednesdays
• Hart of Dixie moves to Tuesdays
• 90210 changes to Mondays
• New series Beauty and the Beast will air after The Vampire Diaries, which remains on Thursday
• The much-hyped Green Arrow series Arrow will be on Wednesdays

For more on the lineup, including the full fall schedule, hit the jump.

Comic-Con has released the schedule for Preview Night on Wednesday, July 11th and the full schedule for Thursday, July 12th.  Preview Night won’t just have people trampling each other for Exhibitors Floor merchandise.  It will also have screenings of the pilots for Arrow, 666 Park Avenue, The Following, Revolution, and Cult.  As for Thursday, Comic-Con has wisely scheduled The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 as the first panel of the day in Hall H (although it doesn’t start until almost 1:00pm for some reason), so all the Twihards can get in, see the panel, and get on with their lives.  For the rest of the day, Hall H will play host to Frankenweenie, Oz the Great and Powerful, Wreck-It Ralph, Jackie Chan’s CZ12, The Expendables 2, and…not much else really.  No offense to Chan, but his directorial feature CZ12 is going to be packed only because Expendables 2 is coming afterwards.

On the TV side, there will be panels for returning series Psych, Wilfred, Archer, Nikita, Dexter, and Workaholics.  There will also be panels for new series Beauty and the Beast and Elementary.  Hit the jump for highlights from the Wednesday and Thursday schedules.  The 2012 San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 12 – 15th.

With Comic-Con 2012 just around the corner, word is starting to leak out about what movies and TV shows will/won’t be making an appearance.  We have a good idea of the film panel slate in Hall H, and now official word regarding TV panels is trickling down.  As a quick reference guide, we’ve rounded up the TV panels that have been confirmed thus far in one easy article.  Briefly:

• Thursday – MAD, Nikita
• Friday – The Big Bang Theory, Arrow, Bones, Childrens Hospital, Cult, 666 Park Avenue, Brickleberry, Bob’s Burgers, The Venture Bros, NTSF:SD:SUV, Robot Chicken, Black Dynamite
• Saturday – Glee, The Vampire Diaries, Revolution, The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Person of Interest, Futurama, The Following
• Sunday – Fringe, Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural, DC Nation, The Cleveland Show

Hit the jump for more details, including which actors will be in attendance and where the panels will take place.  Comic-Con 2012 will run from July 11 – July 15.

With the summer movie season in full-swing, it’s time to start looking towards this year’s Comic-Con.  We’ve still got a little over a month to go before Geek Fest 2012, but Warner Bros. Television has gotten a head start on the festivities and announced their slate of TV panels.  Appearances have been announced for Nikita, Person of Interest, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Childrens Hospital, and new series like Arrow, The Following, 666 Park Avenue, Revolution, and Cult.  Furthermore, panels for Supernatural, Fringe and The Big Bang Theory will be taking place in the coveted Hall H this year.  Interestingly, The Big Bang Theory‘s Hall H panel takes place on Friday when TV has been previously held exclusively on Sunday in Hall H.

Fans will also get a chance to screen the pilot for The CW’s Green Arrow series Arrow, executive producer J.J. Abrams’ Revolution, and more.  Hit the jump to take a look at the full schedule, which includes confirmed talent appearances for some of the panels as well as times and locations.  Comic-Con 2012 takes place July 11 – July 15 in San Diego.

We’ve been reporting on all the networks’ new fall 2012 schedules over the past few days, with word from NBC, Fox, ABC, and CBS.  Today The CW announced their new lineup, and quite a few shakeups are taking place.  As far as returning series go, every single show has a new night and/or time except for The Vampire Diaries which remains on Thursday.  Supernatural moves to Wednesdays, Hart of Dixie now airs on Tuesdays, and 90210 is set for Mondays.  The highly anticipated Green Arrow TV show, Arrow, will air on Wednesdays at 8pm, while Beauty and the Beast will premiere on Thursdays after The Vampire Diaries.

One noticeable omission is the Sex and the City prequel series The Carrie Diaries.  That show won’t debut until January 2013.  Hit the jump to check out the full schedule for The CW.

In the Season 2 finale of Nikita – recently picked up for a third season, much to the happiness of its loyal viewers – Nikita (Maggie Q) and Michael (Shane West) are trapped at Division, in an attempt to capture Percy (Xander Berkeley), and Ryan (Noah Bean) must convince the President of the United States not to destroy Division until he is sure that Nikita and Michael are safely out of the building.  But, when it comes to The CW drama series, things never turn out how the characters expect, inevitably leading Nikita and Percy to the face-off that fans have been anxiously waiting for.

During this recent interview to promote the finale, which airs on May 18^th, show star Maggie Q talked about what viewers can expect from the final showdown, the big question that the season ends with, the mind-set of the characters, memorable Nikita and Michael moments, that there will be loss, and what she would like to see in Season 3. Check out what she had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers:

More TV renewals and pick-ups for you today.  This round is brought to you by The CW.  Here are the headlines:

• Renewals:  Nikita, starring Maggie Q, will be around for a third season with an unspecified number of episodes.  The Rachel Bilson-starrer Hart of Dixie will see 22 episodes in its second season.  Gossip Girl has been renewed for a sixth-season, which may be its last.
• Pick-Ups:  The Green Arrow-centric series, Arrow; the Sex and the City prequel, The Carrie Diaries and the reboot of the 1980s series, Beauty and the Beast have all been picked up by the network.  Medical drama, First Cut, starring Mamie Gummer and mystery series, Cult, are other new additions.
• Cancellations:  Freshman series Ringer, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and the bewitched The Secret Circle have been dropped.

Hit the jump for more.

On The CW drama series Nikita, actor Xander Berkeley plays Percy, the former head of Division who was usurped by one of his protégés and confined to prison. Never one to rest or waste time, Percy has been using his imprisonment to plot and plan for what’s ahead, which is sure to be explosive.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Xander Berkeley talked about how much fun he has playing the fearless thrill-seeker who’s looking to reclaim his power with Division, the challenge of finding the balance in a role that is intimidating and menacing while still maintaining a good sense of humor, and working more closely this season with co-stars Melinda Clarke and Lyndsy Fonseca. He also talked about his other series, The Booth at the End (which can currently be seen on Hulu), that he’ll do a second season of, once he’s done shooting the current season of Nikita. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Continuing to make themselves the dominant force in streaming etnertainment to users, Netflix, Warner Bros. Television Group and CBS Corporation have just signed a four-year deal that will bring all prior seasons of The CW’s current scripted series and future shows to Netflix. That means all previous programming, and anything between now and the 2014-2015 season will be made available to watch instantly by Netflix users. The deal includes all drama series on the network’s 2011 schedule like Ringer, Hart of Dixie, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatrual, Nikita and One Tree Hill.

All the previous season of The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and Nikita will be available on October 15th while episodes of Supernatural and 90210 won’t arrive until January 2012. As for all the episodes airing on The CW this season, they will be made available in the fall of 2012, before the next season starts. However, any new series that appear on The CW after this point, will be made available through a commensurate window during that current season. Good news for anyone who likes them some programming from The CW and those who are eager to see Netflix continue to dominate the online entertainment market. Read the entire press release after the jump.

As part of the TCA Press Tour presentation for The CW, President Mark Pedowitz took some time to talk about returning faces for the Fall, increased episode orders for a number of their already-established shows, the interest in developing other DC Comics properties now that Smallville has ended, and the possibility of remakes and re-boots of previous projects. Here are the most interesting points:

• One of the big goals of The CW is for more original programming, so that their TV shows don’t take as long of a break between episodes around the holiday season.
• The new Fall season will kick off on Monday, September 12^th with a special on Lady Gaga.
• The CW is thrilled to be the home of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rachel Bilson’s return to television, with Ringer (premiering on September 13^th) and Hart of Dixie (premiering on September 26^th), respectively.
• There will be more original episodes this season for returning series Supernatural, Nikita, Gossip Girl and 90210, and the final season for One Tree Hill is currently set for 13 episodes in mid-season.
• This upcoming season is not intended to be the final season of Supernatural. They are hoping to keep the series going, but will evaluate it, one season at a time.
• Mark Pedowitz is a big believer in keeping casts together and hopes that the network will be able to do just that with the cast of Gossip Girl, even though they have busy film careers.
• After the success of Smallville, the network is looking at possible DC Comics superheroes to develop for series next year.
• They are very receptive to new projects that Tom Welling may be developing, either as the star or producer.

Hit the jump for more of what he had to say.

The season hasn’t even started yet, but The CW has preemptively decided to order more episodes of four of their returning series in spite of the fact that each of them already had a full season order. TV Line reports the network has ordered two more episodes for Gossip Girl and 90210 giving each series a 24-episode season while Supernatural and Nikita each got one more episode ordered for a 23-episode season. Apparently, this is an effort to keep the amount of reruns that show up during the mid-season to a minimum. If Vampire Diaries fans are wondering why more episodes weren’t ordered for the series, the post-production process makes additional episode orders a little more difficult (not to mention expensive). Otherwise, if you’re loving The CW and their ongoing series’, this news should come as a treat.

At this year’s Comic-Con, The CW held a panel for their hit show, Nikita, and it was an absolute riot.  They showed a brief teaser for the next season, as well as a music-infused highlight reel of the biggest moments of season one.  Oh, and star Maggie Q demonstrated how she climbs up tall guys in the show to knock them out…on an attendee.  Yea, things got crazy.  Hit the jump to check out my full recap of the panel and a preview of Nikita season two.