Well, there you have it. Thursday morning, The CW announced its 2011-12 schedule, completing the Big 5 U.S. network upfront presentations for yet another year. For those following the pickups, renewals and cancellations this week, there were no surprises in The CW’s announcement, save perhaps the fact that One Tree Hill is indeed returning for one final, 13-episode season next winter.
The highly buzzed about series Ringer, starring Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar in a dual role, made the cut, as did scripted series Hart of Dixie and The Secret Circle.
Freshman series Hellcats got the boot, while Nikita survived to a second season. That show will now air Friday nights as a lead-in to another season of Supernatural, effectively replacing Smallville.
New supernatural series The Secret Circle, a witch series based on a set of books by L.J. Smith, will be paired with another series based on novels by that same author — The Vampire Diaries — on Thursday nights.
90210 and Gossip Girl both return, but are being spit up this time around as 90210 shifts to Tuesday nights and both series act as lead-ins to new shows.
Finally, America’s Next Top Model, the all-star edition, will continue to air on Wednesday nights with new reality series H8R serving as the lead-in.
Here’s the complete schedule (all times ET):
FALL
MONDAYS
8 p.m. Gossip Girl
9 p.m. Hart of Dixie *NEW*
TUESDAYS
8 p.m. 90210
9 p.m. Ringer *NEW*
WEDNESDAYS
8 p.m. H8R *NEW*
9 p.m. America’s Next Top Model
THURSDAYS
8 p.m. The Vampire Diaries
9 p.m. The Secret Circle *NEW*
FRIDAYS
8 p.m. Nikita
9 p.m. Supernatural
New series descriptions:
Hart of Dixie: An aspiring cardio-thoracic surgeon’s dreams fall apart and she is forced to accept a job offer from a stranger in a small-town practice in Alabama. Stars Rachel Bilson, Jaime King, Wilson Bethel, Cress Williams, McKaley Miller and Scott Porter. Executive produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, both of Gossip Girl fame.
Ringer: A woman witnesses a murder and goes on the run, assuming the life of her wealthy identical twin sister. Stars Sarah Michelle Gellar in a dual role, Kristoffer Polaha, Ioan Gruffudd, Nestor Carbonell and Tara Summers.
H8R: Celebrities go head-to-head with civilians who hate them to win their “haters” over. Hosted by Mario Lopez.
The Secret Circle: A teenaged girl is tragically orphaned and finds out that she’s actually a descendant of a powerful witch, and that her coven has been waiting for her to join them. Stars Life Unexpected’s Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Gale Harold, Phoebe Tonkin, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Shelley Hennig, Louis Hunter, Ashley Crow and Natasha Henstridge.
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