Maroon 5 opened the CW’s Upfront presentation today (May 13) at Lincoln Center in New York with a five-song set, including “Makes Me Wonder” and crowd-pleaser “This Love.”
In a year where the networks are hyping their austerity for the post-writer’s strike season, it was a refreshing change to see a musical tie-in that aims directly at the CW’s target demographic: young women.
On the programming side, Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment at the CW, unveiled a slate that’s exclusively aimed at that demo; after a decade, WWE wrestling has parted ways with the CW and is currently in negotiations to air on other channels.
Besides current synch standouts “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill,” the CW unveiled two new shows that show potential for music placements.
Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., the CW will air a re-imagining of the classic teen soap “90210,” starring Lori Loughlin as the cool mom to a brood of brooding teenagers at West Beverly High School. Bearing the campy/awesome tagline “If you want to live in the zip, you’ve got to live by the code,” it appears to be a sassier update on the original — and yet, as ever on the CW, rich teen angst generally equates to plenty of music. (No word yet on if the Peach Pit will be resurrected — although “90210” old schooler Jennie Garth will guest star as a guidance counselor at West Beverly.)
Following “90210” on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. is “Surviving the Filthy Rich,” based on the novel by Zoey Dean about a woman who is forced by her debt to tutor two orphaned, spoiled 17-year-old twins in order for them to be admitted to Duke. The show stars JoAnna Garcia of “Reba” fame.
“We’re trendsetters on the pulse of pop culture,” Ostroff says of the upcoming season, which will start the first week of September. “We’re calling it OMGTV.”
