CW picks up five dramas for next year

Might sound far off right now, with the snow and ice bombarding the East Coast, but the CW is looking ahead to fall.

Today the network renewed five of its shows for next season, and four of them are not at all surprising.

The network picked up “Arrow,” “Supernatural,” “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Originals,” its four highest-rated programs.

But it also gave a second-season order to “Reign,” the angsty teen drama about the early years of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Ratings for “Reign” have been merely okay. It was considered a bubble show, airing behind “Diaries” in the Thursday 9 p.m. slot where the CW has struggled to find a good companion to the longtime hit.

It retains about 70 percent of “Diaries’” lead-in among total viewers, averaging 1.75 million, according to Nielsen. It is the CW’s No. 5 show, though it’s only averaging about 20,000 more than “The Tomorrow People,” another first-year drama.

Still, the network appears to be happy creatively with “Reign.”

Plus, the network has a vested interest in “Reign’s” success. It is produced by CBS TV Studios. CBS is a part owner of the CW.

That gives the CW two new shows, “Originals” and “Reign,” that will make it to a second season, much better than last year, when it renewed only one.

The network is in the midst of its best season in several years, and “Originals” has been a part of that. Paired with “Supernatural” on Tuesdays, it has lifted the CW to its best ratings on the night in four years and helped double its audience among the key adults 18-34 demo over last year.

“Arrow” remains the network’s most-watched series in its second season with an average 2.8 million total viewers.

And “Diaries” is the network’s highest-rated program across key demos such as 18-34s and 18-49s.

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