The CW is giving some love to new dramas "The Vampire Diaries" and "Melrose Place," while greenlighting a full season of veteran drama "One Tree Hill."
Nine more scripts have been ordered for "Vampire," while six additional scripts have been purchased for "Melrose." While not the same as episodic orders, script greenlights frequently lead to more episodes being produced.
"Vampire" has been a strong out of the box performer for the CW, earning the biggest ever premiere ratings for the network earlier this month. "Melrose" has been more disappointing, but the network has been very pleased with the show’s creative direction and also wants to see what the addition of Heather Locklear to the cast will do.
Locklear joins "Melrose" in mid-November. She’s agreed to appear in at least seven episodes of the show as a special guest star. Her casting makes it almost certain the CW will greenlight at least a few more episodes of "Melrose."
As for "One Tree Hill," the series has been a consistent performer for the CW on Monday nights. Its companion on the night, "Gossip Girl," already has a full season order.
The CW newcomer most on the bubble is "The Beautiful Life: TBL," which opened to anemic numbers. Its numbers tonight could be key to its future, though some insiders believe it’s likely the network will give the show at least three airings before making a decision.
