Nothing says “the weekend” like bloodsuckers getting romantically dramatic, you know what I mean? They totally get that over at The CW, where a pretty shocking schedule change just took place. When things come back to life from winter hibernation, The Vampire Diaries will have itself a new night, as the network is moving the veteran drama and its spinoff The Originals over to Friday nights, commonly known as a primetime graveyard.
When the 2016 midseason debuts begin, The Vampire Diaries will make the jump from Thursday nights to Friday nights for the remaining 13 episodes in Season 7. The reason why it’s getting pushed from its usual night is because that’s when the Flash and Arrow spinoff Legends of Tomorrow is going to make its debut. There’s no denying that a new superhero show has more widespread anticipation going for it than an aging show, as half-evidenced by The Vampire Diaries’ dwindling ratings, and Legends will presumably put up a bigger fight for The CW on a night that is usually dominated by The Big Bang Theory and Shonda Rhimes.
The Vampire Diaries and The Originals will debut in their new slots on January 29, while Legends of Tomorrow has a premiere date set for Thursday, January 21. The 100 making its Season 3 debut just after it.
There’s a silver lining to be found in getting shifted to Fridays. For one, having The Originals paired with it keeps the fanbase hooked in, and there’s less competition to draw major demographics to other things. As well, genre shows seem to do pretty well on Friday nights, so the show could actually draw in a bigger audience by making the move. Either way it goes, it’s not like a huge gamble is being made here.
It was unclear from the press release if The CW would keep Reign in the earliest slot and insert Vampire Diaries at America’s Next Top Model’s former time, with The Originals to follow. It’s possible Reign could also find a new home somewhere else.
Fans of The Originals have got to be tired of seeing the show get moved around like a three card monte session. After debuting on a Thursday, the show moved to Tuesday nights for Season 1, then got moved to Monday nights for Season 2, and then found itself on Thursday nights for Season 3. By next February, the only night it will have not aired on is Wednesdays.
While no new episodes of either show are airing during this week, given it’s the Thanksgiving holidays, fans can look forward to more of The Vampire Diaries Season 7 and The Originals Season 3 when they return on Thursday, December 3. Are you guys bummed to see this pair of shows getting moved over?
