The CW Changes Fall Premiere Dates for Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries

The CW has announced a revised premiere schedule for this fall, with their season now kicking off on Thursday, October 3rd and the fifth season premiere of The Vampire Diaries, originally slated to premiere October 10th. Following The Vampire Diaries will be the series premiere of The Originals, once scheduled to premiere October 15th; the second episode of the spin-off will air the following Thursday at 9:00 following the second episode of The Vampire Diaries, as well. This will push the series premiere of Reign back to October 17th from its original October 10th premiere date.

The second episode of The Originals will air (for the first time) on Tuesday, October 8th, along with the ninth season premiere of Supernatural, pushed up a week from its original October 15th premiere. All other CW series will be premiering when the way the network announced sometime last month.

The move does two very positive things for the network. It shortens their fall rollout, concentrating the premiere dates in a tighter timeframe, and provides insurance for The Originals, thanks to the exposure behind The Vampire Diaries. The spin-off will be anchoring Tuesday nights this season and is set to go against the likes of NCIS and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so while it comes with an impressive pedigree/cast and strong lead out, it’s not as sure of a thing as it could be. The new schedule allows for more sampling and could give the series enough padding to where a Tuesday drop won’t be as damaging.

You can check out trailers for The CW’s new series this season here and clips for each series here.

What do you think about the changes to The CW’s premiere strategy? Will the airings behind The Vampire Diaries help jump start The Originals? Which new CW series do you think is in the most danger of being DOA?

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3
8:00-9:00 PM                The Vampire Diaries (New Season Premiere Date)
9:00-10:00 PM              The Originals (New Series Premiere Date)

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7
8:00-9:00 PM                 Hart of Dixie (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM               Beauty and the Beast (Season Premiere)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8
8:00-9:00 PM                The Originals (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM              Supernatural (New Season Premiere Date)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9
8:00-9:00 PM                 Arrow (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM               The Tomorrow People (Series Premiere)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10
8:00-9:00 PM                 The Vampire Diaries (Original Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM               The Originals (Episode 2 Encore)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17
8:00-9:00 PM                The Vampire Diaries (Original Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM              Reign (New Series Premiere Date)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25
8:00-9:00 PM                 The Carrie Diaries (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM               America’s Next Top Model: Guys and Girls