The CW Details 2 New Scripted Shows Featuring Riverdale, Vampire Diaries Stars

The CW has added two new scripted shows to its upcoming lineup. The future of The CW’s scripted programming has been in doubt since the network was put up for sale and acquired by Nexstar, at which point all but a scant few majorly successful scripted shows were canceled. While All American, All American: Homecoming, Walker, and Superman & Lois were picked up for another season apiece, the programming on The CW has largely pivoted toward unscripted shows, acquired foreign imports, and live sports.

Per Variety, after those mass CW cancelations, the network has now ordered two new scripted crime drama series that will premiere in Fall 2024. The shows, Wild Cards and Sight Unseen, are both co-produced with Canadian studios, continuing the network’s new habit of seeking out content from non-U.S. sources. Both shows feature CW alums, as Wilds Cards stars Riverdale‘s Vanessa Morgan and Reign‘s Giacomo Gianniotti and Sight Unseen features The 100‘s Jarod Joseph and The Vampire Diaries‘ Daniel Gillies.

Wild Cards and Sight Unseen Feel Like Classic CW Shows

These two new shows could indicate that the new CW still has an interest in maintaining the style of programming that the network was previously known for. Both series feature many elements that are reminiscent of classic CW programs. These elements include the aforementioned returning cast members, as The CW previously had a stable of actors who recurred on various programs throughout the years like Jensen Ackles, who had appeared on the CW series Smallville before he joined the Supernatural cast and starred on all 15 seasons of the long-running show.

The plots of both series should also be familiar to longtime viewers of The CW and network television in general. Wild Cards follows a detective who is demoted to the maritime unit and teams up with a con artist to solve crimes, which may be the key to both of them redeeming themselves. Sight Unseen also features an unlikely crime-solving duo, in this case a detective who is blind and a seeing-eye guide with agoraphobia who assists her remotely through an app.

Detective shows have long been a staple for The CW, though they have come in many forms. Sight Unseen seems to take after the canceled CW drama In the Dark, which follows a woman who is blind and discovers a murder victim whose body disappears and vows to get to the bottom of the situation. Wild Cards doesn’t have as direct a comparison, but it is likewise reminiscent of previous detective shows on the network including Nancy Drew, Beauty & the Beast, and Frequency.

Source: Variety