CW Grid Announced

NEW YORK: The CW has made some scheduling changes to its returning shows, including 90210, and picked up two new dramas: Nikita, starring Maggie Q, and Hellcats.

90210 moves to 8 p.m. on Mondays in its third season, paired with returning hit Gossip Girl, which is back for season four. One Tree Hill, heading into season eight, shifts to Tuesdays at 8 p.m., with Life Unexpected, back for a second season, at 9 p.m. America’s Next Top Model keeps its Wednesday 8 p.m. slot and serves as the lead-in to the new drama Hellcats, a coming-of-age story about a young, pre-law student who, after losing her scholarship, must land a slot on the cheerleading team in order to stay in school. Exec-producers include Smallville‘s Tom Welling. The Vampire Diaries continues to anchor Thursday prime-time and will serve as the launch pad for Nikita at 9 p.m., starring Maggie Q in the title role. Nikita takes the slot previously held by Supernatural, which is shifting to Fridays at 9 p.m., where it will air after the tenth and final season of Smallville. 

"After just four short years as a network, The CW will premiere our strongest schedule ever this fall, with a combination of hit shows and exciting new series giving us all-original programming five nights a week for the first time," said Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment at The CW. "We’ve been growing this network one hit at a time and we’re poised for a great 2010-11 season. This year The Vampire Diaries was a smash out of the box for us, and another freshman show, Life Unexpected, also opened strong and began building an intense, loyal following. On the heels of breaking Gossip Girl and 90210 the last two seasons and the enduring popularity of Smallville, Supernatural, One Tree Hill and America’s Next Top Model, we had more strong program development and believe we have the goods once again with Nikita and Hellcats, two shows that are fun, fast and loud, and will enable us to make noise in the marketplace this fall. These hot new dramas will extend The CW brand and our hold on the coveted young female demographic, with international action-film star Jackie-Chan protégé Maggie Q starring as Nikita, an empowered woman fighting for justice, and Ashley Tisdale of High School Musical and Aly Michalka of Bandslam in Hellcats, a lively new series about a pre-law student whose life turns upside down when she joins the cheerleading team at a major Southern university."