Upfronts: The CW

So what did the merger of The WB and UPN bring? Mostly what people had speculated on for the last couple of months, but some surprises as well. Rather than try to list shows that were canned, moved, and added, I'll do this recap night by night. It's easier that way.

SUNDAY presents a sitcom block that shows that UPN is gone but not forgotten. Everybody Hates Chris leads off the night, while All of Us, Girlfriends,and The Game rounds things out. The Game is a sitcom about the wives of NFL players, though it being a sitcom means it'll be no Footballer's Wives. Interestingly, it stars Tia Mowry, but not Tamara.

A rerun of America's Next Top Model caps the night.

UPN's "urban comedy" strategy lives on, and may even succeed now that some of the lesser lights have been dimmed.

MONDAY brings a pretty big surprise - the return of 7th Heaven, which aired its series finale this season. Having this established show around will certainly help. It's paired with Runaway, which stars Donnie Wahlberg and Leslie Hope as parents of a family that's on the run until Wahlberg can prove he didn't kill a co-worker. This comes to us from Darren Star, unusual given that his shows are usually sudsier.

TUESDAY gives us a pairing that was talked about quite a bit when the merger was announced - Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars, which avoided the axe again. I could think of worse things than Lauren Graham and Kristin Bell back-to-back. How this will actually work will be something to see.

WEDNESDAY could be the most vacuous night on TV next season, as the lead hour will be shared by America's Next Top Model and Beauty and the Geek. There's some crossover potential right there. The second hour is taken by One Tree Hill, about which I only know that it stars pretty young people.

THURSDAY brings back Smallville and Supernatural, which were paired on the WB this season with good results.

FRIDAY brings WWE Smackdown! over from UPN. SATURDAY has no network programming, which is probably just as well given the anemic attempts by the other networks to program it. Might as well throw the affiliates a bone.

The other surprise was news that Reba got a last-second reprieve, although it doesn't appear on the schedule. Not sure where it would go at this point, though Monday after 7th Heaven makes sense. They also announced a mid-season show called Hidden Palms about a kid whose family moves to Palm Springs after his father commits suicide. After living there a year, they begin to learn that there are secrets, you don't really know your neighbors, etc. I'm guessing Kevin Williamson is tweaking some Sex, Love & Secrets scripts for this one.