Television
August 21, 2000
The WB To Kick Off 2000-2001 Season With “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch” & Darren Star’s First Network Comedy “Grosse Pointe”
(August 21, 2000 – Burbank, CA) – The WB will introduce its fall primetime schedule beginning with new addition “SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH,” a perfect fit for the network’s key demographics, at 8:00-8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, September 22. The 17-day roll out will also include new series “GROSSE POINTE,” “THE PJs,” “HYPE,” “NIKKI” and “GILMORE GIRLS.”
The fall season will officially get under way with The WB debut of “SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH” at 8:00-8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, September 22 as a counter-programming option to the Olympics. The network premiere of “SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH” coincides with the series’ Monday, September 18 syndication launch. Thirty-six affiliates of The WB, covering 37% of the country, including The WB’s partners Tribune Broadcasting and ACME Communications stations, will run the syndicated episodes in prime access. The heavy promotion on local stations should help promote the show’s network change and allow viewers to become aware of the switch.
“SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH” will be followed by “GROSSE POINTE” (8:30-9:00 p.m. ET), the behind-the-scenes look at a fictional television drama, which is the first network comedy from Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner Darren Star (“Sex and the City”). The night concludes with last season’s sleeper hit, the one-hour comedy “POPULAR” (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET).
In addition to “SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH,” four other series – “THE STEVE HARVEY SHOW,” “THE JAMIE FOXX SHOW,” “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” and “7TH HEAVEN” will reach the 100-episode plateau on The WB this season.
The WB has re-vamped its previously announced Sunday line-up for the fall season. Premiering on Sunday, October 8, the night will now lead off with three popular returning comedies — “THE JAMIE FOXX SHOW” (7:00-7:30 p.m. ET), “FOR YOUR LOVE” (7:30-8:00 p.m. ET) and “THE STEVE HARVEY SHOW” (8:00-8:30 p.m. ET). The Sunday schedule continues with “THE PJs” (8:30-9:00 p.m. ET), an animated series from the mind of Eddie Murphy; “HYPE” (9:00-9:30 p.m. ET), a daring, fast-paced sketch comedy show; and “NIKKI” (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET), a working-class romantic comedy set in Las Vegas from Bruce Helford (“The Drew Carey Show,” “Norm,” “Roseanne”), starring Nikki Cox (“Norm,” “Unhappily Ever After”). Please note that “THE PJs” will debut with a network sneak peek on Friday, September 8 and permanently move into its Sunday slot on September 10.
In addition to the Friday premieres, The WB will again counter-program the Olympics on Tuesday, September 26 with the season premieres of established hits “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) and its second-year spinoff, “ANGEL” (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET).
The rest of the roll out will be as follows:
Monday, October 2 marks the season premieres of The WB’s highest-rated show, “7TH HEAVEN” (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET), and critically acclaimed sophomore series “ROSWELL” (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) in the time period where it saw both creative and ratings success at the end of last season.
On Wednesday, October 4, the season will begin for a re-invigorated “DAWSON’S CREEK” (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) and the romantic drama “FELICITY” (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET), a block which will remain in tact after a successful end of the 1999-2000 season. Second-year romantic comedy “JACK & JILL” will return to the schedule in January, replacing “FELICITY,” which will return to finish the season in The WB’s effort to avoid repeats of the serial dramas, making way for an all-original romantic hour from 9:00-10:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for the entire upcoming season.
The Thursday combination of new family-friendly drama “GILMORE GIRLS” (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) and The WB’s second-highest-rated show, “CHARMED” (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET), will begin its season on Thursday, October 5. # # #