The CW Expanding Programming to Sunday Nights

Get ready for an all-new night of CW original programming!

Beginning in the fall, the network will be airing original programs on Sunday nights, taking its slate of original programs to six nights a week, rather than the current five.

This announcement comes with the revelation that The CW has ordered a network record nine pilots for the upcoming TV season. Rather than cut out the shows currently airing, the network will make its schedule more flexible by adding the sixth night.

Young TV fans have never known The CW to air shows on Sunday, but the night was actually a staple of the network over a decade ago. WB standouts 7th Heaven and Charmed each aired on Sunday nights at one point during their extended runs on the channel. In 2007, the short-lived series Life Is Wild became the final CW original series to run on the weekend. The network aired reruns and movies on Sundays for the next two years, before turning the night over to the other stations.

“By expanding to six nights, The CW is now able to give our fans even more of the series they’re so passionate about. Broadcasting remains the foundation of our multi-platform approach to bringing our programming to viewers,” said CW president Mark Pedowitz. “Over the past seven years, The CW has added more than 80 hours of original scripted programming to its schedule – now that number can continue to climb, as we grow our broadcast lineup, and continue to add content on every platform.”

Pedowitz also noted that the addition of Sunday night programming has been an ongoing discussion for the network executives ever since he arrived back in 2011. In his first seven years, Pedowitz has changed the landscape of the entire network. The CW has since seen an increased slate of DC TV series, ranging from Arrow to Black Lightning, and the network has reached a nearly 50-50 balance of shows with a female lead.

Of the nine pilots ordered by the network leading into the fall, the most buzzed about is easily the Charmed reboot, which is aiming to put a new spin on the hit supernatural drama that aired for years on The WB.