CW programs are random, but great

If you grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s, television programs on the CW probably ruled your life. Derived from once the UPN and the WB stations, the CW hosts several oldie but goodie guilty pleasures like Smallville, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls and my illustrious and favorite Gossip Girl. Ah, if I could go back in time.
And yet, it seems in the later years I have trailed away from the CW, binging Netflix and Amazon’s original programming. Only recently I stumbled back on The CW when a friend of mine requested in passing, “Hey, you should watch Jane the Virgin.”
With that small aside, my most recent binge session began. Jane the Virgin tells a simple story telenovela style of a Hispanic 20-something-year-old woman who is accidently artificially inseminated at a routine checkup by her doctor. What starts out with a funny, embarrassing premise turns into a real soap opera, with gags, quick one liners and so many twists and turns that no character is truly on the straight and narrow path. And obviously, Jane the Virgin has gained popularity with every season, moving into the last three episodes of their fourth season and winning Golden Globes for best acting by break out star Gina Rodriguez, who plays the title character. Jane the Virgin is a delight.
And you have to hand it to The CW is that while the shows are often geared to the teenage population, the variety of the programming provides something for every genre of interest. The CW, under the property of Warner Brothers, has completely found a cult following with shows like The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow. While I do not know too much about the last two, The Flash does dive deep into DC Comics’ back lore. The show actually focuses on story lines that date back well into thirty years ago from The Flash’s silver and bronze comic book runs, which cannot be said for the recent Marvel films or the 2016 DC Comics letdown Suicide Squad, since most of these films display only the hero’s origins.
And while Supernatural and the Vampire Diaries are still running on the CW (hey, they can’t all be winners), there is one teeny bopper show I will continue to keep watching. Riverdale is the CW’s latest addition that twists the classic Archie comics’ line into a murder mystery party. Everyone appears to be a suspect in the innocent city. In reality, the concept of an Archie Comics rewrite turned dark was too much of a dumb premise for my taste. I did roll my eyes through much of the pilot and laughed out loud anytime the “Hot Archie” figure took off his shirt for everyone to ogle over. I was uncomfortable with how the producers decided to change old Mrs. Grundy, the once old, friendly teacher into a… well, I don’t want to spoil anything. But in its favor, I cannot speak enough to the striking contrast of the color of the story itself, the fact that Veronica and Betty (played by newbies Camila Mendes and Lilli Reinhart) are perfect opposites, or of the new Jughead Jones, who plays his beat as an asexual, blogger/crime reporter, whose omniscient voiceover indicates that he knows much more than those around him. Just like Gossip Girl, which ruled my life (because I so desperately wanted to be in that world), Riverdale keeps its chaste vibe while providing its new audience with a bit of a grit and edge, making me want to tune in every week because I have not seen anything like it. Bear with the pilot’s cheesiness, it only gets better.
If you’ve been stuck on what to watch next check out these favorites from The CW and look for another title, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which can now be viewed on Netflix while the second season airs.
Your next binge session is waiting so what are you waiting for?