The CW Announces 2013 Fall Premiere Dates

Credit: The CW

The 2013 fall season is shaping up to be a big one for The CW, though not without a few obstacles.

Deadline reports that the network has made the decision to once again hold back their official Premiere Week, with the first new shows of the season rolling out on Oct. 7, two weeks behind the official broadcast premiere week. The strategy is intended to avoid the deluge of series debuts and season premieres from the major networks. The CW is hoping that the two-week cushion will be enough to soften whatever damage the major networks might do to their primetime lineup. If nothing else, it's a savvy business model, and it helped to launch Arrow and Beauty and the Beast last season, in addition to getting new seasons of Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries off on the right foot.

However, the network is taking even greater caution this year, as The CW is holding back the season premiere of Supernatural and the series premiere of Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals for an extra week. The reason? It's up against ABC’s Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is expected to do a huge premiere number. There's also the added incentive to use The Vampire Diaries season premiere on October 10 to promote the October 15 debut of The Originals. Whether this plan will work remains to be seen, but I can't fault the logic behind it.

The fall premiere dates are:

Monday, October 7

8-9 PM – HART OF DIXIE (Season Premiere)

9-10 PM – BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Season Premiere)

Wednesday, October 9

8-9 PM – ARROW (Season Premiere)

9-10 PM - THE TOMORROW PEOPLE (Series Premiere)

Thursday, October 10

8-9 PM – THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (Season Premiere)

9-10 PM - REIGN (Series Premiere)

Tuesday, October 16

8-9 PM - THE ORIGINALS (Series Premiere)

9-10 PM – SUPERNATURAL (Season Premiere)

Friday, October 25

8-9 PM – THE CARRIE DIARIES (Season Premiere)

9-10 PM – AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL: GUYS AND GIRLS