The watercooler just became a slightly less interesting place.

Heading into its second season in existence, the CW network announced the addition of six new series to its prime-time lineup Thursday. Unfortunately, it was the conspicuous absence of one old series that got tongues wagging.

In unveiling the new slate of programming during itsupfront presentation, the CW confirmed what fans of plucky, critically acclaimed yet ratings-deprived girl detective shows had long feared: that Veronica Mars has been canceled.

The show joins fellow deep-sixed series Gilmore Girls and 7th Heaven in the scrap heap, paving the way for a new generation of youth-oriented fare.

Though, in something of a consolation prize, fans of Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell can still get a fix of their favorite heroine on one of the channel's new offerings.

Bell is set to serve as narrator of Gossip Girl, not only the network's most buzzworthy new entry, but the one being hailed as most deserving of the buzz. The series is being billed as the heir-apparent to The O.C. (back when it was worth watching) and with good reason: It was created by Josh Schwartz, the mastermind of the soapy, since departed Fox drama.

Gossip Girl stars Blake Lively, whose Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel know a thing or two about small-screen success, as a privileged Manhattan prep school student who returns to her school and rekindles a feud with another of her pretty and privileged classmates. Underscoring the drama are the dishy blogs of Gossip Girl, whose identity is a secret but whose voice belongs to Bell. The series is based on the novel by Cecily con Ziegesar.

While the series is the CW's great hope, its time slot could prove problematic. It's set to air Wednesdays at 9 p.m., getting slated against Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice and, come spring, the American Idol results show. It will be paired with America's Next Top Model, which returns to anchor the night.

Gossip Girl takes over the time currently occupied by One Tree Hill, which also failed to make the net's fall schedule. The latter, however, will return as a midseason replacement with the action fast-forwarded four years, when the group has already graduated from college. Fans will be able to keep up with the saucy developments via new online diaries.

Another potential hit for the network is Reaper, a "comic" drama, about a chronic slacker who realizes upon turning 21 that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born. As such, he's been enlisted as Satan's personal bounty hunter who must track down evil spirits that have escaped from hell. Grounded for Life's Bret Harrison and Thirteen's Nikki Reed star, with the pilot directed by Jay and Silent Bob auteur Kevin Smith. Reaper is set to air on Tuesday nights, snagging the old Veronica Mars slot. It's been paired with Beauty and the Geek, which graduated from midseason replacement to the Gilmore Girls' old Tuesdays-at-8 home.

The network's sole effort at comedy—intentional comedy—is Aliens in America, about a nerdy high schooler whose mom invites an exchange student into their home to boost her son's coolness factor. When a Pakistani Muslim shows up, rather than the bronzed anglo kid the mom was expecting, hilarity, presumably, ensues.

The show will form part of the Monday night comedy block, along with returning series Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends and The Game.

The remainder of the network's new fall offerings turn up on Sunday nights, where three new series, two reality shows and one drama will premiere.

CW Now is the network's self-promotional effort to become a leading source of news and entertainment for the high school set, with a group of experts combing through the week's trends and pop culture relevant to the viewer demographic in a news magazine format.

It's paired with Online Nation. Basically YouTube on the tube, the show will be completely user-generated and feature the best of online videos.

Rounding out the evening is the drama Life Is Wild, about a veterinarian patriarch who drags his reluctant brood from New York to South Africa for his work. Primed to fill the family-friendly gap that 7th Heaven left behind, the series is filmed completely in Africa.

Along with the return of a revamped One Tree Hill, the network announced some other changes to its midseason landscape, including the introduction of two new reality-competition series.

The first, descriptively titled Farmer Wants a Wife, will indeed center on a farmer looking for a wife. Go figure. The series is based on a British show and will allow the country boy to whittle down a group of 10 city babes in Bachelor-like fashion.

The other new series is Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants. Former Queer Eye fashionista Carson Kressly, former Miss USA and Dancing with the Stars alum Shanna Moakler and TV personality Cynthia Garrett serve as judges in the eight-episode series, which pits mother-daughter beauty queen teams against each other for the chance to take home $100,000 and a kicky set of matching tiaras.

Here's the complete rundown of the CW's 2007-08 schedule, with new shows in bold.

Monday: Everybody Hates Chris, Aliens in America, Girlfriends, The Game

Tuesday: Beauty and the Geek, Reaper

Wednesday: America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl

Thursday: Smallville, Supernatural

Friday: Friday Night Smackdown

Sunday: CW Now, Online Nation, Life Is Wild, America's Next Top Model (encore)

For the latest from the network upfronts, check out TV columnist Kristin Veitch's dispatches in Watch with Kristin.