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Will the CW Renew Melrose Place or Life Unexpected? Network Boss Dawn Ostroff Tips Us Off

We chat exclusively with the woman who makes the renew-cancel calls for the See-Dub

By Jennifer Godwin, Breanne L. Heldman Feb 25, 2010 12:48 AMTags
Katie Cassidy, Britt RobertsonJean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images; Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

After the CW issued five early series renewals a couple weeks back, fans were left wondering about the shows left hanging, including Life Unexpected, Smallville, One Tree Hill and Melrose Place. Well, we just caught up with the woman in charge of the littlest network, CW President Dawn Ostroff, and she hinted that one of those shows is looking pretty hot and one of them is...not.

So which is which? Here's what we learned exclusively from the woman who makes the renew-cancel calls for the See-Dub:

We caught up with Ostroff at the CW's Welcome to Reality event at the Simyone Lounge in New York City, and asked her first and foremost about our new fave, Life Unexpected. The show wasn't among the lucky few to get early renewal, but is it still in the running for a pickup in May at the upfronts?

Ostroff tells us, "Creatively, Life Unexpected is in a great place, and it's doing well. It had a really good night last night, and we've been airing it twice a week, and we get as many viewers sometimes on the second run as we do on the first run—it's not duplicated viewers, it's new viewers. LUX is actually doing quite well for us. We're very proud of the show." So come on, Ostroff, tell us true: What are Life Unexpected's chances at renewal? "I would say it's got a real shot at this point." Whoo-hoo!

Now what about Melrose Place, which this time last year was imagined to be the network's next big smash hit, but which has struggled mightily in the ratings? Says Ostroff, "We hope Melrose Place picks up steam. We're gonna air all the episodes in a row. We've made the show a little bit lighter, a little happier, a little brighter, and I think we've made some good creative changes. We're going to see how the audience responds."

Translating from the ever-diplomatic language of network bosses, we'll take that to mean this: Barring a major ratings turnaround, the new Melrose is going the way of the dodo.

Casting directors, may we suggest you start making overtures to Katie Cassidy about pilots beginning, oh, now?

Mark Von Holden/Getty Images

Last but not least, what's the status of the CW's possible reality series starring Madonna's old trainer Tracy Anderson? Says Ostroff, "I think she is still her trainer. I don't know if it's former. But we're talking to Tracy, and we don't really have any comment, because we don't really have a deal done yet."

Are you excited that the CW is likely to renew Life Unexpected? Will you miss Melrose Place when it's gone? Hit the comments!

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Click through our Spoiler Stills: TV gallery to see two all-new exclusive photos of Cate and Baze at Lux's winter formal on Life Unexpected!