CW Upfronts Witches and Twins and Dixie Oh My

Oh CW, the pretentious side of me wants to hate you far more than I do. The CW announced their fall schedule earlier this week and there were only two major cancellations and four new shows to announce. Hellcats, which I didn’t care about and Life Unexpected, which I heard was good, both got the axe and sit tight because I’m going to go through all the new pickups. I also totally lifted all of the summaries and credited them below because, if you’ve ever read my movie reviews with Scotty, you know I can’t write them.

The Ringer
Stars: Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy)
Airing: Tuesdays at 9:00, hour drama
Premise: A young woman on the run from the mob poses as her wealthy twin sister to try and evade them, but soon discovers that her sister has a price on her head as well. [IMDB]
First Reaction: If I could raise my eyebrow at this, I would. But hey, there have been stranger premises that worked.
After Seeing the Preview: Well that didn’t elaborate at all. Lies, secrets, Sarah Michelle Geller falling through walls, what more could you want. Seriously though, even with very little to go on it does look exciting and might even be good.
Suggestion: DVR

Hart of Dixie
Stars: Rachel Bilson (The O.C.), Jaime King
Airing: Mondays at 9:00, hour dramedy
Premise: A wholesome small-town drama about a NYC doctor who moves to a small town in the American South to become a general practitioner. She discovers regular folk who actually need her help, some unexpected family ties and a mess of damn fine Southern boys just waiting to become her boyfriend. [E!]
First Reaction: This makes me want to go out and rescue kittens. It also sounds terrifically boring, like Gilmore Girls without the witty banter.
After Seeing the Preview: Oh look, she’s a Manhattan doctor and there were Southern Belles in costumes that looked like they were borrowed from the Vampire Diaries. I didn’t think I could want to see this show less.
Suggestion: Skip

The Secret Circle
Stars: Young People I don’t know
Airing: Thursdays at 9:00, hour drama
Premise: The "Secret Circle" series follows 16-year-old Cassie, who moves from California to live with her mom in New Salem and falls in love with a mysterious boy named Adam. But, when she enrolls in high school there, she realizes that he, she and all the other elite students at the school are witches! She befriends their leader, Diana, but soon discovers that Adam and Diana are dating, which leads to a whole bunch of complicated drama. [IMDB]
First Reaction: I’m going to quote Jennifer Arrow on this, “The Secret Circle is a series about witches that is (a) based on source material from the same author as The Vampire Diaries, (b) produced by the same team that produces The Vampire Diaries, and (c) airing on the same night as The Vampire Diaries. But it's about witches, which is different, and it's set in Washington state instead of in Virginia. So...different.” [E!] Now, I watch the Vampire Diaries and will give it credit for being surprisingly funny with some well written characters, even if half of them suffer from some sort of Jesus complex. So, this may have potential, even if this whole thing takes place in New Salem, WA. Did we really need to name the town that? Will people not get it otherwise?
After Seeing the Preview: Does the CW have one font for its previews? From what I can tell, if you don’t like The Vampire Diaries, you’re probably not going to like The Secret Circle. It looks a tad overdramatic with characters who apparently have the most lenient teachers ever because they are literally never in school. If they can infuse the same humor into this show that they did with the Vampire Diaries, I think it will be worth watching.
Suggestion: Check it out

H8R
Stars: Mario Lopez
Airing: Wednesdays at 8:00, hour reality
Premise: Celebrities go head-to-head with civilians who hate them to win their "haters" over. [CW]
First Reaction: If this is why they moved America’s Next Top Model to 9 pm, at least I won’t have to watch previews for this show.
After Seeing the Preview: Yes, because I really want to watch a show about Snookie-caliber celebrities confronting jerks on the internet who say bad things about them.
Suggestion: Skip it