Our Favorite Shows to Air on The WB

If you grew up in the 90’s and early 00’s, you may have watched a show or two on The WB. The WB launched on January 11, 1995 and aired programming that was targeted towards teenagers and young adults. There was also a Saturday morning program block geared towards children. In January 2006, it was announced that The WB network would shut down in September of that same year. The UPN network would also be ending. The two networks would merge together and become The CW on September 18, 2006.

During the 11 years The WB remained on the air, countless different shows were broadcast. We at TV Overmind took a walk down memory lane and picked some of our favorites. One featured a teenage witch, one a famous creek, and a few were about vampires. Here are our favorite programs that aired on The WB.

Dawson’s Creek 1998-2003

After a huge outpour of teenaged-themed movies had hit the silver screen, The WB decided to air this drama which starred James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams. Dawson’s Creek premiered on January 20, 1998 and featured the main actors as high school students living in Capeside, Massachusetts. The series was never a huge success for the network, but the pilot episode was watched by 6.8 million viewers. This was the highest rated show for the network at that time. The most watched episode was the series finale which aired on May 14, 2003. The series paved the way for the four young actors to star in future projects. Joshua Jackson starred on the sci-fi drama Fringe for five seasons and can currently be seen on The Affair. Michelle Willams has received 3 Academy Award nominations for her work in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, and My Week with Marilyn. Katie Holmes appeared in Batman Begins, Thank You for Smoking, and The Giver. James Van Der Beek continues to work extensively on television. He most recently starred on Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and Friends with Better Lives. His new series CSI: Cyber will premiere in 2015.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1997-2001, UPN 2001-2003

I remember watching the very first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am able to think back 17 years because the show premiered on my 12^th birthday, which was March 10, 1997. The series starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, and Anthony Stewart Head and received critical acclaim from the very beginning. It has even been named one of the 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time by TV Guide. The series reached its peak in viewers during its third season, which was also the same year that Gellar starred in the drama Cruel Intentions and Hannigan appeared in the comedy American Pie. The series was forced to move to the UPN network for its sixth and seventh seasons after a negotiation dispute with The WB. The cast wanted higher salaries and the network thought the series had already reached its high and was not willing to meet the requests of the actors.

Angel 1999-2004

Angel was the popular spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unlike Buffy, Angel remained with The WB network during its entire five season run. Due to the popularity of David Boreanaz and his character Angel, Joss Whedon decided to create a series for him. Along with Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter would head over to the new series. The two along with Alexis Denisof’s Wesley start their own detective agency. During its first season on the air, Angel attracted 4.9 million viewers making it one of the most popular series on The WB. Ratings would steadily decrease and by season 5 only 3.97 million viewers were tuning into the show. Because it was still popular, Whedon had requested that the series receive an early renewal for a 6^th season. Each year prior, the network would always wait to the last minute to renew it, which left the cast and crew worried they would not have a job next season. Instead of a renewal, the network ended up cancelling the series in February 2004. The final episode aired on May 19, 2004.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch 2000-2003, ABC 1996-2000

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch was a staple on the popular TGIF block on ABC. The comedy, which starred Melissa Joan Hart, aired on the alphabet network for four seasons before making its way to The WB. When the show began airing on The WB, Sabrina would be heading to college and many of the secondary characters would depart from the series in order to give the show a more grown up look. David Lascher, Elisa Donovan and Soleil Moon Frye would be added to the cast. Though the premise of the show changed from season to season while on The WB, the series still attracted an average of 3.3 million viewers during this time. In the final episode that aired on April 24, 2003, Sabrina ends up with Harvey after leaving her fiancée at the altar.

Reba 2001-2006, The CW 2006-2007

Country Superstar Reba McEntire was no stranger to acting prior to starring on her popular comedy on The WB. McEntire appeared in Tremors, Maverick, and The Little Rascals before making her way to television. While on the air, Reba became the highest rated Friday night program ever to air on the network during its 11-year run. The show would average 4 million viewers and its reruns on The CW were the most popular of any series airing on the network. The show was cancelled after the conclusion of season five. However, the CW decided to air a 13-episode sixth and final season due to a syndication contract in place that was worth $20 million.

Sister, Sister 1995-1999, ABC 1993-1995

Sister, Sister actually ran for two seasons on ABC prior to making a move to The WB network. ABC cancelled the comedy, which starred sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry, due to low ratings. The WB was still a new network when they decided to pick up the series with new episodes beginning in September of 1995. The series would continue to thrive on the network and last for four additional seasons. The show did see an increase in viewers during its final season which averaged 3.6 million viewers.

What was your favorite show that aired on The WB network? Let us know in the comments section below.

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