The origins of The WB go back to a programming block of dramas targeted at the key demographic of television viewers calledt he Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN for short), a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Chris-Craft Industries. PTEN was launched as a potential fifth television network, although that never came to pass. Among the shows aired as part of PTEN were Babylon 5, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Time Trax. The demise of PTEN would come about because of the creation of two new television networks. As early as October 1993 Chris-Craft Industries announced the formation of the United Paramount Network (UPN) as a joint venture with Paramount Television. It was in November 1993 that Time Warner announced its intention to launch its own network,. The WB, in conjunction with the Tribune Company.
The WB launched on January 11 1995 with a block of three sitcoms. The first show to air on the new network was The Wayan Bros. which starred comedians and real life brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans. It was followed by Unhappily Ever After, a sitcom about an extremely dysfunctional family, and Muscle, a sitcom centred on a New York City gym. The following Wednesday The Parent 'Hood, a sitcom starring Robert Townsend and Suzzanne Douglas, debuted in the time slot following The Wayan Bros. the following Wednesday. In its first season, The WB only aired one night a week.
The following season The WB expanded to Sunday night, weekdays, and Saturday morning. Their children's programming block known as Kid's WB proved particularly successful. It aired on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons for much of its existence. Through the years it aired such successful cartoons as Pinky & the Brain, Batman Beyond, Pokémon, and others. A weekday morning block was added in 1997. It would be discontinued in 2001.The weekday afternoon block would be discontinued in 2005.
Even as The WB expanded to more nights a week, in its early days its programming consisted primarily of sitcoms. It was with the 1995-1996 season with the night-time soap opera Savannah. In the 1996-1997 season The WB debuted the family drama 7th Heaven and the supernatural horror series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer provided The WB with some of its earliest success. It debuted with the highest Monday night ratings in the network's history up to that point.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer centred primarily on teenage characters and appealed to a largely teenage audience, so it was perhaps natural for The WB to debut more shows that appealed to teenagers. It was then that Dawon's Creek debuted in January 1998 and proved to be another success for the network. The success of Dawson's Creek was followed by other shows meant to appeal to a young audience, such as Felicity and Popular. The success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would lead to further genre shows that featured youthful protagonists, including Charmed, Roswell and Smallville. Buffy the Vampire Slayer itself produced one spinoff, the cult series Angel.
It was in 2000 that The WB began to expand beyond a teenage audience to shows that would appeal to a broader demographic. Gilmore Girls proved to be a success after lacklustre ratings early in its run. In 2001 Reba debuted and proved to be the network's most successful sitcom. That same year Smallville provided The WB with another hit. The family drama Everwood debuted in 2002. While it would not prove as popular as Gilmore Girls, it would develop a cult following.
It was in 2003 that The WB began to go into decline. From 2003 to 2005 the network's only real hits would be the teen soap opera One Tree Hill and the supernatural horror series Supernatural. At the same time highly anticipated shows proved to be failures. Birds of Prey (based on the DC comic book fo the same name), Tarzan (based on the classic character), and Just Legal (a show produced by none other than Jerry Bruckheimer) all bombed in the ratings.
In the end The WB found itself unable to expand beyond an extremely young demographic (12 to 24 years old) to the key demographic desired by Madison Avenue, while at the same time having several shows prove to be failures. Much of the reason for the network's failure may also have been because there did not appear to be enough room for two fledgling networks, UPN having only launched days after The WB. It was then on January 24 2006 that , CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced the closures of UPN and The WB respectively At the same time they announced their plans to launch a new network, The CW, as a joint venture. Some of The WB's shows would make the transition to The CW, including 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Reba, Smallville, and Supernatural.
While The WB closed on September 17, 2006; the programming block known as Kid's WB would actually outlive the network. It continued for a time as The CW's Saturday morning lineup. This would come to an end with an announcement on October 2 2007 that The CW would discontinue Kid's WB. On May 8 2008 it was replaced on Saturday morning by a new programming block called The CW4Kids.
It was in 2008 that The WB came back from the dead after a fashion. It was that year that Warner Bros. launched a website called TheWB.com where episodes of shows broadcast on The WB could be streamed. Eventually other Warner Bros. shows that had not aired on The WB would be added to the website, including The Flash (1990), Friends, and The O.C. The WB.com closed in December 2013, having been replaced by CW Seed.
While The WB would last only for a brief time, it would produce several memorable television shows. Buffy the Vampire Slayer,. Charmed, Angel, Gilmore Girls, Everwood, and Supernatural all debuted on The WB and all of them remain popular to this day. Having run 10 seasons, 7th Heaven would ultimately be the longest running family drama. Having run 15 seasons, Supernatural turned out to be the longest running supernatural horror show. To this day the impact of The WB is still being felt.
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