The CW is going into its fall season with one of the strongest lineups out there, with a notable award winner and two strong comic book heroes at its center.

Along with its quickly growing DC Comics franchise (Arrow, The Flash and midseason’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), The CW also has Jane the Virgin - an award-winning hit being paired with its newest comedy, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The CW has a few key strategies in place for this powerhouse Monday comedy lineup, namely encouraging viewers to catch up with previous episodes without literally catching up with each minute of season one.

According to Caty Burgess, SVP of media strategies at The CW, asking TV fans to watch a full season of broadcast TV before season two is sometimes too much, so the network opts for little pieces instead where viewers can catch up in their own way.

For Jane the Virgin, season one just debuted on Netflix for those who want to watch, but for everyone else, The CW has partnered with social influencers to catch up viewers with the world of Jane instead.

First, social influencers posted videos about their experiences as young Latina mothers to give the audience an idea of where Jane is coming from.

The CW’s Twitter account also posted “What to Expect” images this summer to catch up new fans and remind old ones what happened in season one.

Episodes themselves are also easy ways in to the show – Jane the Virgin’s “Previously On” segments are purposely made to sum up the storyline thus far so that viewers can enter into the show whenever they want.

“We want to catch viewers up about what Jane is about, to enter her world,” said Burgess. “We don’t think you had to have watched season one to enjoy season two, but we want to give as much as opportunities as possible.”

With The CW’s new comedy, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the network found a relatable comedy with a twist (namely the musical breaks).

Burgess calls the series “a different kind of comedy” for The CW. “But as different as it is, the concept is so relatable,” she said. “So we’ve been trying to amplify the relatability of it.”

The network is tapping into social influencers for this comedy as well, with @daddyissues_, someecards and more Instagram talent posting their own stories of love and loss.

“It’s all about how everyone’s been down this road of obsessive love and everyone has a relatable story,” said Burgess.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s campaign has been focused on that side of love – not about getting people to tell crazy stories of old flames, but more fun, relatable stories about how love can do silly and crazy things to a person.

A set of online partnerships included one with Hello Giggles for a series of pieces including “Unexpected ways to show your crush you care” and “The craziest things we’ve done for love.”

The show’s star Rachel Bloom partnered with the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre to promote the show as well, also serving as a nod to her live shows there with Quick & Funny Musicals. The CW even partnered with LoveLine, getting callers to share their own crazy love stories.

“The first season is all about building the social footprint that we can use in a second, third fourth season to help bring people back,” said Burgess, adding that this show has no built-in fan base, so this summer has been about creating the buzz that can translate into devoted fans this fall.


Pairing Crazy Ex-Girlfriend with Jane the Virgin makes one powerful Monday night for The CW, but also a natural campaign for both shows together. The network’s latest trailer, “Join Forces,” promotes the night as one upbeat comedy block.

The one thing you won’t see in The CW’s fall campaign is anything about its anticipated midseason lineup, however. Arrow and The Flash are paving the way for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow in January, but The CW felt it best to hold off on any promotion of the third DC Comics series for the network.

Both series are a natural “backdoor promotion for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” Burgess said, “simply because any audience we are recruiting now we believe will be an audience for Legends of Tomorrow.”

According to Burgess, marketing for the show too early might have the opposite effect for an audience now.

“I think it can be a bit of a bait and switch,” she said. “I’ve gotten really excited about something but then have to take a step back, like ‘Wait, what do you mean its not launching for six months?’”

And the final ace up The CW’s sleeve is that its premieres once again arrive weeks after the rest of the broadcast networks. The CW’s new shows get the same press as the rest of fall TV, but Burgess’ team can “tonally shift” certain things according to what works (and what flops) on competing networks.

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