Joss Whedon

The CW had already faced major changes in its second year. The network created out of the ashes of the former WB and UPN had already ended the long-running family dramas "7th Heaven" and "Gilmore Girls." On Thursday the ax fell on "Veronica Mars," which starred Kristen Bell as a wisecracking teenage private eye.

Corporate parents CBS Corp. and Time Warner Inc. had hoped the CW could become a fifth major network by combining the best of its predecessors, but it has often slipped behind Univision in the ratings during a disappointing first year.

The new "Gossip Girl," about a group of prep school teenagers in Manhattan, will be given the biggest push. The CW scheduled it for Wednesdays at 9 p.m. after its top-rated program, "America’s Next Top Model."

The CW’s only new comedy, "Aliens in America," is about a high school student trying to adjust to a Pakistani exchange student. "Life is Wild" is a drama about a New York City family spending a year at a game reserve in South Africa.

The new drama "Reaper" features one of the CW’s oldest new characters: a 21-year-old. His parents sold his soul to the devil and he’s assigned to track down evil escapees from hell.

On Sunday nights, the network will debut "The CW Now," an entertainment-oriented newsmagazine for 18-to-34-year-olds. "Online Nation" will talk about what’s hot on the Web.

In midseason, the CW will bring on a reality show, "Farmer Wants a Wife," about a country guy choosing among 10 women fed up with big-city prospects.