Lina Alles is managing partner Mindshare Canada

Fun, hip and youthful — that was the CW presentation at Madison Square Gardens. Loud music, flashing video and strobe lights, and all that just as we waited for the presentation to start.

The show kicked off with a video montage about the network before EVP of sales Rob Tuck talked about CW’s extremely successful year.

Ed Westwick, who plays the Machiavellian Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, then took the stage to tell us all that CW is a ‘must buy,’ followed by president of entertainment Dawn Ostoff, who noted that CW is the number one net for women 18 to 34, the one that viewers can’t stop talking about and the only one that provides culturally current, quality programming. In short, CW is ‘TV To Talk About.’

On to the new schedule. Melrose Place, Mondays at 9 p.m., is, yes, the remake of an old favorite. (It worked for 90210.)

The Beautiful Life, Wednesdays at 9 p.m., is a drama about the modeling industry, with Mischa Barton (The O.C. ) back as the ‘it’ girl who has been replaced by a younger version.

The Vampire Diaries, Thursdays at 8 p.m., is another drama about two bloodsucking brothers (one good, one bad) who battle for the heart and soul of a young woman. It’s based on the very popular series of young-adult horror novels and already has a cult following, so it should do well.

As for midseason replacements, Parental Discretion Advised is about a teenage girl who searches for her birth parents, and finds the life she always wanted. It looks good.

From Media in Canada