By Toni Fitzgerald

Media buyers complained loudly about the CW’s lack of an identity during its first year, with programming swinging wildly between family dramas, urban sitcoms, teen soaps and wrestling, depending on the night. There was little audience flow.

The network, which announced its second-year lineup to advertisers this morning, seems now to have settled on an identity: It’s becoming the WB.

The CW has made changes on all but two of its nights and looks to be focusing more on the younger part of its target 18-34 demographic. Its schedule includes four new scripted shows, twice the number it introduced last fall for its first season.

Several of the new shows are reminiscent of the WB network at its sudsy teen peak.

“Gossip Girl,” based on the young adult novel series, is a much edgier “Dawson’s Creek” set in prep school. “The Reaper,” about a slacker tabbed to work for the devil, mimics “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

And “Life is Wild,” about a family that moves to a South African game preserve, combines the family elements of “7th Heaven” and “Everwood.”

The other new show, “Aliens in America,” is a sitcom about a Pakistani Muslim teen.

This new lineup is an abrupt departure from last year, and probably a smart one with the greater emphasis on teens.

A year ago, the new network introduced only two new shows and relied too heavily on fading hits from the WB to launch, and all in all, it was a rocky year, one not helped by its failure to alert viewers to station changes in many markets.

The new CW shows, in sharing the theme of young people coming of age, will tie in well with old carryovers like “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Smallville” and “Supernatural.”

What’s notably not on the schedule is “Veronica Mars,” the low-rated but critically acclaimed three-year-old mystery series. The network had been expected to take a few more days to consider whether to bring it back but ultimately decided its ratings were too poor. It's officially dead.

The rumor floating this afternoon was that series star Kristen Bell will move to the new “Gossip,” which is produced by “The O.C.’s” Josh Schwartz. 

“7th Heaven,” “Gilmore Girls” and “All of Us” were also canceled.

What's also new this year: a greater reliance on its returning hit reality shows to launch its new programs. Last year, apparently reluctant to put on too much reality, the CW rotated “America’s Next Top Model” and “Beauty and the Geek.”

Both will air this fall leading into new shows, and three reality shows will debut at midseason.

Monday nights stay mostly the same, with “Chris” leading off at 8 p.m., followed by “Aliens” at 8:30 and the returning “Girlfriends” and “The Game” at 9 and 9:30.

“Geek” moves to “Gilmore’s” old Tuesday 8 p.m. slot, followed by “The Reaper.” “Model” remains on Wednesday at 9 p.m., followed by “Girl,” considered the network’s strongest new pilot.

Thursday remains the same, with “Smallville” and “Supernatural.” WWE stays on Friday, and the network will not program on Saturday.

Sunday could be an interesting night, as the network attempts its first newsmagazines. “The CW Now,” airing at 7 p.m., will focus on entertainment and “Online Nation,” at 7:30, focuses on the web. They’re followed by “Life is Wild” at 8 p.m. and “Model” repeats at 9.

Midseason reality shows include the returning “Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll,” “Farmer Wants a Wife” and “Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants.”

“One Tree Hill” will also return at midseason, with a major overhaul. The show will be set four years in the future, after the long-aging high schoolers have graduated from college.

CW’s fall schedule 2007-08 New shows in bold Moved shows in italic
MONDAY
8 p.m.	8:30 p.m.		9 p.m.		9:30 p.m.
Everybody Hates Chris (C)	Aliens in America (C)		Girlfriends (C)		The Game (C)
TUESDAY
8 p.m.					9 p.m.
Beauty and the Geek (R)					The Reaper (D)
WEDNESDAY
8 p.m.				9 p.m.
America’s Next Top Model (R)				Gossip Girl (D)
THURSDAY
8 p.m.				9 p.m.
Smallville (D)				Supernatural (D)
FRIDAY
8 p.m.
WWE (S)
SUNDAY
7 p.m.	7:30 p.m.		8 p.m.			9 p.m.
The CW Now (C)	Online Nation (C)		Life is Wild (D)			America’s Next Top Model repeats (R)
Note: New shows are shown in bold. Returning shows with new time slots are shown in italics. C = comedy, D = drama, M = movie, N = Newsmagazine, R = reality, S = sports.