Before there was the CW, there was the WB. The WB focused its network on teen dramas and supernatural stories with a few sitcoms thrown in for good measure. The small network couldn’t compete with the big three of CBS, ABC, and NBC, but it sure tried. When the network shuttered in 2006, some of its programming combined with that of UPN’s to create the CW’s new lineup.
While the WB is known for bringing iconic series like Dawson’s Creek and Charmed to television, it might be surprising to discover how many of those iconic shows don’t land in its top ten rated series. In fact, according to ratings from the Internet Movie Database, a lot of the highest-rated shows by fans and critics (on a scale of one to ten stars) were shows that didn’t make it beyond a single season.
Dead Last (7.8)
Surprisingly, a lot of the best-rated series to air on the WB didn’t last long. Dead Last was one of them. It began its run in August of 2001 - and was canceled after only six episodes aired. The full 13 filmed did air in the U.K. and Canada.
The series centered around a fictional band that came into possession of a magical amulet that allowed them to communicate with ghosts. Though the group just wanted to make it big with their music, they were sidetracked by the ghostly problems around them.
Series star Tyler Labine got the chance to go for a fantasy comedy series again when he starred in Reaper.
Black Sash (7.8)
Like Dead Last, Black Sash didn’t even air its entire first season. Unlike Dead Last, however, Black Sash was a drama tinged with some martial arts.
Starring Russell Wong as a former police officer who was framed for smuggling heroin in China, the series centered on Wong’s character running a martial arts program for teenagers while reconnecting with his young daughter. The romance between the teens was heavy and the mystery surrounding his framing drove the show. The WB aired six of its eight episodes before canceling it in 2003, but a lot of its stars (Missy Peregrym, Sarah Carter, and Drew Fuller) went on to star in more successful shows just a few years later.
Grosse Pointe (7.9)
Grosse Point might have been one of the smartest series the WB ever aired. Sadly, it only lasted a single season.
The series was conceived as a parody of teen dramas - especially Beverly Hills, 90210. Many of the characters were spoofs of the characters and actors associated with 90210. Jason Priestly even guest-starred in an episode (and directed it). Grosse Pointe was named for the fictional teen soap within the show, with every episode following the behind the scenes drama instead of the show itself.
Unfortunately, airing on Friday nights, and then Sundays, didn’t land it a very large audience, and the show was canceled after its first season.
Off Centre (7.9)
The WB leaned into raunchy comedy with Off Centre, often promoting the series as being “from the guys that brought you American Pie.” American Pie co-star Eddie Kaye Thomas and future Once Upon A Time Robin Hood Sean Maguire starred as mismatched roommates in the sitcom.
American Pie alumni Eugene Levy, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jason Biggs all guest-starred during the show’s two-season run, trying to capitalize on the popularity of the movie. The show’s humor caused some public write-ups about toning vocabulary down, but clearly, the IMDb users loved it.
Angel (7.9)
Moving into some slightly more recognizable shows for the WB, Angel slides into the top 10 with the same rating as Off Centre. Of course, Angel lasted a few more seasons with the benefit of being a spin-off of a popular series.
The series saw brooding vampire Angel leave Sunnydale behind for Los Angeles. There, he opened his own detective agency with some new (and a few old) friends to “help the helpless.” The series served to flesh out Angel’s character beyond being the vampire in love with the Slayer. It also helped to make Cordelia and Wesley, both Buffy characters, a lot more popular with fans. The characters dealt with psychic visions, alternate universes, and of course, the end of the world on a regular basis.
Jack And Bobby (8.0)
Unlike the early entries of the WB’s top 10, Jack And Bobby did get to air its first season in its entirety. Inspired by the personal - and political - relationship between Robert and John Kennedy, the series was set in 2004 as brothers Jack and Bobby grew up.
Of course, the show also flashed forward to 2040 and Bobby’s political career. Bobby would eventually become the President of the United States, and the show cleverly demonstrated how events in his adolescence shaped his future. It combined elements of a political drama with the teen soaps the WB was known for at the time, and though it prompted award season nominations, it didn’t get to move forward.
Do Over (8.1)
Before he was in Gossip Girl, Penn Badgley was a thirtysomething with the chance for a Do Over. The WB’s 2002 series sent an adult back to the 80s.
Badgley played Joel Larson, the teenage version of a man who gets a second chance to fix his mistakes. As an adult, he missed out on a lot of the opportunities he should have taken when he was younger, and his life didn’t exactly turn out the way he expected. Thanks to some electrical shock, he ends up back in the body of his teenage self in high school.
Critics and audiences loved the series when it ran, but unfortunately, it aired against shows like Scrubs and Survivor, getting a cancelation after 11 episodes aired. It did get the chance to run in its entirety on international networks though.
Gilmore Girls (8.1)
When the WB neared the end of its days, a lot of its series were genre shows focusing on supernatural creatures, but not this one. Gilmore Girls was a dramedy focused on a mother-daughter duo as they realized their dreams in the tiny fictional town of Stars Hollow.
The series has become a huge part of pop culture and is so beloved that it got a Netflix revival set about a decade after the events of the series. Lorelai and Rory’s quick wit and love for all things pop culture still hits with audiences.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (8.2)
Is it any surprise that Buffy The Vampire Slayer has some of the top ratings on IMDb? The show was a pop culture phenomenon. It got a spin-off series, novels, comic books, and even almost became an animated show.
Looking back on the series, there are a lot of things that aren’t as feminist as audiences remember, and some characters aren’t really as good of a good guy as we might have thought. That doesn’t change just how huge it was during its heyday. Buffy made a whole generation of young women feel like they could do anything. It broke genre rules with a musical episode. Its style inspired more series with women saving the day. The series even defied the odds when it was canceled by the WB and brought back by UPN, prompting a generation of fans to learn the value of a good resurrection campaign.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer defined a generation of television, however, one show has it beat.
Supernatural (8.4)
Just 0.2 of a star higher than Buffy is Supernatural. Supernatural has the honor of being the longest-running WB series, which probably helps contribute to its higher rating; if fans and critics are still watching it, they’re still rating it.
The show originally followed Sam and Dean Winchester on a cross country road trip to find their missing father while they battled supernatural creatures. A family of hunters, the Winchesters battled all manner of creatures as the mythology of the series evolved. Monsters, witches, demons, and angels have all had their place on the series over the years. While the show still travels and still faces monsters of the week, at its heart, the show is about the relationship between the brothers at the center of it all.
Currently in its 15th season on the CW, Supernatural is winding its story down for its final season.
