Making the case for 'Reaper'

There are still many reasons for The CW to want to stay in the "Reaper" business. The first is still Harrison, who I continue to maintain will eventually find the vehicle that will make him a TV star. There's no reason why "Reaper" shouldn't be that vehicle and maybe The CW should just keep him around in case the right project moves into the development pipeline and they want to have him handy. The other main reason would be Wise, whose Devil is one of TV's singular creations, dapper, charismatic and vicious when he needs to be. I argued that Wise deserved an Emmy nomination last year and while I don't know if he's had the perfect showcase episode, he's every bit as deserving.

That's part of the problem. The two reasons to watch the show are a 27-year-old leading man and its 61-year-old villain. If I were to expand my list, I'd go to Gonzalez and then Labine. The CW, with its love of young female viewers, isn't going to go to the mattresses for this sort of supernatural sausage-fest unless the "Supernatural" men have the last name "Winchester."

When asked, a CW source stuck to what would logically be the party line: The fate of "Reaper" has not yet be determined and nothing will be made official until the upfronts. Of course not.

The signs of pending demise are myriad. "Reaper" went unmentioned when The CW renewed "Gossip Girl," "One Tree Hill," "90210," "Smallville," "Supernatural" and "America's Next Top Model" in a single pen-stroke. The perception has been that despite low ratings, "Privileged" is where "Reaper" is last year -- a ratings-starved first-year series with a passionate fanbase and an up-and-coming lead (Joanna Garcia) -- with the logic saying that the chances of such a show breaking out in its second season is better than in its third go-round.