CW to air iHeartRadio Music Festival next season

[May 17, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The CW network is bringing a popular radio music series to television and is going heavy on escapist fare in its new programming for next season.

As part of a three-year deal, the iHeartRadio Music Festival will air exclusively on the network and stream on CWTV.com following the broadcasts, the CW said Thursday. Other iHeartRadio events, including a Jingle Ball holiday concert, are coming to CW as part of the agreement with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment.

The music festival will be held in September in Las Vegas by Clear Channel.

Elsewhere on the 2014-15 schedule, CW's young-skewing audience will find a mix of fantasy and fashion.

Five new dramas are planned, including a spinoff of "The Vampire Diaries" titled "The Originals," starring Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies and Claire Holt as starter members of the vampire clan.

Another new drama, "The 100," is about 100 juvenile lawbreakers who are returned to a post-apocalyptic Earth to try to resettle it. The series is based on the Kass Morgan novels and includes former "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington in its cast.

The other new CW series for next season are:

• "The Tomorrow People," based on a British drama about a highly evolved group of youths with paranormal powers who unite to combat evil, including a group of scientists known as Ultra. The cast includes Robbie Amell ("Revenge") and Mark Pellegrino ("Lost").

• "Star-Crossed," a Romeo-and-Juliet romance between a human girl and an alien boy, part of a clash involving Earthlings and the alien visitors they've consigned to an internment camp. Aimee Teegarden ("Friday Night Lights") and Matt Lanter ("90210") star.

• "Reign," about the 15-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, and her rise to power in the 16th-century world of enemies and sexual intrigue. Adelaide Kane ("Teen Wolf") stars as Mary, with Toby Regbo as her potential prince charming.

The CW schedule will also include returning shows including "The Carrie Diaries" and "America's Next Top Model." The new schedule will launch in October, with premiere dates to be announced, CW said.

[Associated Press; By LYNN ELBER]

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