TV

The Cw, once staked its brand on being a source of "urban" entertainment shows -- a show biz euphimism for shows centered on African-American stories and characters. But at this point, the only such shows remaining on the network's schedule are Everybody Hates Chris and The Game.

Meanwhile, the CW's new target audience are women 18-34 and the shows the network is using to attract them are series centered on the young, beautiful and (perhaps especially) rich. Perhaps the signature show of this new brand identity has been Gossip Girls, a show about the days and nights, loves and addictions of a band of merry (and not so much) rich kids in New York City. With its new season, the network looks to expand that niche with entries like the updated spin-off, 90210 ("If you wanna live in the zip, you gotta live by the code"), and Privileged, a show about the fabulously wealthy, and did I mention young and beautiful, residents of Palm Springs.

Clips of both these shows shown to the press gathered in the Beverly Hilton ballroom on Saturday offered a dizzying, designer-decked montage of high fashion, fabulous mansions, exotic cars, exclusive clubs and, of course, the lucky inhabitants of all this gilded luxury. All this glamorizing imagery and voyeuristic fascination with the wealthy, their playthings and playgrounds, comes just as news reports and front pages are filled with daily accounts of America's slumping economy, described, coincidentally, in Saturday's Los Angeles Times, as "the worst economy since the Great Depression."

As gas prices climb, stocks slump and the housing market implodes, is anyone at the CW concerned that viewers' appetite for or perceptions of all the wealth-worshipping entertainment may suddenly shift? No. Being a network executive means the glass if never half-empty, it's always half-full.

"I think when times are tough, escapist entertainment is even more important. Viewers are looking to escape into television and see worlds they wouldn't see every day," Ms. Ostroff says. "You look back at shows like Dallas and Dynasty, they were fantasy shows that were very popular at a time (the 80s) when we had similar economic problems."