This backstory isn't exactly the stuff teen melodrama is made of, but here goes: In the mid-90s, Warner Bros. executives decided to develop its own TV programming and eventually phase out the independent networks and stations that weren’t drawing enough revenue or viewership. The new network was aptly titled The WB.
On January 11, 1995, it launched with both a corporate mascot named Michigan J. Frog and the sitcom The Wayans Bros starring Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Underwhelming beginning, to be sure.
But The WB defied — um, leapfrogged? — low expectations to become the ultimate destination for the Millennial generation. Though The Wayans stuck around through 1999, the network found its identity thanks to its slate of glossy dramas that centered on relatable-yet-juicy coming-of-age storylines. 7th Heaven. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dawson’s Creek. Felicity. Charmed. Gilmore Girls. Roswell. One Tree Hill. These series also put its female characters front and center. No matter that most of them were young enough to still stress about their SATs scores; they were strong, independent and self-confident. With totally cute love interests to boot! #TeamLogan.
OK, so The WB wasn't showered with Emmy love. With eye-popping ratings in the coveted 18-34 age demographic, the network still struck gold. Stars like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Keri Russell, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, James Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson and Chad Michael Murray all toplined teen-driven movies and posed for magazine covers. Its series' music sourced every CD mix in America. (Where have you gone, Remy Zero?) Moments like Joey kissing Pacey on Dawson's Creek went viral before social media existed.
But just as bright-eyed youth must eventually fade, and so did The WB. The struggling network merged with UPN in 2006, and the CW was born.
Though 11 years is just a finger-snap in TV’s grand history, The WB's most popular shows remain part of the cultural conversation. (Plus, Ryan Murphy’s 1999-01 bitchy high school-set comedy Popular is a cult classic!) Thirty years after the network’s debut, here’s a look at its legacy.
1/3: Percentage of viewers that stopped watching Felicity in its second season in 1999 after WB moved the show from Tuesdays to Sundays — and Keri Russell chopped her long curly hair.
1: WB stars who went on to win an Oscar (Jamie Foxx, who had a self-titled sitcom from 1996-01, scored in 2005 for Ray.)
2: Times that Sarah Michelle Gellar hosted Saturday Night Live during her 1997-03 Buffy run. James Van Der Beek and Katie Holmes also hosted the SNL.
3: WB series that featured Chad Michael Murray (Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, One Tree High).
4: WB stars who later scrubbed in on Grey's Anatomy (Roswell's Katherine Heigl, Birds of Prey’s Chyler Leigh, Everwood's Sarah Drew and Felicity's Scott Speedman).
7: Series chosen to migrate to the CW for its inaugural 2006-07 season (7th Heaven, Beauty and the Geek, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Reba, Smallville, Supernatural).
11: Highest chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998 for Paula Cole's "I Don’t Wanna Wait," which played over the opening credits of Dawson's Creek.
14: Emmys nominations for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, topping all WB series. It won two Creative Arts trophies.
17: Age of Michelle Williams when she first appeared as acerbic high schooler Jen Lindley in Dawson's Creek in January 1998.
20: Total episodes featuring a writing credit from future prolific TV producer Greg Berlanti, who won the Emmy Governors Award in 2024 (1 for Young Americans; 9 for Dawson's Creek; 2 for Jack & Bobby; 8 for Everwood).
24: Combined years that David Boreanaz spent on network television after playing the doomed Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in the Angel spinoff. His latest series, SEAL Team, ended in 2024.
25: Age of Selma Blair when she played high schooler Zoe Bean in the short-lived sitcom Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane.
327: Episodes of Supernatural, topping all shows that ever aired on the WB (Note: The drama got uprooted to the CW after just 22 episodes.)
8.4 million: Viewers who watched the series premiere of the Superman prequel Smallville in October 2001, making it the WB’s highest-rated debut ever.
12.5 million: Viewers who watched a February 1999 episode of 7th Heaven, making it the highest-rated WB episode ever.
500 million: Total viewing hours, from January to June 2023, amassed by Gilmore Girls after it started streaming on Netflix.
