As expected, the CW announced Friday that it has ordered a full eighth season for the made-in-Wilmington drama series, ordering an additional nine episodes.

Freshman dramas “Hellcats” and “Nikita” also got full season orders.

The pickup seemed likely for two reasons.

1. The CW ordered six extra scripts of “One Tree Hill” and “Hellcats” a few weeks ago, a sign that the network was interested in where the shows were going.

2. “One Tree Hill” is a solid player in the newtork’s lineup, capable of pulling stable (if not always spectacular ratings) no matter when it airs. That versatility means that the CW can move it around to plug holes or help launch or support new series as needed.

This pickup probably means that the Brooke/Julian wedding on the show will be pushed back a bit past midseason, according to some online reports, and it will mean the show will have to figure out how to write around actress Bethany Joy Galeotti’s maternity leave in a few month.

What do you think? What stories do you want the show to tell in its second half of the season?

via “One Tree Hill” gets full-season pickup — as expected – We Love TV – Wilmington Star News – Wilmington, NC – Archive.

Yay! A FULL season.

The pickup baton has been passed to The CW: The network has given full-season orders to rookie dramas Nikita and Hellcats, as well as venerable soap One Tree Hill.

Season to date, Hellcats has averaged 2.5 million viewers, a dramatic improvement over last season’s insta-flop A Beautiful Life. Nikita, meanwhile, stands as The CW’s second most-watched show with 3.6 million viewers — although a large chunk of that audience falls outside the net’s core 18-34 demo (hence the mini-revamp under way).

via Breaking: The CW orders full seasons of ‘One Tree Hill,’ ‘Nikita,’ and ‘Hellcats’ | Ausiello | EW.com.