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The CW is like no other network. It is a major channel where all its shows have teens in the lead that targets girls and women in the 18-30 demographic. You've got to be beautiful, or handsome if you are chosen to be on a CW show.

If you are on 90210, you're trotted out wearing only bikinis as AnnaLynne McCord did. Or you're shirtless for no reason as Matt Lanter had done so many times. Or you're shirtless because you are playing basketball as Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty had to do on One Tree Hill.

If you're on the Vampire Diaries you must know how to brood while looking hot. If you're on Gossip Girl, you have to have really skinny legs, wear short skirts and expose a lot of cleavage, as Blake Lively did. And if you're on any CW show, you stay there. You do not leave in the middle of the season or negotiate out of your contract. If you do, the CW will literally black ball you. You are not talent. Instead, you become CW property and, as long as you do stay beautiful or handsome, the network will keep you and make sure you show off your body more than you show off your acting. If you stay too long in a show, as Tom Welling did, you are almost guaranteed you will never work again because you will be typecast. If you are Sarah Michelle Gellar, this means you will only be offered roles where you have to wear garlic around the neck.

We're not joking. There's an actual CW curse. After your show ends for good, you will have a hard time making the leap to movies or have a hard time getting juicy roles on shows where you don't have to always be seen carrying a surfboard. Need proof? We'll, we've compiled a list of 20 actors who will never get a job outside their CW series. Is it coincidental that all of these actors--and so many more-who starred on a hit CW show are now unemployed? We think not.

Tom Welling - Smallville

Usually, actors on TV shows will try to do a movie or two while filming or during hiatus. Tom Welling already has lost his chance. He stayed too long on his TV show Smallville, which lasted ten years, and there were so many visual effects on the show that Welling was on set more than the other actors. So he had no time.

After Smallville, Welling wanted to be picky about his roles and, this time, he wanted to appear in movies. He then did three movies, but no one ever saw them. While it's not the actor's fault, if there's a string of back-to-back flops, Hollywood execs would be hesitant to cast him anymore in movies. But while many CW actors fail to make the jump to film, Welling, at least, made the jump back to TV, again on the CW. Welling has been starring in the Fox drama Lucifer since 2017.

Chad Michael Murray - One Tree Hill

One of the reasons why many people watched the WB/CW TV show One Tree Hill was because they, and by they we mean teenage girls, wanted to see Chad Michael Murray.  He was the biggest teen sensation of his day and was even voted as one of the most beautiful guys on TV in People magazine back in 2003. He left One Tree Hill (which began in 2003) early, before the show ended, and ever since then, he has dropped off Hollywood's radar.

The heartthrob's problem is that he was already in his 20s while playing a teenager on OTH. He could've used his fame from OTH to get himself in some movies, but he was in that limbo where he was too old to portray a teen, and too young to play the lead. But how did Ashton Kutcher do it, breaking out from That 70s Show, a TV comedy, and landing major parts in films? We think it's the CW curse: work for us and all's good. Leave us (as Murray did), and you'll never work in Hollywood again.

Ed Westwick - Gossip Girl

With the precision of an archaeologist’s eye, The CW drama Gossip Girl shined a light on what the privileged and elite teenagers do while living in the opulence of the Upper East Side in Manhattan. Ed Westwick played Chuck Bass, the billionaire bad boy who almost traded his girlfriend for his hotel.

But Westwick will never work again, as in real life he's being accused of being non-mutual with four women, one of whom is actress Kristina Cohen. Another is Haley Camille Freedman, a stylist in Los Angeles. According to Freeman, the actor attacked her repeatedly in his mansion and refused to let her leave. Of course Westwick denies all charges. In a Twitter and Instagram statement, he said, "I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman." Even if the women are lying, the air of bon bons will follow Westwick everywhere. In fact, they already have.

Manu Bennett - Arrow

Manu Bennett played Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, during the first two seasons of the wildly popular TV show Arrow. He then left the show, and fans were heartbroken. As a guest star during season three, Slade returned to the show and was defeated by a barely-trained Thea Queen. Bennett did not want to be on the show anymore. That's why he left!

He didn't want to play cameos either. But, perhaps because of the money, Bennett did end up guest starring as Slade Wilson in the season five finale and an episode in season six. He probably won't ever land anything high profile, since he became difficult and demanding on the CW, which doesn't do negotiations. Leaving Arrow was the worst thing he could do. Now he needs damage control if all the works he's done after Arrow have been massive misses. Except, of course for his role in The Shannara Chronicles, which is shot in New Zealand).

Nina Dobrev - The Vampire Diaries

Nina Dobrev played Elena Gilbert on the fantasy drama The Vampire Diaries. She starred as Elena Gilbert, and the major plot point for the early years of TVD was that she was a normal high school student who was caught in a love triangle by two duelling brothers who just happened to be vampires.

After six seasons, she was offered a renewal contract but she ultimately left because she grew bored with the role and because she wanted to try her hand with other acting opportunities.

But Dobrev has found it difficult to land choice roles in the aftermath of TVD. She's been in movies, sure, but can you even name one? And what about TV? She's not there as well. We smell the CW curse.

Taylor Momsen - Gossip Girl

In 2007, when Taylor Momsen was just 14, she played Jenny Humphrey on the hit drama Gossip Girl. Momsen was growing up in real life at the same time as she was growing up on television. Her character's trajectory follows this path, as she first started out demure and sweet before becoming rebellious.

She was either playing herself or playing a character when she started wearing "raccoon" eyeliner, dying her hair platinum blonde, and wearing skimpy outfits. We think it's both, as this was around the time that Momsen announced she wanted to be in a rock band, where she would ultimately become a success. But no one on TV and film will cast her anymore because of her behavior on set. According to Deadline, Momsen was called a "diva" and her role was gradually reduced because she kept coming to the set unprepared and under-dressed. She can forget about Hollywood because baggage like rebellious attitudes go a long way.

Calista Flockhart - Supergirl

Like Smallville, Supergirl had a lot of special-effects and cost CBS a lot of money. The CW (its parent company is CBS) swooped in to take over the series, and that went well because the show moved to Vancouver, where production costs were more reasonable.

Calista Flockhart, who played the role of Kara Danvers’ boss, Cat Grant, bit the hand that fed her when she declined to relocate to Canada for the series. Apart from guest appearances, Grant virtually disappeared from Supergirl and, as of season three, the star was written out of the show completely. This was Flockhart's last chance at stardom, and when we say last, we mean it. Flockhart failed to find work before Supergirl and after she left, she found the Hollywood scene to be inhospitable. It is up to the CW to decide who stays.

AnnaLynne McCord - 90210

AnnaLynne McCord landed a supporting role in the CW-reboot 90201 when it started in 2008. But she eventually became one of the stars of the show because her plots were very juicy and because several various media outlets had begun referring to McCord as the series' lead.  McCord played the vixen Naomi Clark who ruled high school and was often shown wearing barely-there bathing suits because, well, this is the CW.

She made some television movies that no one ever saw and guest starred on some TV shows, some of which were just for one episode. She also starred in the TN drama Dallas, and that was the longest she appeared on the now-defunct TV show, starring in just nine episodes.

But McCord will never land a high-profile role in a movie because her character was so indelible on 90210 that people can't see her in anything else. This plagues many CW stars who are forever tied to their role.

Leighton Meester - Gossip Girl

Leighton Meester used her downtime well while not playing Blair Waldorf on the iconic hit show Gossip Girl. Unlike other CW actors, she landed big parts in movie roles while still being a part of the cast of GG to secure her future once her TV show ended. But have you actually ever heard of The Roommate and That's My Boy? No? We figured. The problem was Meester ruined her chances in Hollywood because all the movies she made were bombs. Her foray back to TV for Making History was canceled after only nine episodes. These misses have all worked to endanger her career.

In 2013, she found success on Broadway with Of Mice and Men, which also starred James Franco. While she impressed critics, this was not the medium she wanted to be in. The theater was just one of her many mediums, which include TV, film, music and theater. She's spread out all over the place, so Hollywood has no identity for her. Variety is great, but her failure to stick to just one medium makes her Teflon: she won't stick.

Jessica Lowndes - 90210

Jessica Lowndes is best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on The CW teen drama series 90210. She was the resident scheming bad-girl who loved to get revenge on her friends. When the show ended in 2013, her career ended too, which is the CW curse. But, you might say, I saw her in several TV movies. Well, that's partly true.

She starred in "A Mother's Nightmare, "Deadly Adoption"  "A December Bride" and "Merry Matrimony." But those don't count. Those are made-for-TV Lifetime movies. Those that aren't Lifetime movies are Hallmark Channel movies, specifically home-for-the-holiday movies. The joke about these channels is that you go and die there to keep from becoming irrelevant. The Hallmark movies are the worse. They are often about headstrong women who put their career first and don't believe in Christmas until a handsome stranger shows her how enchanting it is. If not, the roles are reversed. Those are basically the plots. Londes has to keep working for Hallmark or else she will become irrelevant.

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Sarah Michelle Gellar of course is known for starring in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which first aired on The WB network, and which would later become the CW.  The show has been such a success that, even in its afterlife, people still talk about the show. Buffy Studies is a real thing, and there are actual courses taught in college about the character and her world. Academics write about Buffy for respected academic journals. Conferences are held. You get it.

The reason why Gellar failed to land parts after Buffy ended is because she could never live down her role, as well as the genre she was in. Movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2 showcase this. No other films would cast Gellar, and even though the CW gave her another chance and cast her in the TV show The Ringer, the series never caught on and was canceled after only one season. After that flop, the CW was hesitant to hire her, but if they change their mind, she'd probably be typecast. That's just how it works. The CW only likes you when you are young and beautiful.

Mischa Barton - The Beautiful Life

Mischa Barton is famous for playing the teen queen with saucer eyes on the TV hit The O.C. Barton left after season 3 (the show had 4 seasons) after being written off in a car crash. After that, Hollywood was not so kind, and she failed to find work in respectable movies. She burned a huge bridge when she went on the radio and revealed that her character was going to die at the end of the season finale. This was supposed to have been a secret so that spoilers could be avoided. When the creator and executive producer of the show, Josh Schwartz, found out, he praised Barton as an actor, but behind the scenes, he was fuming, which is why he actually never defended her in public.

Barton got her second chance by starring in The Beautiful Life, a teen drama that aired on the CW in 2009 for two episodes before being canceled because of low ratings. The lack of success might not be Barton's fault, but at this time she had already become famous for being difficult, a diva and a pain. Poor Barton. Doesn't she know that no one comes out alive after appearing on a CW show?

Allison Mack - Smallville

It should be evident by now that the CW will literally kill your career after you move on from the network. Allison Mack is no exception. Mack spent a whole decade on Smallville, playing Chloe Sullivan, the reporter and sidekick to Clark Kent. Besides Welling, Mack's character had the longest-running story arc on the show, having been the only other character to appear consistently throughout the entire series.

When the show ended in 2011, she had nowhere to go. The show was shot in Canada and, like Tom Welling, it would've been logistically impossible for her to star in a Hollywood movie when they were out of the public eye or during a break or a hiatus.  The one big jig she got was snagging a recurring role in the FX hit Wilfred for 2012-2014, but that's basically it.

Trevor Donovan - 90210

In 2009, on the 90210 reboot, Trevor Donovan played Teddy Montgomery, the hunky jock who lives to play tennis. His role was recurring role, but because it expanded, he was moved up to series regular. His major plot point was that he was in the closet and had to decide whether or not if he should come out.

Trevor Donovan will probably never land a major role again. One reason: he's too old. When he first appeared on 90210, he was introduced as a 16-year-old teen when in fact he was actually 30. He pulled it off for a while, looking young, but as the show continued and the cast went to college, he could've played a relatively young professor.  He's 37 now, and while he still has retained his youthful image, we're really stretching it here.

After the show ended in 2013--surprise!--Donovan could not find work. But he did pull a Jessica Lowndes (his co-star on 90210) and started his career anew by starring in some Lifetime and Hallmark channel movies. And, as we already put it, those movies don't count. That's where you go to regain relevancy, to show the world that you have money problems, or to keep from having to work at Denny's as a server in order to stay afloat. So, the question is, what do you think Hallmark's movie, "Marry Me at Christmas" --starring Donovan--is about? Yep, you're right. It's all about getting someone to marry you during the Holiday season.

Scott Patterson - Gilmore Girls

It's like the Shonda Rhimes effect. If you leave one of her shows and she likes you, she will scoop you up and put you on one of her other shows. The same goes for The CW. Sure, you'll die a slow death after leaving a CW show, but the network also has a heart, and will extend offers to actors they like. Scott Patterson embodies this sick recruiting.

Patterson played Luke on Gilmore Girls, one of the most successful dramas on CW/WB. When the show ended, Patterson found success in film, starring in the Saw franchise.  But when that ended, Patterson failed to find work. But the CW swooped in and gave him the lead on the CW sitcom Aliens in America, where he played a father who raises alpacas. But the show lasted for only one season due to low ratings and then the CW offered him yet another chance, giving him a role in 90210 as Liam's father, for a short arc. He has done some movies no one saw and TV shows no one watched after the teen soap made Peterson a liability, but at least he has the CW on his back.

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles - Supernatural

It's hard to believe that the American horror fantasy series Supernatural has been on the CW network for 13 seasons and has amassed almost 300 episodes while doing so. First broadcast in 2005, the show was ratings gold for sci-fi and horror flick geeks.  Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester play brothers who hunt demons, ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural beings. It had more people watching than you think; not just the nerds who go to Comic-Con. There's also the female fans who watch the show because they lust after Padalecki and Ackles, who were very good looking when the show began and in the years to follow.

While we don't know when Supernatural will end, we do know that these stars need to walk away from their roles fast so they can go out strong. They are now in the 40s and look it, so the female fanbase has moved on. Like Smallville, being on Supernatural for a decade and counting means that the actors will probably never work again after their show ends. They are tethered to their roles, they have not made an effort to branch out and film movies during a hiatus. And they rest on their laurels; the last time Padalecki tried his hand in film was in 2009, when he starred in Friday the 13th. That movie only served to typecast Padalecki even more, as the actor has not chosen roles outside his genre. 

Daneel Ackles - One Tree Hill

Daneel Ackles, is the wife of Jensen Ackles; they met on a set of a film together, which again, barely anyone saw, but they fell in love and have been together ever since. Daneel had her run on the CW with One Tree Hill, playing Rachel, fitting into the cheerleader persona that everyone else had too. She was beautiful, and fun, but not a fan favourite, which perhaps doesn't help with the fact that you barely see her anywhere in Hollywood.

In fact, she cannot land any jobs. Which is why she was cast on Supernatural as a guest star for season 13. Obviously her connections through Jensen Ackles is what has landed her the role. But if it means anything at all, she is a proud mother, and seems to enjoy that more, anyhow.

Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley - The Vampire Diaries

It's hard to believe that The Vampire Diaries has called it quits. Based on the tween bestseller of the same name, the CW supernatural show premiered in 2009 and ran its course in 2017. TVD aired a whopping 171 episodes over eight seasons, which is a lot. The long-standing bloodsucker, like other CW shows, has made stars out of the teens and young adults who appeared on the show. Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder were nobodies before TVD came along. And when it did, it was met with critical acclaim and high ratings.

Here the CW curse seems to dominate the lives of these two stars, who were all heartthrobs on the show until they got older. Somerhalder will be 40 soon and Wesley is in his late 30s. The problem is that Hollywood casts actors by archetype. Age alone can determine if Somerhalder, for example, plays a veteran detective. He will be too young for the role. He's at that intermediate stage, no longer young enough to be a heartthrob for teens and girls. Strike two is that he's played his character for so long that nobody will be able to see him outside TVD. There is nothing in the pipeline for Somerhalder and Wesley, and they will have to fend for themselves having now become CW property. It's telling that Somerhalder is only known these days as being the husband to Nikki Reed, who gave birth to their first child last year. That's not showing off his talent, or his range. It's just gossip, which means he's expendable.

James Lafferty - One Tree Hill

James Lafferty used to be the WB/The CW's hottest commodity. At 18, he began starring on One Tree Hill, which is kind of like Dawson's Creek except there's no scary Katie Holmes climbing through your window.

Lafferty played Nathan Scott, who was estranged from his half-brother Lucas Scott. OTH started in 2003, and cycled through nine seasons. Lafferty left after the eighth season, but chose to return on a recurring basis. He was older then and looked it, and because The CW only celebrates the young and good-looking, he was never again cast on the network. To play a middle-aged character on The CW means that you will only be hired as a parent where the teens are the talent. Who wants that? Do you remember Tom Welling's mother on Smallville? Did you see how 90210 slowly faded out adults, above all adult parents, so that the show could focus on all the hotties whom they hand-picked for the reboot?  Dear Mr, Lafferty, your career is over. Especially since you haven't done any substantial work to prove us wrong.

Hilarie Burton - One Tree Hill

Hilarie Burton has starred in bit parts, some movies, and has dabbled in TV. But none of these projects were as indelible as her playing a cheerleader on One Tree Hill.

The problem is, Burton will never work again. That's because she left OTH before it ended due to salary negotiations. Even if this is just a rumor, it will still hang over her head when producers start casting Burton and remember her trying to milk The CW. And even if it was Burton's decision not to return, you are toying with The CW. Without The CW, she would've never made the cover of Maxim or People.

In a more serious nature, Burton revealed in 2017 that OTH creator Mark Schwahn had harassed some of the women on crew, as well as herself. He did a Harvey Weinstein. Men like Schwahn, someone high up on the ladder, get away with being bad because of the power they yield. We find it sad that, in this day and age, Burton felt as if she had no choice but to keep her dealings with Schwahn secret in return for not being blackballed on sister networks The CW, CBS and Warner Bros.