CW Pilots in Development
The time for selecting the 2013 Fall Lineup is upon us. The CW Network is no stranger to working with new shows and developing tons of ideas for the best possible outcome. This year, the CW has eight pilots in development to choose from. Sticking with the young adult audience, two of the pilots are based on YA books, possibly joining book based shows such as The Vampire Diaries, The Carrie Diaries and the Gossip Girl series. These pilots also point in the direction of a more science fiction oriented theme. Take a look at what could possibly be your new favorite show:
The Hundred
(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
The Hundred (creators of Emily Owens, M.D. and based on Alloy books by Kass Morgan) is set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. If you like Oblivion, this could be the show for you. A spaceship housing the lone human survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet
- CAST: Eliza Taylor, Bob Morley, Eli Goree (Emily Owens M.D.), Henry Ian Cusick, Marie Avgeropoulos (Cult), Paige Turco, Isaiah Washington, Kelly Hu (Arrow/ The Vampire Diaries), Thomas McDonell, and Christopher Larkin
Blink
This fantastical drama makes light of a dark and serious situation. After a car accident, the father of this family lands himself in a coma-like syndrome where he can see and hear all but cannot speak or move. He narrates the show and gives fantasy sequences from his mind which coincide with the lives of his forever-changed family. This show sounds similar to the 2003 romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, Just Like Heaven. It might be interesting to see how the family copes with this situation as well as to see into the mind of a coma patient.
- CAST: John Benjamin Hicke, Madeline Carroll, Michael Weston, Johnny Simmons, and Elizabeth Marvel
Company Town
From the Executive Producer of Supernatural, Company Town begins with a scandal at a Naval base in Virginia that touches the lives of both civilians and military personnel in the area, launching us into a multigenerational, multi class, family and relationship series centered around two early twentysomething women who grew up together, were once best friends, but not are on opposite sides of the Townie/Military divide. Well, that's a mouthful and a lot going on. Hopefully the inspiration from the never-ending Supernatural will make this show better than it sounds.
- CAST: Gage Golightly, Stella Maeve, Maya Kazan, Merle Dandridge, Arjun Gupta, Dondre Whitfield, Graham Hamilton, and Evie Thompson
Oxygen
(Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for American Giving Awards)
From director Gary Fleder, who works on Beauty and the Beast, comes a show about a human girl falling in love with an alien boy. The alien boy comes from a group called The Orion 9 after they and hundreds of others land on Earth and immediately consigned to an internment camp where they've been imprisoned ever since. The show takes place 10 years after this imprisonment where the Orion 9 have integrated into a suburban high school. Science fiction and supernatural shows are all the rage nowadays and it seems aliens are at the top of the list. Will the human girl and the alien boy be able to stay together despite their major differences? We hope so!
- CAST: Aimee Teegarden, Matt Lanter (90210), Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries), Titus Makin Jr, Grey Damon (The Secret Circle), Natalie Hall, Chelse Gilligan, Greg Finley, and Maggie Elizabeth
Reign
This drama from the 1500s tells the unknown and untold story of Mary Queen of Scots rise to power in France as a 15-year old, engaged to Prince Francis. Along with her three best friends/ladies-in-waiting, Mary tries to survive amidst fierce foes, dark forces, and a world of sexual intrigue. I have no idea why this story was ever untold because it sure has my attention!
CAST: Adelaide Kane, Toby Regbo, Celina Sinden, Jenessa Grant, Megan Follows, Anna Popplewell, and Rossif Sutherland
The Selection
From the writers of The Vampire Diaries, Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft, the Selection is set 300 years in the future and based on a Kiera Cass book series. The show follows a poor, young woman selected Hunger Games style to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads. Lotteries are clearly going far beyond money and less gratifying in the future.
CAST: Yael Groblas, Michael Malarkey, Lucien Laviscount, Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Louise Lombard, Sean Patrick Thomas, Peta Sergeant, Celia Masingham, Sarah Winter, and Ben Aldridge.
The Tomorrow People
From four resident CW hit makers, comes an adoption based on the 1970s UK series of the same name. The show is made up of various young people from around the world with special powers including teleportation and telepathic communication. The group of evolved humans work together to defeat the forces of evil. X-MEN revisited! If you enjoyed any of the countless X-MEN movies or the series Heroes, this is the show for you and possibly the show for CW.
CAST: Peyton List, Luke Mitchell, Robbie Amell, Mark Pellegrino,and Madeleine Mantock.
The Originals
Photo: Skip Bolen/The CW
Perhaps the most anticipated of all the pilots up for grabs is this Vampire Diaries spin-off. The ever-conniving original vampires from The Vampire Diaries set out for the French Quarter of New Orleans where some more supernatural beings decide to take them on. In the backdoor pilot airing on the April 25th episode of The Vampire Diaries, Klaus reunites with his diabolical former protegé, Marcel. So much for that redemption we were hoping for. The good news, Elijah will be there to keep him in check!
CAST: Joseph Morgan , Daniel Gilles, Claire Holt, Phoebe Tonkin, Daniella Pineda, Charles Michael Davis, Danielle Campbell, and Leah Pipes
From this long list of possibilities, there are some clear winners that we're looking forward to. The Originals is the most obvious first choice bringing in an already loyal fan base eager for more Vampire Diaries. There's a show created for every kind of person on this list. Hunger Game-lovers will enjoy the storyline in The Selection, hopefully with less childkilling and X-MEN lovers will flock to The Tomorrow People for its further exploration of superhumans fighting evil!