CW’s ‘Carrie Diaries,’ ‘Arrow,’ ‘Cult,’ ‘First Cut,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Ordered to Series (original) (raw)
The young-skewing network has picked up five of its eight pilots, betting big on Josh Schwartz with both "Cult" and "Arrow."
Green Arrow Carrie Diaries Split - H 2012
The CW has picked up five of its eight pilots to series, including two projects from _Gossip Girl_‘s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.
Ahead of the female-skewing network’s Thursday upfront presentation, its new president Mark Pedowitz is looking to broaden The CW’s appeal. Included in his order for next season: Arrow, a superhero series based on the long-running DC Comics property, and a murder mystery starring _The Vampire Diaries_‘ Matt Davis.
Here’s a look at what made the cut for the 2012-13 schedule, which will include returning series Nikita, 90210, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie and Supernatural.
Arrow
Based on the DC Comics title, published by DC Entertainment, this hourlong drama is a modern retelling of the legendary DC Comics character Green Arrow. Stephen Amell stars in the title role_._ The project, which also counts Paul Blackthorne, Jamey Sheridan, David Ramsey, Colin Donnell, Katie Cassidy and Willa Holland among its cast, hails from pilot season heavyweight Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg. David Nutter directed the pilot, which is set up at Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
The Carrie Diaries
It’s Sex and the City for the younger set. The soapy CW drama, based on the City prequel by Candace Bushnell, centers on a young, Manhattan-based Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) who comes of age in the 1980s. Austin Butler, Brendan Dooling, Freema Agyeman, Stefania Owen, Katie Findlay, Ellen Wong, Matt Letscher and Chloe Bridges round out the ensemble cast. Diaries hails from Schwartz and Savage’s Fake Empire in association with Warner Bros. Television. Amy Harris serves as a writer and executive producer, with Schwartz, Savage, Bushnell and Len Goldstein on board as EPs. Miguel Arteta helmed the pilot.
Cult
The drama revolves around an inquisitive young female production assistant (Jessica Lucas) on a wildly popular television series who joins a journalist blogger (Matt Davis) in investigating the show’s rabid fans. Together, the duo finds the fans might be re-creating crime scenes from the show in their real lives — behavior that has lead to a rash of disappearances and a likely murder. Alona Tal and Robert Knepper fill out the cast. The project, which also counts Schwartz, Savage and Goldstein as EPs, hails from Warner Bros. TV, Fake Empire, NS Pictures Inc. and CBS Television Studios. Joining the trio of producers are writer-producer Rockne O’Bannon and EP and pilot director Jason Ensler.
Beauty and the Beast
Loosely based on the 1980s CBS series, this is a modern-day romantic love story with a procedural twist.? Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk is the Beauty to Jay Ryan‘s Beast. Austin Basis, Nicole Gale Anderson, Nina Lisandrello, Max Brown and Brian White join them in the CBS Television Studios drama, from writer-executive producers Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper. Paul J. Witt, C. Anthony Thomas, Ron Koslow and Bill Haber will also serve as EPs, with Gary Fleder directing the pilot.
First Cut
The medical drama centers on a newly minted doctor (Mamie Gummer) discovers that, sadly and comically, life at the hospital where she works is no different than high school. Joining Gummer on the CBS TV Studios show are Justin Hartley, Michael Rady, Jack Coleman, Kelly J. McCreary, Aja Naomi King and Necar Zadegan. The project hails from writer/executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman, EP Dan Jinks and pilot director Bharat Nalluri.
Meanwhile, the network has passed on _Hunger Games_-esque pilot The Selection, JJ. Abrams/Mark Schwahn drama Shelter and Israeli adaptation Joey Dakota.
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