Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: ABC, which has new fairytale-themed series Once Upon a Time slated to launch next month, has bought another drama with magical elements. The project, from Kings creator Michael Green, has received a put pilot commitment. It centers on a female cop who, after pursuing a seemingly unsolvable case, discovers a magical world that exists within New York City. 20th Century Fox TV is producing through a script deal Green signed there last season, with Green and his manager, 3 Arts’ Erwin Stoff, executive producing.

Heroes alum Green had the idea for the project last year, but after seeing two other projects with similar premises sell, including Ron Moore’s 17th Precinct to NBC, he and 20th decided to shelve his and roll his deal to this year as Green also was busy on the feature side. Then in January, Green was asked to rewrite the script for the ABC/ABC Studios horror thriller The River. When his version was picked up to pilot, Green was offered a rich deal to serve as showrunner on the pilot and the potential first cycle of the show. Green signed on and is now working on River‘s eight-episode midseason order. ABC topper Paul Lee is a known fan of The River, and because of his relationship with Green through the series, Green’s 20th TV project was taken first to ABC. On the feature side, WME-repped Green co-wrote Green Lantern and has the script Moses heating up at Warner Bros.

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