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EXCLUSIVE: The CW has put in development Jane Whitefield, a drama project based on the Vanishing Act book series by Thomas Perry. Produced by CSI maiden Carol Mendelsohn and written by Natalie Chaidez, Jane Whitefield centers on a quirky young woman in search of her biological parents and her own identity who runs a private investigation/”eraser” company in Portland. CBS TV Studios and studio-based Mendelsohn Prods. produce, with Mendelsohn, Chaidez, Perry, Bob Wunsch and Carol Mendelsohn Prods.’ Julie Weitz exec producing.
Perry’s critically praised Jane Whitefield book series includes Vanishing Act, Dance For The Dead, Shadow Woman, The Face Changers, Blood Money, Runner, and Poison Flower. UTA-repped Natalie Chaidez has worked on Heroes, V, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and In Plain Sight. 
In addition to Jane Whitefield, Carol Mendelsohn Prods. has Second Sight at CBS, a drama based on the 2000 British series starring Clive Owen, with Michael Cuesta co-writing, directing and exec producing.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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I was over the moon after reading the headline, as I have long thought this character would be great for the movies or a cable show. But the changes they’re making to make it a CW series sound awful. One of the most important things in the novels is that Jane never has a company, never has an office and just helps people that manage to find her. She’s also not a character with a lot of angst. What makes her easy to root for is her competence and the fact she’s out there on her own (much like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher). I don’t know if I want to see a Jane mooning over her lost parents. Still, congrats to Thomas Perry, a great writer who has long deserved the visibility an adaptation brings!
Seems like a cool idea. CW is really expanding.
I can’t wait to read the novel version and see how close the novel and the series will be. Good luck to the new team.
Great concept that could definitely work for the CW. Looking forward to hearing more.
This sounds just awful.
Which makes it perfect for the CW.
Thomas Perry’s Jane Whitefield books are breathless action-suspense novels that oughta be required reading for thriller fans. And this pitch doesn’t even sound remotely near the Jane in the books:
1. Jane’s parents are dead. Her father (a full-blood Seneca) was killed in a construction accident; her mother (a blue-eyed blonde knockout) died some years later, before “Vanishing Act,” the opening book in the series.
1b. Oh, and she knew who her parents were. No if, ands or buts about it.
2. Jane lives in a small town near Buffalo, New York, nowhere near Portland (the better to shoot it in Vancouver, natch), in the house where she was born and raised. (Well, she did until she got married in “Shadow Woman,” the third book in the series.)
3. Jane’s not “quirky.” She’s methodical, scary-smart and tough as nails. And she’s no navel-gazer.
This CW variant might be based on “Jane Whitefield,” but it sure as shootin’ ain’t Jane Whitefield.
Very excited to hear this! I love the Jane Whitefield stories