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This updates my previous Primetime Pilot Panic: The Hot List
OVERVIEW: Everyone laughs about The CW but its development is praised this season for being very targeted. The result is that 5 out of 6 of its pilots seemed to be real. But that's already winnowed down to 3 because of the lack of slots. (And, no, The CW or its designated hitter won't be programming Sundays next fall.)
MELROSE PLACE (CBS-Paramount) rebooted is a lock. The show is already hiring.
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE (CBS-Paramount/Katalyst Films) looks very good to be picked up since The CW likes its relationship with Ashton Kutcher and this is a drama about models starring young and old babes like Mischa Barton and Elle McPherson. "It's sexy and very Dawn Ostroff," one source tells me.
VAMPIRE DIARIES (Warner Bros/Alloy Entertainment) is next in line with the most heat. It's a drama based on the series of books about vampire brothers and their girlfriend. "It screened very well the other day."
GOSSIP GIRL SPINOFF (Warner Bros/CBS-Paramount/Alloy Entertainment): As I reported at 2:45 PM today, put a fork in it. It's done. Next Monday's episode of Gossip Girl is a flashback that was supposed to be a tempting taste for next fall's spinoff following the wild teen years of now mom Lily van der Woodsen (played by Brittany Snow) in Los Angeles in the 1980s. But even though I heard Peter Roth loved its yesteryear vibe, the show went from hot, to lukewarm, to "fading but wouldn't count out", to now dead, according to my insiders. I'm really surprised.
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That’s a shame. Gossip Girl’s a good show most of the time, the spinoff looked fun. There’s nothing to watch anymore if you’re not a frat boy, a reality fan, or interested in cops and doctors. They should keep the spinoff and dump 90210 which embarrassingly stinks
I say score one for the little writer trying to get his/her pilot off the ground — watching as the networks cannibalize every goddamn property they already own and in the process push the TV DRAMA business further into the RED.
But what about The Body Politic? It’s got Minka Kelly, Jason Dohring, Gabrielle Union and Brian Austin Green.
What the heck? The spin-off looks awesome. I agree that they should dump 90210 (if not Melrose Place too) and pick up the spin-off instead.
I’m really hoping Body Politic will be picked up and not just because I love Jason Dohring, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Union! From everything I hear, the script is really great, I’m absolutely loving the casting and when you’ve got people like Kal Penn quitting House to go work for Obama, this is a perfect time for a show about 20-something DC up and comers, that brings a little bit more than *just* being a sexy drama.
I saw the clip for next week’s Gossip Girl and while the VM fan in me loves Ryan Hansen and Krysten Ritter, I’d rather see them on better shows!
I was excited about the Gossip Girl spin off. I’m shocked.
What are you hearing about The Body Politic at the network?
What about “The Body Politic?” Is it as dead as the Gossip Girl spin off?
Gossip Girl is a guilty pleasure.
Any news on the other CW pilots? The Body Politic has a great cast and script.
Judging from the clips of the spinoff, CW did everyone a favor.
The Body Politic?
What about Body Politic? Hearing anything?
i was so excited about the spin off and i’m shocked too, the 30 sec promo looks awesome and better than the whole 90210 season ! WTF this show is still aired. That’s a shame !
what is Dawn Ostroff doing ? first she cancelled Veronica Mars 2 years ago and now she doesn’t want the spin off but prefers crappy remakes like 90210 and Melrose which would never be like the originals.
I’m going to miss Lyla on FNL, after her arc, but my friends and I want to see her on Body Politic with Jason Dohring and Brian Austin Green! (If BAG’s on the CW, he can also do a guest spot on 90210, FTW!) I hated Mischa Barton on the OC and while the idea of her as an aging model makes me giggle, that’s not enough to make me want to watch!
I thought ‘The Valley’ looked lame, but could we get Brittany Snow on Supernatural or Smallville? Brian Austin Green looked hot on that red carpet picture with Megan Fox and I can’t wait to see his new pilot now that they were stupid enough to kill Derek Reese off Terminator: SCC. He was the best part of that show!
Jennifer is totally right. yes we can… watch hot chicks in dc!
Even more than Body Politic, I’m wondering what’s going on with Lux Life. It’s the kind of Gilmore Girls family-aimed hit the network needs, but people have been real back and forth about it. Great pilot, though.
Earth to THE WORLD! Brittany Snow is a horrible, horrible actress. Did you SEE Prom Night? Brittany Snow is half as talented as Camilla Belle, and guess what, Camilla Belle SUCKS! Good riddance. The last thing this country needs is a fucking spinoff of fucking Gossip Girl. Are you KIDDING me?????
Great news about The Beautiful Life!
Me, too, on Body Politic. It’s got some solid folks behind the camera as well.
Beautiful people and undead people are always fun to watch, but I think CW has room for a show in tune with our more substantial aspirations (not to mention beautiful people like Kelly and Union).
That’s shocking about the Gossip Girl spinoff not being picked up. But hopefully it improves the chances of Privileged coming back!
I saw beautiful and it’s young sexy and edgy. New show for the fashion world to gawk after. I think this show is going to be a huge hit. Mark my words. Sex and the City meets Gossip Girl meets Entourage only it’s about Models not an actor.
Lux Life? Seriously? That pilot was stupendously AWFUL! Please don’t sully the name of Gilmore Girls, by comparing The Light Years to it! People could actually like and relate to Lorelei and Rory Gilmore! While ‘Lux’ (side note, that’s a stupid name!) has a sad, pathetic life, her desperately needy ‘I take take care of myself, really!’ attitude doesn’t invoke any sympathy. Her parents both are unlikeable and I don’t think I’ve disliked the main cast of a show so much since the Bionic Woman remake! If the CW is trying to find a new show like Gilmore Girls or Veronica Mars, where you can fall in love with all of the main characters, they’re not going to find it with The Light Years and need to keep trying.
VM’s Lilly Kane fans or GG’s Paris Gellar fans that know you can love a character without necessarily liking how that character behaves all the time should check out Gabrielle Union as Jessica in Body Politic! I may not have liked what I read about how her character behaves, but like Lilly Kane, I think I’m going to LOVE her!
I saw Light Years (wrong as Lux Life) and thought it was really good. And that the cast was tremendous. Lot of hating from LuxSux. Probably a writer from one of the other shows. Something as highbrow as the male model show. whoopee!
It’s clear this generation wants something sexy – but with a bit more substance and even inspiration. I’m eager to hear more about The Body Politic, especially given the new, young, good-looking administration. I’d invest in a sexy show that gives us a peak inside hot young DC. I’m hoping Body Politic will capture the spirit of these next four years, and more. Thoughts?
I’m not a writer for one of the other CW shows, but if I was a writer, I’d want to re-write The Light Years. Me thinks Ph or PhoebeJ is a writer or someone working on The Light Years as all the bloggers and critics have given The Light Years a thumbs down. Even the cliched clap trap that was the Vampire Diaries script was slight more interesting, but I suppose that’s being damned with faint praise. I heard someone say that Lux is supposed to be this ’smart, sassy blonde, similar to Veronica Mars’, but even if I squinted and drank a few over/under’s, I couldn’t see it. The Light Years probably had a worse result for me, because I didn’t even care enough to hate it, it just bored me to death.
I won’t hate as strong as LuxSux, but the pilot script for Light Years is so bad that I can’t imagine the screener is anything but awful, too. I don’t think the cast is too impressive and I think this fits the CW the least of all of the pilots. At least Body Politic can work with the hot ‘20 somethings like in One Tree Hill or Melrose Place.
Clearly the producers of Body Politic are posting here. Because there’s no way this many random people would give a crap about a CW pilot.
I’d say it’s obsessed TV fans are more likely. Considering the CW isn’t getting by on their ratings though, I’d think obsessed fans that spend money on DVDs, iTunes downloads and flock to things like Supernatural conventions are exactly what the CW wants. Chuck fans got sponsors like Subway and Nestle Co to sponsor their ‘Save Chuck’ efforts, so twitter, blogs and Google maybe viable ways for sponsors to monetize shows with people that would normally commercial skip on their DVR. Personally, I love Jason Dohring, so I’d join the Body Politic love. I’m also looking forward to Melrose Place as I preferred the original MP to 90210 when I watched it as a kid.
The “Gossip Girl” spinoff better be picked up, or once again the CW has made a HUGE mistake. For starters, Brittany Snow is an awesome actress and is going to play a damn good Lily. Secondly, the nostalgia factor and Andrew McCarthy will pull in ratings. Third, the whole idea of a period piece show is great, because it’s completely different than half the shit out there. I swear if the CW picks up freakin’ “Melrose Place 2.0,” and not the “Gossip Girl” spinoff, there is going to be very pissed off “Gossip Girl” fans.
Though I loved Katie Cassidy on “Supernatural,” I don’t care to watch her on a reboot that is going to be just as awful as “90210,” which is the biggest disgrace to the network.
I wonder though if this rumor, is just that…a rumor.
Dawn Ostroff has been very vocal for her love of “Gossip Girl,” and there’s been a hell of a lot more press about the spinoff than anything else. Not to mention having NO DOUBT on the backdoor pilot, is going to garnish great ratings (which I imagine will be the deciding factor) for “Gossip Girl.”
…or the Jason Dohring fans found this and want to know what’s what with his show.
THR reports Minka Kelly just signed for a movie. Translation: her agents were told “Body Politic” is dead.
If Minka’s movie means that Body Politic is dead, does that mean Gossip Girl is dead, too? Because she’s starring opposite Leighton Meester.
There’s plenty of time for her to shoot a movie now. That’s the last thing I would take as indication that BP is dead. The total lack of reports about it, though…
Melrose Place??? Starring Ashley Simpering Wentz????? This show has disaster and utterly lousy written all over it.
VAMPIRE DIARIES should be a lock on CW, but once again, they horribly miscast one of the two leads. Paul Wesley doesn’t have the looks to be the vampire labeled “eternally, amazingly beautiful.” He’s just not, and the audience for this show will not buy into him. He’s nearing 30, to boot. Ian Somerhalder is at least much better looking, but the second vampire needs to be re-cast for this series to work in any way.
The movie deal is actually great news as the CW can play off the publicity for that movie, especially if it stars both Leighton and Minka and they both have shows on the CW!
This did show up in my Google alert for Jason Dohring this morning, so if any other obsessed TV fans bother to post, I’m sure we’ll see more love for Body Politic! I think the movie is actually great news for the pilot, as it increases Minka’s visibility.
I wonder if the current lack of news about BP means the network hasn’t seen it yet? I did hear they were just working on ADR recently!
Anyway, Jason Dohring, Minka Kelly, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Union all have some pretty hard core fan bases (Veronica Mars, Moonlight, Friday Night Lights, 90210, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Bring it On), so its not surprising the level of interest, given that all those fans have fan boards and forums where they’re posting and scouring the net for information!
@Michael re: The Vampire Diaries
I completely agree! While the books were absolutely amazing, the casting and script for Vampire Diaries make me want to cry! Elena was supposed to be blonde with ‘lapis lazuli’ eyes, not dark haired and dark eyes. Plus, while this Elena looks ’sweet’, she doesn’t look like the ‘hauntingly beautiful’ girl that two Vampire brothers would fight over. She looks like the girl next door.
I also think that Stefan needs to be re-cast and while I heard the director and writers said fans should be ‘patient’ for Meredith and they’ll include her later, the fact that they left her out at all just proves that they’re not fans of the book and don’t really get it at all. The Vampire Diaries needs to be taken off and completely re-written and re-cast, so it does justice to the book series! Bring it back in 2010 and read the books first and then write the script!
I’m going to say it.
The CW is still on the air? They’re still canceling shows with minorities and those that draw male audiences, right?
Great observations about the “Vampire Diaries” casting, or should I say “miscasting.” The original post about the vampire Stefan was spot-on, and the follow-up regarding Elena is so true. These are not hot, charismatic actors who will make VD a watercooler topic. They are sweet, like the sappy miscast stars of 90210…and we all know, the casting there such a major faux pas, the whole show is being re-worked. How do you screw up such a turnkey show? Poor casting. The CW simply cannot properly cast its shows. There needs to be focus groups, because those doing the hiring are in way over their heads.
It’s all the old Veronica Mars obsessives asking about Body Politic. But I think VM proved quite handily just how little a crazy online posting fanbase means when it comes to ratings. I’m sure they’ll make their decision based on the quality of the pilot, not the fanatacism of the fans.
Someone is obviously a Body Politic mole here but I agree Minka Kelly and that cast would be hot for The CW. I think they could have given
I heard the Beautiful Life looks great and I’m excited to see what Gugs has done with Melrose Place.
Gossip Girl spin-off a chance because Britney Snow is good. There’s something loveable and Reesey to her.
The CW is getting smart, they could have an arsenal of talent that the US Weekly and its clones would basically be plugging for free every week. Ashlee Simpson, Mischa Barton, Corbin Bleu, Sara Paxton, Ian Somerhalder, etc.
As an ardent fan of the original, I have to say that 90210 is actually getting a lot better. They could actually put Light Years on Fridays.
And don’t ever insult Mischa Barton again!
It’s all the old Veronica Mars obsessives asking about Body Politic. But I think VM proved quite handily just how little a crazy online posting fanbase means when it comes to ratings.
As a Veronica Mars fan, I’d have to say, if Body Politic got the same ratings as VM did in Season 3, then it would be doing better than 90210, Gossip Girl, Privileged, The Game. At it’s ‘worst’, VM got around 2.6 million viewers, which is a lot better than most CW shows are doing today.
Plus, when you talk about monetize a show, it’s that ‘obsessed’ fan base, like VM fans, Chuck fans, Dollhouse fans, Terminator: SCC fans, that are buying the DVDs as well as buying the iTunes episodes, in order to support their show.
I have no doubt Dawn would love for Body Politic to get the same amount, if not more viewers than VM as VM would current be considered a ‘ratings hit’ on the CW! Plus, like FNL, VM was a show you had to watch first, before you fell in love, because there wasn’t a catchy little tag you could use to explain how great it was…Body Politic is a show about young, sexy 20-something DC up and comers and is a lot easier to promote and market and the current advertising and marketing platform that they use for GG, 90210, probably Melrose Place, etc would work, because it is a young, sexy drama, not a ‘teen detective show’ or a ‘high school football show’, although those descriptions don’t really encompass the actuality of the shows themselves.
Why on earth are you “surprised”?? It may have been a “creative” project for self-absorbed artsies in the biz, but for us at home, there was never any interest in this. There’s no angle here, we already know where their story goes. Let’s see if I still have this right: no viewers, no paychecks. I just wish those in this biz would stop forgetting who they really for: us at home.
Disappointed the spinoff isn’t going. I would have watched or TiVo’d it. Too bad! Vander Woodson is fun girl & her past would have made for a very colourful 3-4 months.
There’s still hope if they let 90210 wrap up forever and put this in its place. I like Britney Snow for this role. I thought she would have been the perfect 80’s girl.
Ok i want to add a little comment (not so little..) yeah!
So i am a Veronica Mars fan( a masterpiece in television world) and not a surprise i love Jason Dohring ok no i love Jason Dohring’s acting !!
But but i doubt Body Politic will be pick up by CW, why ? Because honestly it’s a far more clever show for a network like CW; it’s too ambitious for the audience target Dawn Ostroff is looking for : yes don’t forget she wants to attract teenage girls !
Nevertheless Body Politic is not spectacular either : too soapy, love triangle, young all american girl..Minka Kelly (i like FNL but not too much Lyla character) hum not really my cup of tea.
So it’s simple i don’t expect to see Body Politic i expect to see Jason Dohring in movie roles. The guy can act ; he has the acting chops to be in movies not anymore in tv (except cable tv of course)! Kristen bell now makes movies and this guy has the same level of talent than her so my question is : why not him ?
The studios and producers have to open their eyes and he will be a movie star “a la Ryan Gosling” (same type of acting).
Those people who say Veronica Mars was a masterpiece… did they even SEE the third season?
Awful, but typical of the hack work Rob Thomas usually employs. The Veronica: FBI thing would’ve been even worse.
Dawn Ostroff has done a lot of stupid things but canceling Veronica Mars was not one of those stupid decisions. In retrospect, it should’ve ended after the first year.
Have to agree about The Vampire Diaries. Paul Wesley’s casting seems to have been greeted by fans in one of two ways: disdain or indifference. Even those that concede he’s a pretty good actor are still underwhelmed and puzzled by the choice. And putting him next to Ian Somerhalder – who has even the most disappointed fans willing to give the show a shot, changes and all – is not only incomprehensible, but rather cruel.
If the show is picked up, recasting Stefan (and Elena) would garner a LOT of goodwill with that supposedly built-in fanbase.
i am a gg fan in shanghai,china
gg is a well known series hermy
we r looking forward to the updating of the latest episode.
to be frank blare and chunk r my favortie and i donot quite agree with dan and s.
waiting for the twist~
i’m SO glad the gossip girl spin-off got dumped. I LOVE gossip girl (my favorite show of alll time) but this idea is just ridiculous. lily and rufus aren’t even good enough characters for their own SUBPLOTS let alone a full series. CW totally made the right move, it would have flopped.
Why would CW axe a backdoor pilot before it even aired to gauge interest? That would be such a stupid move from the CW, which I guess would not be surprising since they are barely a functioning network anyway. Wasn’t surprised that CW denied this – but if this does turn out to be true, the CW is as dumb as you can get.
vamp diaries will be a success i guarantee it. when r patz was cast in twilight everyone HATED him and now look. this happens with all adaptations, nothin is ever perfect duh. while i did not read the books, both ian and paul r great choices for vampires. paul is 26 not 30 and ive watched him throughout the years especially wolf lake and he was the best part of that show. people were even upset when will smith was cast in i am legend because in the book he is not black and will was great in the role.
I am pretty disappointed that the GG spinoff isn’t going to happen.. I hope that’s not true.
Also, is the Vampire Diaries based off of LJ Smith’s series way back in the day? If so, bring it on. I loved those books growing up!
“Put a fork in it” is right for that GG spinoff. The word ABOMINABLE comes to mind. I couldn’t get thru 5 minutes of it. And neither will anyone else. Absolutely terrible.
Amanda: Yes and no. Yes, Vampire Diaries is licensed from the L. J. Smith series of books (though not necessarily including the new volume released a month or two ago). However, Hollywood being what it is, the producers appear to be significantly rearranging the deck chairs in terms of character looks and relationships.
Thus, while it may or may not end up being good TV, it will almost certainly not be a close/faithful adaptation of the books. (Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Smith’s setting is arguably a very good basis for a vampire TV series, but I’m not sure one could easily or successfully do a close adaptation of the books’ plotline that would work structurally in a weekly-TV format.)
too bad. i was very sceptic at first bout the spin off when i heard off it but when i saw the flashbacks; its kinda interesting! i wish they didnt kill it.
When I found out about the possibility of the vampire diaries being a TV series I was incredibly happy. I read the books about 6 years ago and still pick them up as something easy to read. I know I have to expect changes to the plot and characters because some things don’t translate well to the screen but I have been very disappointed with the changes and casting.
The casting of Stefan and Elena would bother me a lot and would continue to if I watched it (I’d get used to the bizarre and seemingly random casting of Bonnie for example).And am I right in having read that they are changing the name of the town to Mystic Falls instead of Fells Church. Again random and poorly thought though.
I’d watch it over the other shows even if it wasn’t faithful to the books but I don’t believe that it will make good TV if they don’t give it some more thought. The characters and basic plot of the books worked and it seem stupid to do it again from scratch. Not to mention it’ll piss off a very well established fan base of about 18 years. Which make it very unfair for C Kort to have compared it to Twilight (besides the obvious blahness of Twilight compared to any other vampire novel I’ve read)
On a side note am I the only L.J.Smith fan wondering why they didn’t just turn The Night World into a TV series instead seeing as it was already in a series format (two episode per book sort of thing)
Oh this is cruel! Forget the GG spinoff, in a matter of minutes I went from being pitter-patter thrilled that Vampire Diaries was going to be a series, to being crushed and worried by the casting. Ian Somerhalder is a decent choice (if you don’t mind dead eyes sometimes) but they NEED to get Drew Fuller as Stefan. He’s already played a vampire, the 2 kind of look like brothers already, plus you get the Charmed fanpeeps excited.
And Elena?! Degrassi alumna? Seriously? This is not “Bring It On 8″ people, let’s come up with more plausible choices, shall we? They can at least keep her a blonde!
Nixing Meredith is, plainly put, just balls. She was the strongest and most interesting character of the scoobies, they could have developed her storyline for months!
Glitterati: Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson have both stated that Meredith will be part of the series if (though “when” seems more appropriate now) it is picked up. Obviously it’s difficult to predict how they’ll introduce her since so much has changed, but it’s good to know she wasn’t eliminated completely.
Jessie: Yes, the town is now called Mystic Falls.
Vee, thanks! That is a relief, and the prospect of the Meredith/Alex storyline is full of potential! I really really hope the show goes ahead, even if the casting isn’t as I’d like it.