Thomas and former star Kristen Bell
If there’s been one network that has made some major strides for possible new series to hit next fall, the important teen drama Gossip Girl is currently in the process of walking its way out the door. Though some argue the hit series is far from what it once was, it’s clear that a major hole will be left in its place with hopefully a newcomer to successfully fill the gap. Though most of the pilots in development are of the supernatural variety or big adaptations, exactly who will receive a production commitment has been left wide open. Now one veteran for the network has returned to hopefully find the next young adult hit.
THR reports that Rob Thomas has been tapped to pen the pilot episode of an all-new drama Metropolis, adapted from the U.K. series of the same name. Thomas will executive produce and has received a script commitment for the time being, but there is no word on whether or not he will act as showrunner should the series be picked up. Warner Brothers Television will be producing if the pilot moves ahead.
Metropolis is said to revolve “around a group of friends struggling with their adult lives not living up to the expectations they had when they were idealistic college friends”. It comes from the Peter Morgan mini-series that aired in 2000 featuring a cast led by future Rome star James Purefoy. This marks the second U.K. adaptation in the works at The CW as Josh Schwartz has been tasked with bringing the hit sci-fi series Misfits stateside, though no developments have surfaced since an announcement earlier this year.
Thomas is best known for cult-smashes Veronica Mars, which aired for one season on The CW at the height of the network’s start, and Party Down while he helped develop the pilot episode of the still running 90210. This will be his first network series since the cancellation of his remake Cupid on ABC and his first TV project since the failed 2010 pilot for The CWPlymouth Rock.
The series joins a number of pilots that The CW has already set in place, including sci-fi/alien drama Oxygen, an adaptation of the hit film Battle Royale, the failed drama from last year that is currently being reworked The Selection, an adaptation of the novel Embrace, a new supernatural drama Copeland Prep from Bret Easton Ellis, an Alice in Wonderland reimagining Wunderlandand perhaps the most high-profile of all Amazon which will seek to bring a Wonder Woman origins tale to the small screen.
