It seems networks are doing nothing but cancelling our favorite shows these days, but gaps in TV schedules leave room for something new. Even with all the cancellations, there are plenty of new shows waiting to fill the gaps with eager and talented creators ready to establish their stories as new series. Over at The CW, only three series, The Originals, Life Sentence, and Valor fell under the hammer of cancellation this season, but that doesn’t mean the network is only looking for three new series in their upcoming 2018-2019 season. The CW has several pilots in development for their upcoming season and half-a-dozen ready to shine in the 2018-2019 season.
Granted, every major network has to prepare for potential breaks in their schedule. Just look at the recent loss of ABC’s Roseanne for an example of a series that was pulled with little to no warning. Granted, there was a good reason for it, but networks plan for such eventualities by developing more series than they can possibly air. For this reason (and others), The CW has multiple series in development for their next season and beyond. We dug through the reports and came up with nine that will likely see the light of day, but there are more out there that could one day become your new favorite show. Here are 6 New CW Shows Coming This Year (And 9 In Development) for us all to get excited about!
Coming This Year: CHARMED
Back when The CW was called The WB, it had a hit show on its hands in the form of Charmed. That series, which starred Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Brian Krause, and many others ran for eight seasons and has a devoted fan following. It’s been 10 years since Charmed ended its run, which must have seemed like the perfect amount of time for the network to move forward with a reboot. A pilot was ordered in January 2018 and by May, the new series was given a green light for production with a premiere date of October 14th, 2018.
From what has been released by the network, it appears this new series will closely follow the premise of the first one.
Three sisters, played by Madeline Mantock, Melonie Diaz, and Sarah Jeffrey learn that they possess immense magical powers and abilities following the death of their mother. As the Charmed Ones, they become the most powerful witches in the world. When they work together, they possess a magical quality called “The Power of Three” and they use this power to defeat supernatural threats. The original Charmed saw the witches battle everything from demons to faeries and The Source of all evil. A new series had actually been in development since 2013, but only picked up steam in 2017.
IN DEVELOPMENT: HACTIVIST
You probably know the name Alyssa Milano from television series such as Who’s the Boss? and the aforementioned Charmed, but she hasn’t kept her talents limited for the small screen. Back in 2014, she co-wrote Hacktivist #1 for BOOM! Studios alongside Collin Kelly and Jack Lanzing with pencils by Ian Herring and Marcus To. The series is a cyber-thriller told in a four-issue miniseries about “friendship and freedom in a time of war.”
“The world knows Ed Hiccox and Nate Graft as the young, brilliant co-founders of YourLife, a social networking company that has changed the way the world connects with each other.”
The CW began development of a television series adaptation of Milano’s book in October 2017 with Milano attached to executive produce alongside Matt Corman and Chris Ord who will also write the series. The show will follow the comics by telling the tale of Hiccox and Graft who are recruited by the CIA to help bring about global social change. Series development is currently underway though a date for release or a pilot order have yet to be announced. Keep your eyes on ScreenRant for news related to this and any of the other projects discussed in this article!
IN DEVELOPMENT: THE VALIANT
There must have been some network executives sitting around a table wondering why there weren’t any series about female gladiators when an opportunity presented itself in the form of Lesley Livingston’s The Valiant. The network began developing a series based off the young adult novel back in August 2017 and things have been moving forward since that time towards full series development. The series will likely mirror the book by following the adventures of a Celtic princess named Fallon. Though she is trained for war, she is quickly captured by the Roman forces of Julius Caesar in his campaign into Britania. She is then sold to an all-female ludus where she is trained in the arts of gladiatorial combat.
When she finally finds herself fighting in the famed Colosseum of Rome, she must battle in front of the man responsible for her imprisonment: Julius Caesar himself!
Laurie Arent is set to write and executive produce the series alongside Mary Beth Basile. There is no word as to whether or not Lesley Livingston will take part in the development of the series, which might receive a green light sometime in the 2019-2020 season should the pilot be picked up and developed.
Coming This Year: ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO
If you thought this series would be about the town of Roswell, New Mexico and not feature something to do with aliens, you are sorely mistaken. Roswell, New Mexico is based on the Melinda Metz book, Roswell High. The series will follow a young woman who returns to her home in Roswell after being away for some time to discover the police officer she has been crushing on is none other than an alien in disguise! Having kept his true nature and abilities a secret from the world, she decides to help him keep it while they band together to investigate his true origins.
Expect to find more aliens lurking around the planet as the pair uncover more details about what is really going on in and outside of Roswell.
The series is being developed by Carina Adly Mackenzie and will debut sometime during the mid-season schedule for the 2018-2019 season on The CW. The lead roles will be played by Jeanine Mason, who will pay Liz Ortecho alongside Nathan Parsons as Max, the alien police officer and love-interest to Liz. Roswell, New Mexico will fill a one hour time-slot, which is set to premiere on Monday, April 29th, 2019.
IN DEVELOPMENT: ILLEGAL
You may recognize Gina Rodriguez as the star of The CW’s Jane the Virgin, but she has far more credits to her name outside of acting. As a producer, she is making a name for herself via her company, I Can & I Will Productions with developments for CBS and The CW. Rodriguez’ producing work centers around members of the Latino community, which is evident with her project Illegal being developed for The CW.
The series will be an hour-long comedy/drama centering on the life of Rafael, a 16-year-old high school student who discovers he is not an American citizen as he previously believed.
The series will discuss the ongoing issues faced by the Dreamer community in the United States, but will feature a young man as he simultaneously strives to survive the post-pubescent difficulties of simply going to and graduating high school. Jane the Virgin alum, Rafael Agustin has signed on to write the script as well as co-executive produce alongside Rodriguez and Emily Gipson. Currently, there is no information regarding the development of a pilot but news out of The Hollywood Reporter suggests Rodriguez has already sold the concept to The CW. This suggests we could see a series developed as early as mid-season sometime in 2019.
Coming This Year: BLACK ROSE ANTHOLOGY
Black Rose Anthology is a new series being developed by Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen as a horror anthology series developed entirely by women. The series is being directed and written by women, which will set it apart from similar series like American Horror Story over on FX. This will be the first anthology series The CW has purchased a series order leaving the door open for others should it be successful. The pilot episode ordered by the network was described that it “will explore some of humanity’s deepest fears from a woman’s unique perspective. Classic themes of terror will be tackled via vignettes about guilt, jealousy, repression, paranoia, insanity, sexual obsession and survival through a modern and distinctly feminine lens.”
Taking a more feminine look at the horror genre may be exactly what is needed in a realm that had previously been dominated by men. This isn’t the first time women have focused on the genre with various talented women taking on leading roles on American Horror Story, but it will be the first developed entirely by women. Given the star power behind the development of Black Rose Anthology, it has a lot of potential. The series is being developed into an hour long time-slot, but no premiere date has been reported by the network. The first episode should air sometime during the 2018-2019 season.
IN DEVELOPMENT: EPIPHANY
When you put together a cultural phenomenon that is the hit series Stranger Things, it’s no surprise other networks and studios will be banging on tour door pretty soon. For executive producer, Shawn Levy, that knock came from The CW in the form of a new series currently under development called Epiphany. Thus far, the series has only a script commitment, which means it is at the earliest stages of development, but with Levy behind the project, things are looking like a series order or, at the very least, a pilot may be looming over the horizon.
Epiphany has been described as a work that will pay homage to the directing style of Stanley Kubrick while adhering to the storytelling mannerisms of Agatha Christie. Epiphany will be developed into a psychological thriller/drama about a “group of gifted strangers recruited to a Gilded Age mansion to solve a complex code that lies within the structure’s walls.” Spenser Cohen is teaming up with Levy to write the script and it’s anyone’s guess when it might see development into a pilot. If The CW maintains their current scheduling plan, that could occur by January 2019, which means a series may find itself in development later that year.
IN DEVELOPMENT: THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Iva-Marie Palmer’s The End of the World as we Know It has been given a pilot order by The CW for development of their upcoming season. If you aren’t familiar with the book, it’s about four people who somehow survive an alien invasion and they must put aside the things that make them different in order to survive the literal end of the world as they know it. The CW announced the series was being developed into a pilot back in January with Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, the executive producers and showrunners of Powerless signed on to write.
The series will follow a similar storyline to the book by featuring a crashed spaceship carrying the galaxy’s deadliest aliens. After the ship crashes in Southern California, two women are recruited by a space cop to hunt down and recapture the dangerous aliens. Gage Golightly has been cast as Kate alongside Quinta Brunson who will play Ruby. The space cop, Quinn will be played by Josh Helman of Wayward Pines fame and Liam Garrigan will take on a recurring role. The series’ pilot is in development and may see the light of day sometime in the near future over on The CW.
Coming This Year: ALL AMERICAN
Back in September 2017, Greg Berlanti announced that he was working on two pilots for The CW. Berlanti is well known to fans of the network for his work on the Flarrowverse including producer credits for Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. Berlanti’s work has helped solidify the network as a power-player in small screen development. One of his new pilots, originally titled Spencer developed into All American. The series follows the life of a high school football player who is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High out of his previous school in South L.A.
“The wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds—Crenshaw and Beverly Hills—begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.”
Berlanti isn’t working on this project by himself; April Blair developed the series, which will star Daniel Ezra as Spencer James, Taye Diggs will play Billy Baker, and Samantha Logan has been cast to play Olivia Baker. The series has been compared to a cross between Friday Night Lights and Straight Outta Compton. Expect to see All American in the Fall of 2018 in an hour-long block. It is not yet known when the series will air on The CW though the series will consist of 22 episodes in its first season.
Coming This Year: IN THE DARK
In this cleverly titled series, a young blind woman finds herself as the sole witness to a murder. The deceased is a dealing friend of hers, which pushes her to tell her story to the police. After dismissing her account, possibly due to her inability to see, she decides to find the killer on her own. Taking her pet dog “Pretzel” along with her, she seeks justice while simultaneously working on her love life and professional career working at Breaking Blind, a guide dog school run by her parents. The series was created by Corrine Kingsbury who will also produce.
The CW ordered the show to pilot back in January 2018 and quickly handed over a series order in May. In The Dark is set to debut sometime during the 2018-2019 season in a one hour slot. Perry Mattfeld, best known for playing Mel on Shameless and Frankengirl on Wizards of Waverly Place is set to play Murphy, the star of the series. She will find herself working alongside Brooke Markham, Derek Webster, Kathleen York, and Keston John. Pretzel will be played by Levi, a rather adorable Golden Retriever who lives and works in Toronto where the series will be shot.
IN DEVELOPMENT: FEMME
That’s right, Gina Rodriguez isn’t simply developing one series for The CW, she’s working on two of them! That is, of course, in addition to the series she is developing for CBS, but this list is focused on The CW so we won’t be getting into that right now. Femme is being developed as a series that “follows four millennial women from different walks of life who, after “meeting” online in a secret feminist social media group, become unlikely friends and fierce allies, forming a sisterhood army in the real world to support each other through both serious and humorous crises and to help other women in need.”
Like her other work, Rodriguez is focusing on issues important to women and the networks are eagerly buying them for development.
Femme is being written and executive-produced by Rachel Specter and Audrey Wauchope under Rodriguez’ I Can and I Will Productions. There is very little additional information released for this series with only an announcement coming back in October 2017. Further development will likely lead to a pilot order, but that may not occur until early 2019, which leaves a possible series pick-up for the 2019-2020 season. Keep your eyes on ScreenRant for new details as they become available!
IN DEVELOPMENT: LADY IN THE MASK
The CW began development of a new series back in December 2017 titled Lady in the Mask to be written by Thomas Brandon. Brandon is best known for his work writing and directing shorts including Arts Therapy, Holding, and Holding. The series will be a psychological thriller centered on the premise that people in the near future will be able to back up their minds onto a computer in the same way we currently back up data. At the center of the story will be a woman who awakens from a serious car accident to learn her memory was damaged, but restored from a two-year-old back-up. This just goes to show why it’s important to always back-up your data!
She must relearn her life over the previous two years as she navigates the difficulties of rediscovering her high-profile job and her relationship with her loving husband. Eventually, she learns her memory loss may not have been the result of an accident as she finds herself engulfed in a much larger conspiracy… of course, it could all just be in her head. The series is being developed by Amblin Entertainment’s television department under the watchful eyes of Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey who will executive produce. There is no word on when the series’ pilot or air date may be, but expect some word by the end of 2018.
Coming This Year: LEGACIES
As we previously mentioned, The CW decided not to renew The Originals for their upcoming season, which left fans decidedly upset over the loss of their favorite show. Fortunately, the 2018-2019 season will bring a reprieve of sorts with the introduction of Legacies, a spin-off of The Originals. Development for the new series was announced in August 2017 with the premise that it would focus on Hope Mikaelson. Unlike most series ordered to pilot by the network, Legacies was given the opportunity to present a 15 minute pilot presentation for the series. This suggested a series order was all but guaranteed, which proved to be true when it was given the green light in May 2018.
Legacies will star Danielle Rose Russell as Hope Mikaelson, Matt Davis as Alaric Saltzman, Kaylee Bryant as Joeis Saltzman, Jenny Boyd as Lizzie Saltzman, and Aria Shahghasemi as Landon Kirby who was introduced in the 5th season of The Originals. Details on the premise are limited, but the network has revealed that the series will follow Hope as she attends the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted in Mystic Falls. Legacies will fill a one hour time-slot, though a day and time have yet to be released.
IN DEVELOPMENT: THE SHE WORD
The writer and co-executive producer of ABC’s Agent Carter, Andi Bushell has been tasked by The CW to develop a new series currently titled The She Word. The new series will focus on four female assistants who work at a company predominantly staffed by men. In a series that will likely mirror aspects of the #MeToo movement, the show will center on controversial topics such as workplace gender discrimination, but with a twist. Instead of heading to the Human Resources department to take care of their problem, these women decide they have had enough and band together to handle things on their own.
Bushell will be joined by former co-worker, Deborah Spera, another powerful woman in Hollywood who joined Bushell on the series Criminal Minds for CBS. The She Word, which is only a working title at the moment, is another in a long line of female-driven series being developed by The CW (you might have noticed an ongoing theme throughout this article). The network is clearly capitalizing on the plethora of talented women currently working in the industry with the goal of bringing more and more of them over to their side. With what they currently have in development, it appears that plan is working.
IN DEVELOPMENT: DEAD INSIDE
No, this isn’t a spin-off of AMC’s The Walking Dead! Dead Inside revolves around Emmy Gates, a beat cop who survives the explosion that takes out her brother, Zach. After recovering from the explosion, she returns to work only to find her brother’s ghost haunting her, but in a good way! Zach and Emmy work together to help solve crimes for both the living and those who have passed while trying to determine what “unfinished business” is keeping Zach’s soul tied to Earth. The series has been in development since early 2018 with a probably pick-up sometime in the 2018-2019 season. There have already been some casting shakeups as the pilot is being developed.
Lyndon Smith (pictured) has taken over the lead role previously cast to Joey King. She will be working under the direction of Michael Patrick Jann who has been tasked by the network to direct the pilot episode. Katie Lovejoy is writing the script for the pilot, which will feature Erica Cerra, Myles Bullock, Petar Gatsby, Tammy Gillis, Peter Graham-Gaudreau, and others. There is no set release date for the pilot or any information regarding whether or not The CW is moving forward with their plans for the series, but this is definitely one we will be watching out for in the coming season.
Which series are you looking forward to the most? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
