The CW has just ordered two new pilots: A Dynasty reboot and a new action-drama from the makers of The 100 and the Arrowverse.
Variety reports that Jason Rothenberg and Greg Berlanti’s joint pilot project Searchers has been given a pilot order at the The CW.
Rothenberg, who currently serves as showrunner for The 100, has created the new series, and if picked up for a full season, he’ll serve as executive producer alongside veteran producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.
Searchers sounds like the perfect blend of The 100 and Supernatural: It follows a group of “unlikely heroes,” with the lead characters being a “pragmatic brother and a free-spirited sister” who discover a road map that will lead them on a journey to discover the “great legends, myths, and unexplainable mysteries of the world.”
What is most intriguing about this project (other than me now wondering how The 100 will manage to write off Bellamy and Octavia, since this is clearly a low-key Blake sibling spinoff) is that it opens up the possibility of the “searchers” going outside the United States. Unless they’re set in a fantasy world or in space, most American drama series are naturally going to be U.S.-centric, with only a few exceptions (notably Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the vastly under-appreciated Alias) attempting to tackle foreign cultures and locations.
On an international stage, Searchers could expand on Supernatural‘s premise of siblings hunting supernatural creatures in the American Midwest, simultaneously widening the scope of creatures and phenomena explored by drawing on Rothenberg’s interest in mythology that already permeates through the post-apocalyptic world of The 100.
For anyone worried about how this affects The 100‘s renewal chances, let us remind you that when we spoke to Rothenberg yesterday, he seemed optimistic about a season 5 pick-up. In fact, having several series running on the same network can only be a good thing, as fans of the Arrowverse-juggling Greg Berlanti will be aware.
Related: Poll: Help us rank The CW’s currently airing shows from best to worst
Meanwhile, Gossip Girl‘s Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are also returning to the fold with a reboot of the 1980s soap opera Dynasty, also produced by Revenge‘s Sallie Patrick.
The updated series follows the feud of two of the wealthiest families in America, and will be told through the perspective of the two family matriarchs: billionaire daughter Fallon Carrington and her soon-to-be stepmother Cristal, described as “a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class.”
The next step for both of these series is to produce a pilot, which may or may not be picked up to series. The fact that both shows come from established CW producers will probably work in their favor, but considering the strong line-up of the network, they’ll likely have to fight to earn their place on the schedule.
We’ll keep you updated as we learn more!
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