Briefly: The CW have announced that their second attempt at adapting The Selection was not good enough to give it a full season.

In better news, Nikita and The Carrie Diaries have been renewed for a fourth and second season respectively. The latter is a spinoff of the popular Sex and the City character Carrie.

According to Deadline, “By all accounts, the second pilot, which was shot in Budapest, was an improvement over last year’s effort. But in the end, I hear the finished product, while beautifully shot, was not compelling enough to get on the schedule.”

One wonders what it is that makes a successful adaptation from book to small screen? We reported yesterday that Delirium was not picked up at Fox. Both series have hit the New York Times Bestseller list and have scores of fans.

So what got lost in translation, causing Fox and The CW networks to pass on both Delirium and The Selection? It would be interesting to see the pilots so that as a community we could at least glimpse what network executives think will or won’t make it.

The CW did pick up several new pilots, including The 100, which is based on the not yet released novel by Kass Morgan. The book won’t be released until September 3, 2013.

The 100 tells the tale of 100 juvenile delinquents sent back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet 97 years after a nuclear war, and the CW pilot remains true to the author’s story line.

Also picked up: The Tomorrow People (a collab creation by The Vampire Diaries, Chuck, Nikita and Arrow EPs), which is the story of several young people from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution possessing special powers, including the ability to teleport and communicate with each other telepathically. Together they work to defeat the forces of evil.

Further, the Roswell-esque alien pilot Star-Crossed (previously titled Oxygen) has also been optioned for a full season. Set at a high school, the series follows a group of aliens that are being integrated into society, and the prejudices from the humans around them.

The final pilot which The CW has chosen to pick up is Reign, The network’s first historical drama. It follows a teenage Mary, Queen of Scots as she arrives at the French Court. Expect lots of fancy dresses, royal intrigue, and scandalous behaviour! We’re thinking Gossip Girl in the 16th century.

Which pilot are you most excited to see? Do you think The Selection deserved a chance to be seen?

Additional reporting by Jen Lamoureux