Way back in 2014, we reported that Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films and Crystal Lake Entertainment were teaming up to make a newFriday the 13thTV series. A year later, that series ended up at The CW, withThe PretendercreatorsSteven Long MitchellandCraig W. Van Sicklecoming aboard to write the pilot script. There were rumors that thishorror serieswouldn’t be picked up in April, before The CW’s upfront presentation, and now the network has finally confirmed that they have scrapped plans for this show, and another potential reboot series ofLittle Women.
Entertainment Weeklyattended The CW’s TCA summer tour session yesterday, where the fate of thisFriday the 13thshow was confirmed. The plot was said to revolve around a detective whose brother had gone missing, with the disappearance believed to be tied to the re-emergence ofJason Voorhees. Here’s what The CW PresidentMark Pedowitzhad to say about why the network didn’t move forward with this pilot.
“We had better pilots. The bottom line is we felt we had stronger things to go with, and we didn’t go forward with it. It was well-written, it was darker than we wanted it to be, and we didn’t believe it had sustainability … We didn’t believe that it was a sustainable script, a sustainable series. It was a very good pilot, but not a sustainable series.”
EW goes onto speculates that the show being axed may be due to Freeform’s struggling first year seriesDead of Summer, which was quite similar toFriday the 13th, centering on a summer camp where the campers and counselors become the target of a sadistic killer. The original TV reboot version of Friday the 13th, written by special effects gurusBill Basso(Terminator 2: Judgment Day) andJordu Schell(Avatar), was said to featureJasonVoorhees through multiple time periods.Mark Pedowitzalso confirmed that they have stopped development on another reboot,Little Women, which is said to be a “hyper-stylized, gritty adaptation” ofLouisa May Alcott’s iconic 1868 novel, following a group of sisters who “band together to survive the dystopic streets of Philadelphia.” Here’s what he had to say about that project.
“The script just couldn’t get there. That happens. It just did not get there. We didn’t go forward and develop it again.”
The CW is also developing yet another TV reboot of a beloved movie,The Notebook, but it seems that project isn’t in great shape either.Mark Pedowitzrevealed that they’re currently talking to writers, but they’re trying to find a different way into the story. Here’s what he had to say below.
“We’re talking to writers. We’re looking to see if there’s a better take to break it. I believe there’s a series there. But sometimes you believing something, you may not be right.”
The CW will debut two new shows for thefall season, one of which is actually another movie adaptation,Frequency, along withNo Tomorrow. The network will also debut the Archie Comics TV seriesRiverdalein midseason, but no premiere date has been given thus far. Stay tuned for more on The CW Network’s new slate of shows.
