LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- Following this morning's presentation, The CW Network President Mark Pedowitz held a post-upfront press conference. Here's a recap of the highlights:
-- "Beauty and the Beast" has a 22-episode order while "The Carrie Diaries" will be back with 13 for now. "We ran it for 13 [last season]," he said about the latter. "We may or may not go more than 13 this cycle."
-- "Amazon," their small screen take on Wonder Woman, is still in the works. "Oh God yes," Pedowitz quipped. "It is being redeveloped. We're waiting for the script to come in. We have not seen it yet." Adding, "We are preparing to pilot it off-cycle should the script be what we want it to be. We do not want to produce something that doesn't work for that particular character. It is the trickiest of all the DC characters to get done." Aron Eli Coleite is penning said effort, replacing Allan Heinberg.
-- "Star-Crossed" isn't "Roswell." "In young adult fiction right now the biggest thing is aliens in some ways or extraterrestrials coming to earth, whether they're destroying the earth in an apocalyptic way or finding a way to mingle where they look alike, a lot like us," the executive explained. "So we're tapping into that more than anything else. And everything cycles through. It'll be different. I guarantee. By episode six, it'll be different."
-- "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" will test the comedy waters for the network. "We're putting it on this summer and if it connects we'll use it during the season," he said. Adding later, "If 'Whose Line' works we will definitely go back into the sitcom business."
-- "Nikita's" swan song is being targeted for later this fall. "The game plan is to use 'Nikita' later in the fall. They will start production probably mid-July as they normally do, mid-August, maybe a little later. But the game plan is to use it later this fall." As for why six episodes, Pedowitz said, "We wanted to give the fans a conclusion. Obviously this season's conclusion was a cliffhanger. So that was the intent."
-- "The 100" could end up being a limited series. "'The 100' could lend itself that way. 'Cult' definitely lent itself that way. Unfortunately though well done and well executed it didn't work for us. We looked at 'Carrie Diaries' that way last year too."
-- "Reign" got the post-"Vampire Diaries" slot because it's a better launching pad. "'Reign' is spectacular and 'Vampire Diaries' has our biggest concentration of women. And we do believe 'Reign's' major appear is to women and we wanted to give that show the biggest possibility of women coming to find it," he said. "It didn't fit behind 'Arrow.' And Tuesday, we thought it would make noise but we just felt that Thursday right after 'Vampire Diaries' was the right place."
-- It's unlikely they'll revisit "The Selection" for a third time. "We were looking to capture that dystopia that appeals to young adult fiction and there is built in audiences for that. It just didn't get it. The first time, the first pilot we definitely didn't get it. This pilot they came pretty close."
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