CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
CBS takes ‘Supergirl’ after CW passes
BEVERLY HILLS — Despite already having her DC Comics colleagues Arrow and the Flash, the CW network wasn’t interested in the new incarnation of Supergirl.
It is, however, bringing John Constantine back for a short visit.
The new incarnation of “Supergirl,” which stars Melissa Benoist and will debut on sister network CBS in October, “was talked about to us” by the producers at Warner Bros., CW President Mark Pedowitz told TV writers Tuesday. “But we already had two DC properties,” Pedowitz said. “We have no intention of doing another one.”
The reason, he said, is that “we’re still a broadcast network,” meaning he wants to offer programming to a wider range of viewers.
“CBS took ‘Supergirl,’” he said. "They did the right thing." Pedowitz said Matt Ryan’s Constantine, star of the Hellblazer comics and also of a series that was recently canceled by NBC, will appear on an episode of “Arrow” this fall.
He offered no further details on what Constantine will do.
The CW will also have at least one familiar guest star from outside the comic world this fall.
Britney Spears will guest as herself as on episode of “Jane the Virgin.”
“It’s one of her favorite shows,” said Pedowitz. “So we asked and she was very gracious about coming on.”
As for regular CW programming, Pedowitz made his annual assertion that “Supernatural” will continue “as long as the numbers hold and the guys want to write it.”
He also praised Julie Plec and the other writers of “The Vampire Diaries” for their handling of Nina Dobrev’s exit this past season.
“Nina was great for six years and she’s welcome back any time,” he said. “But it’s really a show about two brothers. Credit Julie and her team for
getting the reset right.” Meanwhile, the CW is developing the Nicholas Sparks romance “The Notebook,” already a hit movie, for a TV series.
The series will follow the book’s story, CW President Mark Pedowitz confirmed, with one omission: It won’t show the elderly couple who develop Alzheimer’s. The CW aims its programming at a young viewing audience.
“We’re partway through shooting the pilot now,” Pedowitz said. “Things could change, but right now we have no plans to include the older couple.”
The story, whose movie version starred Rachel MacAdams and Ryan Gosling, will still be set in North Carolina after World War II.
Sparks will be involved with the TV series, Pedowitz indicated. “He wanted to work with the CW.”
No details on casting or potential airdate were revealed.
David Lynch's deal for returning to the “Twin Peaks” revival seems to have included a gag order prohibiting Showtime from revealing anything about it.
Showtime Entertainment President David Nevins confirmed Tuesday that filming on the series will begin next month, and that Lynch will direct all the episodes. Beyond that, Nevins said, he can’t reveal any of the cast beyond Kyle MacLachlan. He can’t say how many episodes the series will run. And he doesn’t know when it will go on the air.
“I want ‘Twin Peaks’ as badly as anyone,” he said. “We’re hoping for late 2016, but it may be 2017.” Nevins did say he “never had any doubts” that Lynch would return to the “Twin Peaks” revival, even after the director publicly announced he was walking away.
The issue, said Nevins is that “it became clear nine episodes, which is what we had originally planned and budgeted for, would not be enough to tell the story. So we worked it out.”
Lynch and Mark Frost created the original “Twin Peaks,” a surreal mystery tale that debuted on TV in April 1990.
It became a phenomenon, but suffered a dramatic audience decline in its second season and ended after just 30 episodes. It was followed by a 1992 feature film.
It has retained cult appeal, however, and Nevins says Showtime remains “very excited” about the new series, which will be set in the present day while retaining the offcenter ambiance of the original.
Frost and Lynch are writing the new series. Nevins said it will include “familiar figures and some surprises.”