After already locking down the majority of its lineup for the upcoming season, The CW didn't have a ton of room for new series. And yet, it is still heading into Upfront week with three new series orders - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Legends of Tomorrow and Cordon.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was originally developed and shot a pilot at Showtime. The premium cable network passed on the pilot, but now The CW is swooping in to save the project. Part of the transition between networks though is a shift from half-hour to a full hour. A new pilot will have to be shot and it's currently unclear which of the original cast members will also be making the transition.
Meanwhile, the pickups for Legends of Tomorrow and Cordon continue The CW's relationship with mega producers Greg Berlanti (The Flash & Arrow) and Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries & The Originals). Legends of Tomorrow is the official name for the much speculated Flash-Arrow spinoff featuring many recurring characters from those two shows. Its pickup means Berlanti will have a staggering 5 shows on air next season (The Flash, Arrow, NBC's Blindspot and CBS's Supergirl). Cordon was the only of these three shows to be ordered as a traditional pilot set up at the network and has been a frontrunner early in the development process. The CW's three other traditional pilots aren't moving forward at this time.
Here are the descriptions for all three series:
CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND - Rachel Bloom stars as Rebecca Bloom, a successful, driven and possibly crazy young woman who impulsively gives up everything - her partnership at a prestigious law firm and her upscale apartment in Manhattan - in a desperate attempt to find love and happiness in that exotic hotbed of romance and adventure: West Covina, California (it's only two hours from the beach! Four in traffic).
Rachel Bloom created the series, and executive produces with Aline Brosh McKenna and Marc Webb. CBS Television Studios will produce.
LEGENDS OF TOMORROW - When heroes alone are not enough... the world needs legends. Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat - one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known.
The drama stars Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Arthur Darvill, Caity Lotz, Ciarra Renee, Franz Drameh, Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller.
Based on the characters from DC Comics, Legends of Tomorrow is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and Sarah Schechter. Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions and Bonanza Productions Inc. produce.
CORDON - When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced, forcing those stuck on the inside to fight for their lives while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure. Trying to keep the peace on the streets is police officer Lex Carnahan, who has quickly risen through the ranks of the Atlanta PD. But Lex's job becomes even harder when he learns that his longtime girlfriend, Jana, and his best friend and fellow officer Jake, are trapped within the cordoned area. Also quarantined in viral ground zero is 17-year-old Teresa, who is eight months pregnant and now separated from her boyfriend on the other side; Katie Frank, an elementary school teacher now placed on lockdown with her entire class, including her young son; and CDC researcher Dr. Victor Cannerts, the doctor who initially made the controversial call to quarantine the area and is now racing to find a cure for the virus. On the outside, Dr. Sabine Lommers is leading the government efforts to contain the outbreak, and has asked for Lex's help in enforcing the cordon - which grows increasingly difficult as the public trust deteriorates. And the public has reason to be wary, as journalist Leo begins unraveling a conspiracy, finding that something doesn't add up in the official story being told. Torn apart from their loved ones, the survivors trapped within the cordon are fighting against not only fatal infection, but also isolation, fear and the disintegration of society around them. But as they begin to gain each other's trust, hope remains and on either side of the cordon unlikely heroes will rise.
The drama stars David Gyasi, Christina Moses, Chris Wood, Kristen Gutoskie, Claudia Black, George Young, Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Trevor St. John.
Based on the original Belgian series created by Carl Joos for Eyeworks, Cordon is produced by writer Julie Plec and director David Nutter. Warner Bros. Television and My So-Called Company produce.
