The CW has ruffled feathers with the announcement that the network has ordered a reboot of ‘Charmed’ without the involvement of the original creators or cast. Now comes word that they have ordered another new version of one of their older shows, ‘Roswell’.
The original series, developed by Jason Katims, aired on The WB for two low-rated seasons in 2000 and 2001 but was saved by the UPN which aired a third and final season in 2002. Despite low-ratings, ‘Roswell’ attracted a passionate fanbase who flooded The WB with bottles of Tabasco Sauce in a show of support when it seemed that the series was going to be cancelled. The quality of the series wavered. The first season was more dramatic and character-driven, but the second shifted to a heavier science fiction tone. The WB and UPN eventually merged into one network, The CW.
The reboot is being developed by writer and story editor Carina Adly MacKenzie, who has worked heavily on another CW genre series, ‘The Originals’. MacKenzie will write and executive produce the pilot. Fellow executive producers are Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Lawrence Bender, and Kevin Kelly Brown. Brown was an EP on the original series.
Here is the logline for the new take on ‘Roswell’:
“After reluctantly returning to her tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, the daughter of undocumented immigrants discovers a shocking truth about her teenage crush who is now a police officer: he’s an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life. She protects his secret as the two reconnect and begin to investigate his origins, but when a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance.”
There are obvious differences between the reboot and the original. The original show was based on the ‘Roswell High’ YA book series by Melinda Metz and, as the name implies, focused on high school students. The new version seems to focus on young adults.
The original ‘Roswell’ starred Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Emilie de Ravin, Majandra Delfino, Brendan Fehr, William Sadler and Nick Wechsler. This series helped launch the careers of Katherine Heigl (‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Knocked Up’), Colin Hanks (‘Life In Pieces’, ‘Fargo’) and Adam Rodriguez (‘CSI: Miami’, ‘Magic Mike’ 1 &2).
The original series was dogged by consistency issues and weak ratings but still developed a devoted fanbase. Will a new take perform more strongly? Will fans of the first embrace a new take? We’ll see!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
