In past months, we have shared news on two separate, new genre projects in development at The CW, and now both of those projects are taking a step closer to reaching the air. The network has ordered pilots for both a reboot of the 1998 – 2006 series Charmed and the "ghost cop" drama Dead Inside.
As reported back in October, Dead Inside is coming to us from writer Katie Lovejoy and executive producers Bill Lawrence and Jeff Ingold. The story:
After surviving an explosion that killed her hotshot detective big brother, an underachieving beat cop starts seeing his ghost, flipping their sibling dynamic on its head and allowing her to truly live her life for the first time, as they work together to help crime victims both living and dead, and figure out the unfinished business keeping his spirit on Earth.
The new version of Charmed was crafted by three women from the Jane the Virgin creative team – Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman came up with the story, with Jane writers Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin writing the script. The show will be executive produced by O'Toole, Rardin, and pilot director Brad Silberling – who has also directed 7 episodes of Jane the Virgin, including that show's pilot.
When we first heard of this reboot a year ago, the plan was that it would be set in 1976. That period piece aspect has since been ditched, with the pilot being set in the present.
Charmed centers on
three sisters in a college town who discover they are witches.
The original show starred Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs as those three sisters, with Rose McGowan showing up as a fourth sister when Doherty left the series after season 3.
The Dead Inside story sounds pretty goofy to me and I have little interest in a Charmed reboot, but we'll keep you updated on these projects as the pilots are assembled.