Though the CW is beginning to pivot much more heavily to reality fare, with “All American” as the only original scripted series on its fall 2023 lineup, the network has added three new scripted projects to its slate for 2024: “Joan,” “The Librarians: The Next Chapter” and “The Swarm.” Additionally, 2024 will see the premieres of unscripted series “Patti Stanger: Millionaire Matchmaking,” “The Force” and “The Great American Bakeover” (all working titles).
All newly announced series are currently in production.
“Joan” stars Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”) as Joan Hannington, the notorious real-life jewel thief. Set in 1980s London, the series sees Joan as a devoted mother to her six-year-old daughter, Kelly, while trapped in a disastrous marriage with a violent criminal named Gary. When Gary goes on the run, Joan seizes the opportunity to adopt new identities and embark on a high-stakes journey to create a new life for herself and Kelly.
Starring alongside Turner are Frank Dillane (“Fear the Walking Dead”) as London antique dealer Boisie; Kirsty J. Curtis (“Match Not Found”) as Joan’s older sister, Nancy; Gershwyn Eustache Jr. (“I May Destroy You”) portrays as Boisie’s old acquaintance with a new life in Spain, Albie; and Laura Aikman (“The Split”) as Albie’s wife, Val.
“Joan” is written by Anna Symon (“Mrs. Lowry & Son”) and directed by Richard Laxton (“Rain Dogs”). The series was commissioned for ITVX by head of drama Polly Hill and hails from Snowed-In Productions in association with All3Media and the CW. All3Media will distribute internationally. Executive producers include Ruth Kenley-Letts, Jenny Van Der Lande, Neil Blair and Richard Laxton with Paul Frift as producer.
“The Librarians: The Next Chapter” is a spinoff of “The Librarians,” the fantasy series that ran on TNT for four seasons from 2014 to 2018 and was itself based on TNT’s film series of the same name. “The Librarians” followed the adventures of the custodians of a magical repository of the world’s most powerful and dangerous supernatural artifacts, while the new series centers on a time traveling librarian from the past who finds himself stuck in the present. When he returns to his castle, which has become a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent. He is given a new team to help him clean up the mess he made, forming a new team of librarians.
Electric Entertainment and the CW produce. Dean Devlin, who wrote and produced the original series, serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Rachel Olschan-Wilson and Marc Roskin, with Balkanic Media’s Jonathan English as producer.
In “The Swarm,” strange things begin to happen in the oceans around the world, including pathogens spread into drinking water and sea animal-caused disasters, but nobody can draw a connection between the attacks — except for a group of scientists who believe there is an intelligent life force dwelling in and manipulating the ocean. According to them, the being has witnessed the destruction of the seas and has decided to drive humans to extinction, but to prove their findings, they must undertake a life-threatening mission to track the being within the Arctic Ocean.
“The Swarm” is based on Frank Schätzing’s novel of the same name. Frank Doelger, Eric Welbers, Marc Huffam and Ute Leonhardt serve as creators.
On the unscripted side, “Patti Stanger: Millionaire Matchmaking” sees the well known matchmaker help singles in self-contained episodes. Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman produce, with Stanger and Rob Lee as executive producers.
Executive produced by “Jersey Shore’s” SallyAnne Salsano, “The Force” follows different members of law enforcement over the course of a season.
In “The Great American Bakeover,” baker and business expert Nancy Birtwhistle travels to struggling small-town bakeries to give them makeovers and help keep their doors open. Jen O’Connell and Rebecca Quinn serve as executive producers.
