ABC Orders Its Own Beauty and the Beast Pilot
25 Jan 2012
Pilot ShowsDeep Impact vs. Armageddon.
Dante’s Peak vs. Volcano.
And now … Beauty and the Beast vs. Beauty and the Beast!
ABC has ordered a pilot based on the story of Beauty and the Beast … a week after The CW ordered its pilot based on Beauty and the Beast.
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The CW version is based on the former CBS 1987 TV show. The ABC version is from Jonathan Steinberg (Human Target, Jericho) and described as “a fantastical re-imagining of the classic fairy tale set in a mythical, dangerous world wherein a beautiful and tough Princess discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast.” OK, so that logline told you nothing.
The surprise success of Once Upon a Time likely helped get both these projects some heat.
No telling if either will progress to a series order, of course, but wouldn’t it be rather confusingly awesome to have two Beauty and the Beast shows fighting it out in primetime? How would they be different, I wonder (aside from The CW’s Beauty being younger and probably weighing 87 pounds)?
Both of these are on brand for their respective networks, too, so it’s not like one is a pretender: ABC has Once and is owned by Disney, so you can’t say they don’t know the fairy tale business. And The CW has Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle, which certainly fit this genre.
Source: InsideTV
This disturbs me, but is not that uncommon. It seems like similarly themed series are often launched on two networks at once. I do not think I recall two series based on the very same source though! XD
ReplyDeleteI love ABC, but I think Beauty and the Beast would work better on the CW
ReplyDeleteAgain with the bandwagon jumping!!!
ReplyDelete"How would they be different, I wonder (aside from The CW’s Beauty being younger and probably weighing 87 pounds)?"
ReplyDeletelol!!!! This made me laugh!!!! It's so true! Which is why I'm not very into CW's more "younger and sexier" approach to things and more into ABC's version in Once upon a time. It'd be weird to have both and I'm definitely hoping if there's going to be one for ABC to get it. I really don't care for another version of CW's young, sexy, popular, etc story.
I don't expect either to do very well, much like the 2 Snow White movies coming out sometime.
ReplyDeleteKinda like Being Human (on BBC America) and Being Human (on Syfy, but based on the BBC show).
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting...
ReplyDeleteI love how fairy tales seem to making a comeback!
I'm happy to see more fairy tales, though I would rather see fantasy.
ReplyDeleteblergh
ReplyDeleteOUaT Still doesn't convinces me and now I have to prepare for this menagerie of fairy tales.
Likewise.
ReplyDeleteFairy tales are ok if it's darker and realistic, but Disney-fied cutesy stuff is just bland.
I agree. I may actually prefer Fantasy to Science-Fiction honestly, but fairy tales are not the Fantasy genre I like. I do not like the concentration on romance over substance whatsoever either!
ReplyDeleteMy big fear is that the ABC version will take the same aspects I loathe about Once Upon a Time (overly romantic, poorly written and obvious stories) and shape their story around them.
While I do not like every role on the CW being some modelesque actor (although ABC is another network that casts too pretty), I much prefer the CW because they are one of the few stations on network TV that does not shy away from serialized shows - In fact they seem to want serialization!
Honestly, I think that's the shape ABC's version will most likely take. Overly focused on the romantic aspect and build a flimsy plot around to justify it as a series. And the base material is just that actually (cause they are obviously basing it on Disney's version).
ReplyDeleteAt least I hope for CW's version to give theirs a twist that might be interesting. They know their urban fantasy by now and they could make something innovative with B and the Beast.
I'm not really a fan of fairy tales either, Aladdin is the only Disney movie that I really feel something for til this day. And I dunno, it feels like they are trying to recycle on melancholy and that's... blergh.
I really have made my peace with the CW gimmick of casting ridiculously hot people. It has made me realize that pretty people can act too beyond a soap level XD. I really like the path that CW took on it's series, strangely it has become in my favorite station in terms of overall products. They are aiming to gather loyal fans in stories they can invest themselves in.
I agree about the CW. I will check out every new series on the network simply because they do serials.
ReplyDeleteI have no issue with hot actors and actresses, but I do wish CW (and every Major network honestly) would cast more varied types of people - older, rounder, and uglier... whatever!
That's one reason I love UK TV so much more than US TV, they take advantage of the best actors they have (no matter their age or appearance) and fill in the cast with a wide range of characters of all backgrounds and appearances! Plus it's nice to see age appropriate casting for most of the roles unlike most US network shows.
Fantasy is not to blame for the demise of sci-fi.
ReplyDeleteThere are only 2 fantasy shows on right now: Merlin and Game of Thrones.4 sci-fi shows: Fringe, Eureka, Doctor Who, and Falling Skies. (2 of those are ending this year)
2 super hero shows: Alphas and Powers.
1 fairy tale show: Once Upon a Time.
1 steampunk show: Warehouse 13.
1 historical action show: Spartacus.
1 zombie show: The Walking Dead.
20 supernatural shows!!: not listing all the vampire/werewolf/witch/demon/etc shows.
There is a serious lack of both sci-fi and fantasy shows on right now. I can't remember the last time there wasn't a single space-bound sci-fi on tv. Clone Wars is a decent space sci-fi, but it is animated.
Supernatural shows are urban fantasy, I'm just dividing by the two main general genres, you are just focusing on medieval fantasy. I am being overly simplistic perhaps, but I do see a pattern.
ReplyDeleteLots of supernatural/magic settings compared with science/technology ones, and even the science-fiction have elements of fantasy thrown into (Warehouse 13 and Powers, from what little I have seen)
Stargate, Star trek, Babylon 5, BG, Farscape, Dollhouse, Firefly, V, all those where Sci-fi shows, I guess we can say that the time of the space opera is kinda dead :/ and just sci-fi shows "20 min into the future" remain, much different to the fantasy genres that are positively blossoming: urban, medieval, fairy tale, steampunk ( love Steampunk, but it's science is as hard as a banana peel most of the time) All around the place!
And that's what I mean, a couple of years ago, the sci-fi balance was way more inclined to the sci-fi side. But now with vampires+fairy tales, fantasy is owning!
But above all, I just miss Stargate :(
Hopefully Defiance by Farscape's creator Rockne O'Bannon turns out to be something as incredible as Farscape was!
ReplyDeleteMaybe more like Firefly and less like Cowboys and Aliens....
Okay, you made me lol out loud XD It is a lot about the proportions you use I think. Firefly was awesome, the other thing... not so much. I wouldn't had watched it if not for my crushes for Olivia Wilde and Daniel Craig.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to Defiance as well, since SGU got canned (yeah, I loved it! no shame!)I miss my spaceships.
I hope both get picked up and fail miserably.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, how ridiculous is that? Not sold on one re-boot of the story, let alone 2. Surely writers can come up with a more original idea?
ReplyDeleteI'll be suprised either one gets picked up to series
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Loving the fairytales;) Wonder how are they different.
ReplyDeleteSiMy first thought was that I'd probably like ABC'S approach better, but then again I wouldn't want Once Upon a Time 2.0 with a different story background. I love that show a lot, but I wouldn't wanna watch two too similar shows. CW though ... I don't know. I don't know if I'd like their approach. I don't really see their style making me like Beauty & the Beast. And I usually like CW shows (well, some of them).
ReplyDeleteTrying to bank in on the fairytale popularity I see....
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with that, but too much can be overkill.
I'll stay on the fence until I see it.
I miss Stargate SG-1 (not all that other spin off garbage), too.
ReplyDelete