The CW orders ‘The Librarians’ spin-off & boards ITVX drama ‘Joan’

Joan

The CW Network has picked up a slew of shows, across both scripted and unscripted, including a new spin-off from fantasy adventure series The Librarians.

The Librarians: The Next Chapter continues the saga of TNT show The Librarians, itself a spin-off of the feature film series, with this new iteration following a ‘Librarian’ from the past who finds himself stuck in the present. Returning to his castle, which is now a museum, he accidentally unleashes powerful magic.

Electric Entertainment will produce with The CW, with Dean Devlin returning as showrunner and exec producer, alongside Rachel Olschan-Wilson and Marc Roskin, while Jonathan English of Balkanic Media serves as producer.

The CW has also boarded as a co-producer on six-part drama Joan, about jewel thief Joan Hannington, played by Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner.

Set in the 1980s, the series follows a mother trapped in an unhappy marriage with a violent criminal, who goes on the run and turns to a life of crime.

Frank Dillane and Kirsty J Curtis also star in the series, which is written by Anna Symon and directed by Richard Laxton. Ruth Kenley-Letts, Jenny Van Der Lande, Neil Blair and Richard Laxton exec produce, while Paul Frift serves as producer. 

Produced by Snowed-In Productions, Joan was first commissioned for UK streamer ITVX last year. All3Media International is responsible for distribution.

The CW has also acquired the US rights to eight-part eco-thriller The Swarm, a German series in which a mysterious undersea intelligence seeks revenge on humanity for its mistreatment of the oceans. Schwarm TV produces the series for ZDF, where it premiered earlier this year.

Unscripted orders

On the unscripted front, The CW has ordered The Great American Bakeover (working title), from former HBO Max exec Jen O’Connell’s Velvet Hammer. The series follows baker Nancy Birtwhistle as she attempts to turn around the fortunes of struggling bakeries.

The Force, from Jersey Shore creator SallyAnn Salsano, is described as an unscripted procedural, about a group of law enforcement officers. Meanwhile, Patti Stanger: Millionaire Matchmaking (working title) is a dating format from IPC, exec produced by Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Patti Stanger and Rob Lee.

These new orders come just days after The CW unveiled its upcoming schedule, adding The Spencer Sisters, while cancelling dramas Kung Fu and The Winchesters.

Earlier this week, The CW picked up former AMC drama 61st Street, marking its first US scripted deal since the company was acquired by Nextstar.