JANUARY 03, 2019 10:30am PT by Lesley Goldberg
Ruby Rose-Led 'Batwoman' Pilot a Go at CW
David Nutter, who helmed 'Game of Thrones, 'Arrow' and 'The Flash,' is on board to direct.
Jack Rowand/The CW
Ruby Rose as Batwoman
David Nutter, who helmed 'Game of Thrones, 'Arrow' and 'The Flash,' is on board to direct.
It's official: The CW is moving forward with a Batwoman stand-alone series.
The network on Thursday handed out a pilot order for the Ruby Rose-led drama from showrunner and writer Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries) and exec producer Greg Berlanti.
David Nutter, the Emmy-winning Game of Thrones helmer who previously helmed pilots for The CW's The Flash and Arrow, will serve in the same capacity on Batwoman.
The news comes mere weeks after Orange Is the New Black alum Rose made her debut in The CW's three-way DC Comics series crossover (dubbed "Elseworlds"). The drama, first put in development in July, was widely expected to be picked up to pilot and remains a frontrunner for a series order given the auspices attached (and that The CW's Arrow, now in season seven, has begun to show its age).
The potential series breaks yet another barrier for Berlanti as Batwoman becomes the first-ever superhero series to be led by a lesbian character — and played by an openly gay actress in Rose.
Here's The CW's official description: "Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane [Rose] soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city's criminal resurgence. But don't call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham's symbol of hope."
In addition to writing and serving as showrunner, Dries exec produces alongside Berlanti and his Warner Bros. TV-based Berlanti Productions topper Sarah Schechter and Geoff Johns. Nutter, whom Berlanti personally recruited to direct following his successful world-building on The Flash and Arrow pilots, will also be credited as an exec producer. Batwoman is based on characters from DC Comics.
In a Hollywood Reporter poll following the conclusion of the "Elseworlds" crossover, 85 percent (more than 2,000 people) voted in favor of seeing a Batwoman series.
Batwoman is The CW's first official pilot order of the season. It's also Berlanti's first of the season as the prolific producer looks to add to his historic haul of 15 scripted series on broadcast and streaming. They are The CW's All American, Arrow, Black Lightning, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Riverdale and Supergirl; NBC's Blindspot, CBS' God Friended Me and The Red Line; Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Lifetime transplant You; and DC Universe's Stargirl, Titans and Doom Patrol.
Heading into pilot season, Berlanti has multiple broadcast scripts in development and will likely add other pilot pickups beyond Batwoman.
For her part, Rose quit Twitter following a backlash to her casting as Batwoman. The CW will re-air last month's crossover starting Monday.
Berlanti and Nutter are repped by WME. Rose is with UTA.
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