-The Boy Wonder on the CW: The CW is developing a drama for next season about Batman’s sidekick Robin in a project called The Graysons, which will focus on the life of Dick “DJ” Grayson before he teams up with Batman. The Graysons, which could potentially replace Smallville (or be paired with it) will be set in modern times.
Posts: 765 | Location: Utah | Registered: 21 February 2007
Holy prequel, Boy Wonder, the CW is prepping a series based on Batman sidekick Robin’s pre-Caped Crusader days.
"Smallville" exec producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, as well as "Supernatural" exec producer McG, are behind "The Graysons," which has landed a put pilot commitment at the netlet.
Just as "Smallville" focused on Clark Kent in the years before he became Superman, "The Graysons" will follow the world of Dick "DJ" Grayson before he takes on the iconic Robin identity and aligns himself with Batman.
Project reps the latest DC Comics franchise to be mined for the smallscreen by sibling Warner Bros. TV. McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision label is also attached.
Souders, Peterson, McG and Wonderland’s Peter Johnson will exec produce.
"The Graysons" is seen as a potential replacement for "Smallville" should that show end its run this season, which has been speculated. Should "Smallville" return next year, "The Graysons" might also make a strong companion piece.
CW insiders said they also see the "Graysons" development as a validating gesture by Warner Bros. that the company is still behind its 50% investment in the netlet, particularly following this fall’s strong openings for "Gossip Girl" and newbie "90210." They believe the studio wouldn’t risk bringing one of its prized franchises to CW if it believed the net was in dire straits.
In the one-hour "Graysons," which will be set in modern times, young DJ will face challenges involving first loves, young rivals and his family as he grows up. Souders and Peterson have come up with an original take on the character.
In the original Batman mythology, Grayson was a young acrobat and part of the family act called "The Flying Graysons." He was orphaned when a gangster sabotaged his parents’ trapeze equipment. Bruce Wayne took him under his wing and trained him to help fight crime.
Grayson later morphed into the character of Nightwing, as part of "The New Teen Titans," and a series of new Robin replacements were introduced.
Souders and Peterson serve as showrunners (along with Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer) on "Smallville," which has just entered its eighth season. They’ve been with the hit drama since season two, and helped successfully transition the show following the departure of longtime toppers Miles Millar and Al Gough.
In features, Peterson wrote "But I’m a Cheerleader," while Souders was behind "Tell Me."
McG’s credits also include NBC’s "Chuck" and the upcoming feature "Terminator Salvation." "The Graysons" reps McG’s second DC Comics sale this year: Wonderland is also behind the Fox project "Human Target," which Jon Steinberg is writing.
CW predecessor the WB tackled the Batman mythology with 2002’s short-lived "Birds of Prey," which followed a group of female superheroes who flew in to protect Gotham after Batman disappeared.
Burt Ward, of course, played Dick Grayson/Robin in the campy 1965-68 TV series "Batman." And several animated versions of the Batman story have appeared on the smallscreen through the years, most recently KidsWB’s "The Batman."
Bob Kane created the DC Comics characters.
Posts: 765 | Location: Utah | Registered: 21 February 2007
I remember the article where CW pretty much said they were done with sci fi unless it was female skewing. It's amazing how fast CW can change its tune when Smallville's numbers came in, better than they expected.
Originally posted by WlcmLAPD: I remember the article where CW pretty much said they were done with sci fi unless it was female skewing. It's amazing how fast CW can change its tune when Smallville's numbers came in, better than they expected.
A man running around in tights is a female skewing show. I wish Marc, Travis, etc... would post the male vs. female totals for Smallville so we could see just how 'male skewing' the show is. It was already shown that Supernatural skews female. I kind of doubt that Smallville skews very much to the male side.
This is such a bizarre idea for a show. If I hadn't seen it on Variety, I would have called shenanigans.
Because who seriously cares about Dick Grayson pre-Batman? If they really want a show about "boy grows up in a circus," then they should do that, not try to stick it into some weird comic tie-in.
Dick becomes Robin at 12. Even if you age it up some, that doesn't give the show much time to work with.
If they really wanted to do a Batman-tie-in, they should have just done a show about him post-Robin. You'd still have the big elephant in the room of Batman, but Nightwing would at least give room for the show to grow. Although it would probably be too "old" for CW in the same way Supernatural is.
Wish they had just gone with a Green Arrow spinoff.
Posts: 32 | Location: DFW | Registered: 20 September 2008
Originally posted by WlcmLAPD: I remember the article where CW pretty much said they were done with sci fi unless it was female skewing. It's amazing how fast CW can change its tune when Smallville's numbers came in, better than they expected.
A man running around in tights is a female skewing show. I wish Marc, Travis, etc... would post the male vs. female totals for Smallville so we could see just how 'male skewing' the show is. It was already shown that Supernatural skews female. I kind of doubt that Smallville skews very much to the male side.
Wasn't "Smallville" #1 in all the male demos when it premiered this season?
Originally posted by WlcmLAPD: I remember the article where CW pretty much said they were done with sci fi unless it was female skewing. It's amazing how fast CW can change its tune when Smallville's numbers came in, better than they expected.
A man running around in tights is a female skewing show. I wish Marc, Travis, etc... would post the male vs. female totals for Smallville so we could see just how 'male skewing' the show is. It was already shown that Supernatural skews female. I kind of doubt that Smallville skews very much to the male side.
Wasn't "Smallville" #1 in all the male demos when it premiered this season?
Yes. Smallville skews very male. One of the few times it actually saw greater than normal female viewers was for "Promise," an episode where two of the three main characters (Lana and Lex) were married. CW was sure to tout those female-skewing ratings with an appropriate press release.
Posts: 1 | Location: Boston | Registered: 10 November 2006
I think Green Arrow is still an option. I also agree that Nightwing would be much more interesting than Dick-Robin. Being as both Green Arrow and Nightwing are non-powered heroes, they could easily be crime procedural for young viewers (meaning they add in hot boys, girls and sex).
I still dislike the idea of a full Justice League show though as I don't think teams are the way to go, even more so if they keep them in costumes which are crappy.
Posts: 765 | Location: Utah | Registered: 21 February 2007
Perhaps this new Robin-centric pilot is an attempt by The CW to create another "superhero" series to succeed "Smallville" after this season.
Even though "Smallville" has continued to show muscle so far this season - its eighth - that success may not translate into a ninth season next year. Any series becomes more expensive with age (due mostly to the salaries for its stars) and perhaps while still successful, the CW simply cannot afford a ninth season, which would explain the reason for another drama centered around a comic book "superhero".
Warner Bros. doesn't seem to like having multiples of the same properties in development, so I do wonder if the Supermax movie has killed the chances for a Green Arrow movie. Because a GA series really seems to be the logical choice.
I suppose a Supergirl spinoff is possible, but my impression is that it's not something Smallville fans are particularly interested in.
Maybe the way to go is just to find another property. A Zatanna series might work for CW. Charmed was pretty potent for the WB back in the day, and it could work well with, say Supernatural.
This Graysons idea just seems like a desperate attempt to cash in on The Dark Knight's success.
Posts: 32 | Location: DFW | Registered: 20 September 2008
