Still reeling from the loss of Dollhouse, Joss Whedon fans quietly pray for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator to conjure up a new small-screen project. But until that happens, the CW is doing its part to keep the message boards over at Whedonesque.com busy. Vulture has learned that the network is developing two supernatural-tinged projects involving a trio of female veterans of Whedon’s camp: Marti Noxon, Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. And as if that weren’t enough to excite the geeky masses, one of the potential shows is based on a book series from L.J. Smith, author of The Vampire Diaries.
Craft and Fain (both alums of Angel and Dollhouse) are adapting Smith’s three-book Secret Circle series for a one-hour drama about a California teen who moves to her mom’s hometown of New Salem and discovers that, just like Christine O’Donnell, she is a witch. Alloy Entertainment, the prolific production company behind CW anchors TVD and Gossip Girl, is putting together Secret Circle for the CW. Andrew Miller, who has no apparent Whedon connection but did write for the web series Imaginary Bitches, is penning a pilot script and will also exec produce. In addition to its two current CW series, Alloy is also developing the music-themed pilot Confessions of a Backup Dancer for the network.
Meanwhile, Noxon — a well-known Buffy and Angel writer whose resume also includes Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice — is shepherding CW drama project Chloe with her production partner Dawn Parouse (Prison Break). The potential series revolves around a young female con artist who dies and returns to earth as a Divine Covert Operator… or, as she would be known were she on CBS, an angel. Noxon isn’t writing Chloe, however; that task will fall to actor/scribe Jason Fuchs (Holy Rollers).
Both Secret Circle and Chloe are just pilot scripts at this point, but there’s a good chance the CW will film at least one of them this spring. While Supernatural is still doing well for the network, it’s losing Smallville next year, opening up some space for another sci-fi-tinged hour on the CW’s primetime lineup. With the CW also a contender for David E. Kelley’s upcoming Wonder Woman reboot, it’s clear the network has no plans to abandon the female sci-fi geek portion of its demo anytime soon.