CW is turning to literary classics for one of their first script buys for the 2015-2016 development season.
The network is developing a drama from writer Alexis Jolly, NCIS star Michael Weatherly, and CBS TV Studios that is based on the Louisa May Alcott novel Little Women, according to Deadline. Just don’t expect the series to be about domestic life in the 1800s.
The CW take on the classic will jump on the dystopian setting train. Written by Jolly, it’s described as a gritty, hyper-stylized adaptation that follows half-sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy as they navigate a dystopian version of Philadelphia.
They band together in order to survive and unravel a conspiracy that’s deeper than any of them could have ever imagined. On top of the dangers of the Philadelphia streets, the four women will have to fight the urge to kill one another as they take on the process of surviving in such a world.
Jolly and Weatherly will executive produce the series. The project comes from Weatherly’s Solar Drive Productions based at CBS TV Studios. The project is part of a deal that Weatherly signed with CBS last year to develop new projects and continue his role on NCIS, according to Deadline.
While it wouldn’t be the first time the novel was brought to life, it would be the first adaptation that put the characters into a dystopian world. The CW is no stranger to stylized versions of historical stories though. Reign, which is entering it’s third season, looks at Mary, Queen Of Scots.
This isn’t the only Little Women inspired adaptation in the works. Last fall, ABC ordered the script of a modern day take on the series. The miniseries would focus on women coming-to-age with a backdrop of a military scandal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Fans of the 1869 novel may very well get to see two versions of it come to the small screen in the coming years.