'Roswell' Pilot Ordered By The CW Network
News of a Roswell reboot takes you back to a time when The WB's (now CW) market share of 90's teenage dramas encompassed what could easily be surmised as the 'golden age of television' for teens; spawning sacred cows such as Buffy, Dawson's Creek, Smallville, Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Charmed, and debatably Roswell season one.
Yet here we are 15 years since Roswell's three-season run concluded and it appears a reboot to the teen sci-fi series has taken another step closer to becoming reality with the CW ordering a pilot. According to the Tracking Board, Roswell has moved from in-development to pilot and will be getting a new title to be written and produced by The Originals producer Carina MacKenzie. Unlike The WB’s 1999 teen drama, MacKenzie’s reboot will feature just one of the three alien/human hybrids who possesses extraordinary gifts. Here's the pitch:
"After reluctantly returning to her tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, the daughter of undocumented immigrants discovers a shocking truth about her teenage crush who is now a police officer: He’s an alien who has kept his unearthly abilities hidden his entire life. She protects his secret as the two reconnect and begin to investigate his origins, but when a violent attack and long-standing government cover-up point to a greater alien presence on Earth, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose him and destroy their deepening romance."
While the logline doesn't stray from Jason Katim's original series, it appears the CW's reboot will age Roswell's central characters beyond high school. One of the bigger unknowns is if the series will eventually introduce a trio of alien leads, originally played by Jason Behr, Kathrine Heigl, and Brandan Fehr.
In the rare instance where reboots are warranted, The CW's decision makes total sense here, especially since Roswell fills a sci-fi niche with timeless tropes still relevant for today's tween generation. And despite Roswell's engaging first season, the entire series can essentially be disavowed due to the forgettable second and third seasons. If a better story can be told, why not tell it?
