"The Selection" by author Kiera Cass.
COURTESY
The CW picked up five new shows for the 2012-2013 season and still has the "Hunger Games"-like series "The Selection" and a show about the D.C. Comics character "Deadman" under consideration for midseason or later.
In "The Selection," which the network passed on for the upcoming season, follows a young girl who lives in a stark, war-torn nation and is chosen by lottery – sound familiar? – to compete for fame and fortune.
The difference between the series concept, based on the book by author Kiera Cass, is that the girl competes for the love of a prince as opposed to Katniss Everdeen who had to kill other teenagers to be the last one standing.
CW president Mark Pedowitz told reporters at the network's upfront presentation on Thursday that “he planned to meet with the producers of "The Selection," to discuss redeveloping it, according to deadline.com.
He reportedly said it was too soon to say whether the show will be recast the role in the pilot played by "Friday Night Lights" star Aimee Teegarden.
"I truly believe that there is a series in 'The Selection,'" Pedowitz said, according to the entertainment website.
Earlier, author Cass told thewraptv.com that she could see what her book has in common with the mega-successful book and film "Hunger Games," the first of a trilogy published last month. Her book is also the first in a trilogy.
Cass told the website she first wrote down the idea for her book in 2008 before the first book in Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" trilogy was published.
"I totally see how it lines up with 'The Hunger Games' - there's a lottery aspect, a competition, it’s in the future - and when we went to pitch it to editors, that's how my agent and I described it: 'The Hunger Games' meets 'The Bachelor,'" Cass told the website.
"I don’t think we expected that label to stick. But it kind of works.
“It’s a lot lighter than 'The Hunger Games' though, so if that’s something people are looking for, then they might really enjoy my book."
The expectation is that if network goes ahead with the show, the book will be used as a jumping point and there will be some cast changes. "Friday Night Lights" star Aimee Teegarden had been cast in the lead.
