The CW’s Beauty and the Beast pilot just got more interesting and a lot more appealing…
Smallville beauty Kristin Kreuk has landed the role of NYPD homicide detective Catherine Chandler in The CW’s upcoming remake of Beauty and the Beast. Kreuk, of course, played Lana Lang, the female lead in The CW’s long-running Smallville for seven seasons and for five episodes in Season 8.
The news came from Deadline this morning. According to the article, Kreuk was courted by many pilots, including ABC’s Beauty and the Beast adaptation, before taking this role.
Casting a fan favorite like Kreuk could be counted as a “win” for The CW, which may have its best pilot development season as of yet. Arrow has a lot of buzz, as does Sex and the City prequel pilot The Carrie Diaries. Cult could be a cult hit, and casting announcements have barely begun for their other pilots.
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This is the one based on the 80s TV series, right? Not the one based on the original fairy tale?
On a side note, I saw that Emma Watson (Hermione from the Harry Potter movies) was signed to play the Beauty in a live-action movie version of Beauty and the Beast. There certainly is a lot of interest in this one fairy tale, all of the sudden.
A pilot on CW over a pilot on ABC,one of the most watched network in US???? Why Kristin?Why?
@Lanafan
I agree. Not sure why Kristin would choose CW over ABC’s. ABC’s one sounds more interesting and if picked up, will no doubt get more viewers than CW’s. Also, I’m sure she would’ve gotten a much bigger paycheck if she went with ABC.
Maybe The CW’s script was better? Also, I think The CW might be more likely to stand behind and promote a show for a long time vs. ABC which could cancel something within weeks if it is not working.
I agree with Craig, The CW network became Kristin Kreuk’s home-network when she left Smallville.. Get the point now people?
You know this is pretty good casting. I may not have like Lana on Smallville (mostly because of crappy writing) but Kristin did a good job as an actress projecting strength despite a likeness of fragility.
I could see why Kristen would choose the CW over ABC. The CW made her a household name. Frankly, she did pretty good there. She was on a popular show that lasted 10 years, of which she was on for seven. She became a woman on that show. Anyway, a paycheck over a long period of time versus a paycheck for a few weeks or years? Who can say what shows will last and what won’t. It could be that she liked the Beauty and the Beast storyline better. She has a much larger face recognition on the CW as well. Possibly Beauty and the Beast has a better target audience on the CW. Or it could just be that she has her own reasons for who she chose. Anyway, I like the CW better than ABC myself, so bring it on!
Disney owns ABC and Disney wants ABC to carry the show. It’s a family show that if it works could reach a greater audience and larger age group. Also, better to work for Disney, and rub elbows with their big guys at parties and become a part of that company than any other. If she really had that opportunity and instead chose to play in a remake of the very odd 80’s tv show, a combo of crime tv + a romance with a guy who looks like a cat, who lives in sewers, she may have made a bigger mistake than leaving Smallville, and playing Chun Li. If you have a shot at working with Disney, take it.
I wondered at first, why the CW over ABC? But I think Kristin, plus all the cast of Smallville, are very into privacy and not becoming a “celebrity” type. It seems like that on Smallville and alot of other CW shows they get the right publicity from the network and entertainment outlets, but they don’t get overexposed bc their privacy is still intact. And I agree with the other comments about ABC pulling the plug early, too. It just makes me respect them and her so much more. I hope this pilot works out. Can’t wait to see Kristin back on the CW!