Deadline is reporting that The CW has ordered military drama Valor to pilot, bringing its 2017-18 pilot total to five. The series joins fantasy-themed Searchers; the reboot of 80’s primetime soap Dynasty; cancer dramedy Life Sentence, which stars Lucy Hale; and beauty pageant drama Insatiable on the network’s pilot slate.
From Kyle Jarrow (Armless), who had EDM-themed The Drop in contention at The CW last season, Valor centers on a US Army base that houses an elite unit of helicopter pilots trained to perform clandestine international and domestic missions. It will showcase flashbacks to a failed mission involving a female pilot while the season-long arc would focus on a rescue mission meant to save MIA soldiers.
Valor is the third CBS-produced pilot to be ordered following Insatiable and Dynasty, with Searchers and Life Sentence produced by WB. With word that the network is looking to have 6-7 pilots this season, time might be running out on an order for Charmed, the highest profile CBS project put into development this season. The network tries to balance out its pilot orders between the two studios, so Charmed will have to hope that The CW will expand to 7 (or even 8) pilots, as the next order is seemingly earmarked for a WB project.
Interestingly, Valor is one of several military-themed projects in contention for a series order next season. While ABC has comedy Charlie Foxtrot, which follows a dentist stationed at Fort Bragg whose brother gets deployed, CBS has a Navy SEALs draama, FOX has a Behind Enemy Lines adaptation, and NBC has For God and Country, a drama whose log line is fairly vague. The move is seemingly a response to the 2016 election results, as every network is looking to appeal to blue collar viewers.
