When news broke recently that The CW – the US network mainly aimed at yoof audiences – was planning a small screen version of ultravoilent Japanese film Battle Royale (the one that’s like a very bloody version of The Hunger Games ) many were left wondering how the film could even translate to a format that would be acceptable on a mainstream channel.
Mark Pedowitz, the CW president addressed those issues when asked about the project on a TCA (Television Critics Association) panel.
According to HitFix.com , when asked if it was acceptable to make a show about teenagers killing each other, he responded: “At this point in time, it’s only in development, and we’re not even ‘in development’. All that existed was a phone call. And we’re not planning to do anything that we cannot get on the air. So the answer to that question is, no, we’re not going to go in that direction. We’re going to wait to see what happens and how things develop."
Pedowitz did confirm, though, that The CW is eager for a show in a Game of Thrones / The Hunger Games vein. This could be another show it has in development, The Selection , or, if that doesn’t work out, Battle Royale might fit the bill.
