The course of true love never did run smooth, and the same can apparently be said of romantic dramas on The CW. The project based on the Nicholas Sparks romance novel The Notebook that was first confirmed several months ago is now being redeveloped for the network. A Weaveworld series based on the Clive Barker book of the same name is also in redevelopment. The CW evidently has a lot of faith that viewers will tune in for book adaptations even if they don't feature vampiric love triangles.
The original Notebook project on The CW was intended to follow the drama of Noah and Allie’s courtship in the post-WWII South. Their love story would unfold against the backdrop of economic inequalities, racial politics, and changing social expectations. Basically, it was going to be a television sequel to the movie based on the book.
According to Deadline, the premise remains pretty much the same even with redevelopment. The biggest change seems to be that the original writer Todd Graff has left the project. Luckily, Nicholas Sparks is still attached as an executive producer, and if there’s any person who could craft an ongoing period drama out of a 2-hour movie based on a 250-page romance novel without running out of steam and/or steaminess by the second episode, that person would have to be Nicholas Sparks.
Of course, The Notebook has never exactly been the most complicated love story ever told, and the time gap in the movie between when young Noah and Allie were last seen on screen and the scene of old Noah and Allie dying in each other’s arms – spoiler alert? – spans several decades. The show has plenty of blanks that it can fill in easily enough. It will remain to be seen if The CW can manage to pull off any of its typical love triangles when the main couple already overcame a major love triangle to be together in the film. Hopefully, the redevelopment means that the project will stand out from others of The CW’s romance series over the years in more ways than just old-fashioned clothes and technology.
Given that the Notebook craze has died down somewhat in the years since the movie hit the big screen in 2004, the series may introduce a whole new generation to the love story of Noah and Allie without subjecting them to the ending that had unsuspecting moviegoers leaving their theaters in tears. The time might be right, and The CW might well be the perfect network to bring this story to the small screen following its redevelopment. After all, it's not like people have stopped enjoying Nicholas Sparks' works.
Clive Barker’s Weaveworld fantasy novel was incredibly different from Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook, but they're both going through similar redevelopment periods. Barker is on board as an executive producer, so it should be interesting to see if The CW handles one genre better than the other.
There’s no saying just yet when we might see The Notebook or Weaveworld hit The CW, but check out our list of summer TV premiere dates to see what great shows you’ll be able to watch in the meantime.
