Sheesh, Sarah Drew can't catch a break with these TV shows. First, Grey's Anatomy dropped her, writing out April Kepner at the end of Season 14. Then, she quickly picked up the co-lead role in the Cagney & Lacey reboot at CBS, but the network passed on that pilot in May 2018. Now here we are one year later and it's déjà vu.
CBS just passed on The Republic of Sarah pilot, starring Sarah Drew in the lead role. I really thought that pilot idea sounded like a winner for the network, and not just because it was compared to Northern Exposure. Apparently CBS didn't feel the same. Sarah Drew shared a heartfelt post expressing the full gamut of emotions on the disappointing news:
The Republic of Sarah was meant to follow a small town in New Hampshire that suddenly ends up on the world stage when a valuable resource is discovered in its borders. Residents feel compelled to declare themselves an independent nation, forcing the young mayor Sarah Cooper (Sarah Drew) and her cabinet of inexperienced locals on the path of running a new country.
Sarah Drew had posted that she was "over the freaking moon" about the drama pilot. It's disappointing to hear that CBS passed -- and particularly sad that this is now Drew's second CBS pass in a row. Maybe don't trust them again for a pickup next year?
Sarah Drew does mention "hope" in her Instagram post, and it sounds like she doesn't have any regrets about this experience, even with this outcome. I'm sorry to not get to see her on the small screen as soon as I'd hoped, since this seemed like a decent bet for the 2019-2020 TV season.
Instead, it's not clear what's next for Sarah Drew. She had the TV movie Christmas Pen Pals in 2018 and the 2018 movie Indivisible, which featured her as a lead actress and executive producer.
Sarah Drew isn't the only one feeling TV disappointment today. Several other pilots weren't picked up, and many shows that made it to air ended up being cancelled before the showrunners were finished telling their stories. But other lucky shows were renewed (even if not all the stars were happy about the renewals).
It has been a full year since Grey's Anatomy said goodbye to characters April Kepner and Arizona Robbins. Season 15 is now ready for its finale, which airs this Thursday, May 16 at 9 p.m. on ABC. Grey's also got some good news for the next two years, and it just promoted three recurring characters to series regular status. Keep up with all of the 2019 season finale dates with our handy guide. And cross your fingers for Sarah Drew that she finally gets a TV show on screen for us in 2020. Stop giving her hope only to take it away again!
