When it came to finding the 'Beauty' for The CW's upcoming adaptation of the late 80s Beauty and the Beast television show, they didn't have to look too far. The network is already teeming with pretty young ladies (and lads, depending on how they wanted to play it) and in the end they turned to Kristin Kreuk, a familiar face from their super successful Smallville. Speaking of Smallville and The CW, earlier today we also shared a preview for Arrow, the network's newest series based on a DC comic character and heir apparent to the teen take on Clark Kent. Kreuk is best known for her role as Lana Lang on the suit-less superhero series but now stars in this reimagining of the previous cult hit and classic fairytale.
The CW's extended preview introduces us to Kreuk's Detective Catherine Chandler who, nine years later, is still haunted by her mother's unsolved murder while also trying to forget the fact that she was saved by a mysterious 'Beast.' Or at least trying to believe others when they tell her there was no such creature. Enter her guardian angel, also know as Vincent (Jay Ryan), a former doctor turned soldier who, during duty in Afghanistan, was subjecting to genetic testing turning him into some kind of, what's the right word, Beast. Right. Take a look.
Either that was a really ham-fisted (and awkwardly narrated) preview or I don't think that the series is for me. Maybe both. I'm also not floored by the inevitable and predictable complications that will arise from him having 'insight' into her mother's murder. Let's just say that neither the police procedural (episodic and serialized) nor the supernatural romance really appeals to my sensibility but it could certainly work on a network like The CW which seems to house similar, and very successful, shows that are also not to my liking. I could be wrong. Buffy remains one of my all-time favorites and it could very well have been marketed this way. No judging books by covers. Well, too much. What do you think? Is the series worth a look this fall?
Beauty and the Beast will air on Thursdays at 9 p.m on The CW this fall. The series stars Kristin Kreuk, Jay Ryan, Max Brown, Nina Lisandrello, Nicole Gale Anderson, Austin Basis and Brian White. The pilot was directed by Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls) from a teleplay by Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper (who both wrote for the short-lived, or you could say forgettable, Unforgettable).
