Hunger Games-Themed Pilot, The Selection, Gets A Second Chance At The CW
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Someone at the CW is bound and determined to cash in on the success of The Hunger Games. There’s been talk of the network developing a show based on Koushun Takami’s novel Battle Royale, which Suzanne Collins’ young adult trilogy has often been compared to. That project has never materialized, but that’s not going to stop them from moving forward with a show called The Selection, which also shares some DNA with Collins’ dystopic novels and the blockbuster adaptation.
This is actually the second go-round for The Selection, which is based on a novel by Kiera Cass. A scripted first pilot didn’t cut the mustard, and the network brass passed. But the CW really wants on board that train (they actually developed a reality survival show with echoes of Hunger Games action) and gave the go-ahead to begin work on another pilot for the series, hopefully from a script they like better.
The Selection takes place 300 years in the future, and follows the romance of a young woman chosen to be part of a contest where 25 women vie for a chance to marry a prince and eventually become queen. While navigating the treacherous world of the royal court, the heroine—named, I kid you not, America Singer—attempts “to remain true to herself” when surrounded by a new world. There’s also a fledgling revolution taking shape in the kingdom, which is something to contend with.
All in all, The Selection sounds something like The Hunger Games mixed with a reality dating show. You can see why a project like The Selection may have a greater chance at success than Battle Royale. As ruthless as a group of greedy, lovelorn teens can be, the level of child-on-child violence is much lower than in Takami’s novel, which portrays kids full-on murdering each other.
We’ll have to wait and see if anything comes from this attempt at The Selection.
