The CW decided to pass on a series order for “Jane the Virgin” spinoff “Jane the Novela” because the pilot simply “did not have what ‘Jane’ had,” according to CW President Mark Pedowitz.
“It didn’t have the full quirkiness and fun,” Pedowitz told TheWrap during a conference call ahead of its 2019 upfronts presentation to advertisers on Thursday.
But that doesn’t mean that we won’t see more of Jane one day — depending on what show creator Jennie Snyder Urman and star Gina Rodriguez come up with next.
“We are big fans of Jennie Urman and Gina, and we have great appreciation for what they did. In this particular situation, this spinoff didn’t quite get to where we wanted it to get to,” Pedowitz said, but maintained that if Urman were to go back to the drawing board for another spinoff, network execs would be all ears.
“We’ve reached out to Jennie and said if she wishes, we’re interested in pursuing a potential other spinoff for Jane. It is in Jennie’s court,” he said.
Pedowitz also weighed on the success of last year’s addition of Sunday night programming.
“Launching Sunday was a big success for us last year, we see even more upsides with the addition of ‘Batwoman,’ creating a powerful combination,” Pedowitz said of the decision to pair new Ruby Rose-led series “Batwoman” with the new season of “Supergirl.”
“We have scripted programming in every time period all 12 hours across our six night schedule. No other network can claim that,” he said. “We have 17 scripted series next season, three new shows: ‘Batwoman,’ ‘Nancy Drew’ and ‘Katy Keene,’ 14 returning shows, including all five first year shows from this season — and all of them emblematic about the distinct CW brand.”
You can find The CW’s complete fall schedule here.