The Wakefield twins Elizabeth and Jessica may be returning to the small screen. “Sweet Valley,” a new series based on Francine Pascal’s YA series from the 1980s — “Sweet Valley High” — is in development at The CW.
Ashley Wigfield will serve as writer and executive producer of the new series.
Joining Wigfield, whose credits also include HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl,” and Hulu’s “Looking For Alaska,” as executive producers are Fake Empire’s Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Lis Rowinski. Executive producers from Chernin Entertainment are Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping. The studios involved are CBS Studios and Paramount TV studios.
The series sounds reminiscent of early “Riverdale,” with Sweet Valley being a town folks dream of growing up in, with Elizabeth Wakefield a shining example of the city’s promise. When her twin sister Jessica, who is missing, returns, their lifelong rivalry reignites. Enid Ruiz, a new girl in town, is left to figure out who — or what — is pulling the strings. But, will she be able to sway the Wakefield twins to put their interpersonal conflicts aside to bring Sweet Valley’s dark roots into the sunshine of California?
The “Sweet Valley High” twins — bookish Elizabeth, and her bolder sister Jessica — made it to the small screen in 1994, played by Cynthia (Elizabeth) and Brittany (Jessica) Daniel. It ran from 1994-1997, first starting out on Fox, before moving to UPN.
TV reporter Jenny Maas contributed to this story.
