Sometimes, pilots just don't work.
That appears to be the case with The CW's first attempt at a live action Powerpuff Girls, which, we learned this week, did not make it onto the 2021–2022 schedule. The pilot is going to be retooled with the same cast and creative team attached before it's reconsidered for a full series pick-up, and now CW Chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz has weighed in on the delay.
"The reason we do pilots is, sometimes things miss," he told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday, May 25. "We believe in the cast completely, and we believe in [writers Diablo Cody and Heather Regnier] and [executive producer Greg Berlanti] and Warner Bros. In this case, the pilot didn't work. Because we see enough elements in there, we wanted to give it another shot. It may have felt a little too campy and not rooted in reality. You learn things when you test things out. We felt, ‘Let's take a step back and go back to the drawing board.' This is a powerful property, it gauged a lot of interest, and we want to get it right."
Pedowitz was asked about the pilot after pages from at least one version of the script leaked online, and Twitter users had some things to say about dialogue like, "Bloss! Wake up! Or we'll leak your nudes everywhere!" or "Life, is one big hate boner."
One fan suggested people might need the Men in Black neuralyzer to erase the script from their minds, while another compared it to the iconic Steve Buscemi 30 Rock meme where he goes undercover as a teen.
A pilot was produced earlier this spring, and fans were also underwhelmed by what turned out to be the flashback costumes worn by the three leads, Dove Cameron (Bubbles), Chloe Bennet (Blossom) and Yana Perrault (Buttercup). The CW then released an official photo of the girls' more updated looks. Donald Faison also stars in the project as Professor Drake Utonium.
In other CW news, Pedowitz says the prequel to The 100 is still being discussed and "is not done in any shape or form." The series, which aired a backdoor pilot during the final season of The 100, would tell the story of what happened right after the apocalypse that left Earth uninhabitable for nearly 100 years. You can read all about what that show might look like here.
There was also some discussion about the next big superhero crossover, which Pedowitz says will look a little different this time around as they get other heroes to appear on episodes of The Flash.
As for the new series that have been picked up, only 4400 and the new, adult Legends of the Hidden Temple will premiere in the fall. Both the All American spinoff and Naomi will debut midseason.
Riverdale will be moving from Wednesdays to Tuesdays to join The Flash, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman will now air on Wednesdays.
Keep up with all the new, upcoming shows below!