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NBC‘s adaptation of DC Comics’ Constantine is moving forward, along with a procedural from Arrow‘s Greg Berlanti, with the network handing out pilot orders to both dramas.
Drama Constantine hails from DaVinci’s Demons showrunner David S. Goyer, who will executive produce alongside The Mentalist EP Daniel Cerone, who penned the script of the Warner Bros. Television entry and will serve as showrunner should it move forward. NBC first picked up the drama with a script plus penalty commitment in September. Procedural Mysteries of Laura, meanwhile, hails from Berlanti and writer Jeff Rake (Cashmere Mafia).
STORY: TV Pilots 2014: The Complete Guide
Based on the Hellblazer graphic novels, the Constantine series centers on master of the occult John Constantine, who is struggling with his faith as he is haunted by the sins of his past but is suddenly thrust into the role of defending humanity from the gathering forces of darkness.
The character first appeared in Alan Moore‘s The Saga of the Swamp Thing, which was co-created by Steve Bissette and Jamie Delano. The long-running comic was adapted into a 2005 feature film starring Keanu Reeves. (Worth noting: Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, based on the Vertigo comic of the same name, received a put pilot commitment at Fox earlier this development season.)
Goyer has a history with DC Comics. He penned the screenplays for Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight and Batman Begins.
Mysteries of Laura, meanwhile, is a procedural drama with a sharp sense of humor following a quirky female homicide detective who juggles high-stakes crime as well as her ex-husband and a devilish set of twin boys. It is based on a Spanish format, Los Misterios De Laura. The project was picked up in August after NBC handed out a production commitment on the drama from WBTV.
Rake will pen the script and executive produce alongside Berlanti, Melissa Berman and Aaron Kaplan.
The two mark NBC’s fifth and sixth drama orders this season, joining regeneration drama Babylon Fields, Coercion — an adaptation of Israeli drama The Gordin Cell; Traffic-like thriller Odyssey; and psychological crime thriller Tin Man.
At DC, the Constantine order arrives as Fox is moving forward with its Batman prequel drama Gotham, which was officially picked up to pilot Monday as the network eyes a 22-episode commitment. The comics publisher also has The CW’s Flash pilot, which also hails from Berlanti. The prolific showrunner currently has two series already on the air — The CW’s The Tomorrow People and Arrow, the latter of which is considered a shoo-in for a third-season renewal.
The pilot orders arrive the same day that Fox entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly announced that the network was abandoning the traditional pilot season. Instead, the network will focus on straight-to-series projects as it shifts to a year-round programming schedule.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Cerone penned the script for Constantine.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
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