2013 Paley Preview Parties: The CW

The 9th Annual Paley Preview Parties held at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills celebrated the second night of its yearly event saluting several of the new dramas to be introduced this fall on The CW, including the spin-off series The Originals, the period piece series Reign and the remake of the cult classic 1970’s UK series The Tomorrow People.

As has been tradition for the last few years, the night started out with a small reception in the lobby of the Paley Center followed by the screening of the pilot episode of The Tomorrow People, which is about the next evolutionary leap of mankind, namely a generation of humans born with paranormal abilities.

The primary focus of the series is on teenager Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell, the cousin of Arrow star Stephen Amell), who stands at the crossroads between the world we know and the shifting world of the future. Up until a year ago, Stephen was a “normal” teenager until he began hearing voices and teleporting in his sleep, never knowing where he might wake up.

Now, Stephen’s issues have gone far beyond the usual teenage angst and he is beginning to question his sanity. In desperation, Stephen decides to listen to one of the voices in his head and that leads him to his first encounter with the Tomorrow People: John, Cara and Russell, a genetically advanced race with the abilities of telekinesis, teleportation and telepathic communication.

The cast of The Tomorrow People also includes Luke Mitchell (the Australian series Home and Away), Peyton List (Smallville), Aaron Yoo (21 and Disturbia), Mark Pellegrino (Lost, Being Human and Supernatural) and relative newcomer Madeleine Mantock.

Immediately following the screening of the pilot episode, cast members Mark Pellegrino and Robbie Amell took the stage along with executive producers Phil Klemmer, Greg Berlanti, Julie Plec and Danny Cannon (who also directed the pilot episode).

The evening’s moderator – Rob Moynihan from TV Guide Magazine – first asked what made the producers want to remake the classic series with Greg stating he had watched the show on Nickelodeon in the 1980’s and then when he meet Julie in college [they both attended Northwestern University together] they take about it then; and 20 years later (after finally getting the rights to do so) they now have the chance to bring the show back to TV.

Then when talking about whether the producers are going to adhere closely to the original series or not, Phil explained that obviously times have changed and so has the audience so they have modernized The Tomorrow People, but they also did not want to disappoint the fans of the original series let alone the original writer of the show. Thankfully, Phil shared that “he was delighted with the evolution” of the remake.

A lengthy discussion was held on the whole casting process with Robbie revealing that he initially auditioned for the role of John (to be played by Luke Mitchell), but once he landed the lead role of Stephen, he was told by executive producer/director Danny Cannon to research Jake Gyllenhaal’s role in Donnie Darko as well as watch The Matrix movie for inspiration behind his portrayal. There was also talk about a possible love triangle between John, Cara (to be played by Peyton List) and Stephen with Julie somewhat joking that there are “geometric opportunities” for the any romantic relationships in the show.

Mark, on the other hand, will play Dr, Jedikiah Price, the head of a shadowy organization tracking down The Tomorrow People to stop their evolution; and who has an interesting connection to Stephen, which I will not reveal here because it is a big spoiler from the pilot. Given this, I cannot reveal too much more of what he shared during the moderated panel beyond the fact that if he could have any of the abilities of the young adults in the show he would want telepathy while Robbie would prefer to be able to teleport.

A few reveals that the executive producers could give away were that actor Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars and Moonlight) will be guest starring as a “dark and tortured soul” who will play a “part (in) John’s backstory” while actor Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey fame) will provide the voice of TIM, an artificially intelligent mentor who helps the team of John, Cara, Russell and Stephen. In the pilot the voice was provided by director Danny Cannon to which the other producers joked had to be done in a British accent, as a way to honor the original series

The panel came to a close after an insightful Q&A between the audience and the panelists that clearly showed those in the audience enjoyed the remake of the UK series and will be watching when The Tomorrow People debuts on The CW on Wednesday, October 9 at 9 PM.

Photo Credit: Michael Bulbenko and the Paley Center for Media