Jean M. Auel’s CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR Coming to Lifetime

Exciting news for Earth’s Children fans: Lifetime announced today that the network has ordered the drama pilot The Clan of the Cave Bear, based on Jean M. Auel’s series of best-selling novels, for a tentative 2015 launch.

Book synopsis:

Auel’s novels are set more than 25,000 years ago when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans. A natural disaster leaves young Ayla wandering alone in an unfamiliar and dangerous land until she is found by a woman of the Clan, people very different from her own kind. To them, blond, blue-eyed Ayla looks peculiar and ugly–she is one of the Others, those who have moved into their ancient homeland; but Iza cannot leave the girl to die and takes her with them. Iza and Creb, the old Mog-ur, grow to love her, and as Ayla learns the ways of the Clan and Iza’s way of healing, most come to accept her. But Broud, the brutal and proud youth who is destined to become their next leader, sees her differences as a threat to his authority. He develops a deep and abiding hatred for the strange girl of the Others who lives in their midst, and is determined to get his revenge.

The series will be executive produced by Academy Award®-winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Rush) and Oscar® and Emmy® Award winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, 24), along with Allison Shearmur (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Cinderella), Linda Woolverton (Maleficent, The Lion King), who is writing the pilot, Francie Calfo (Gang Related, Empire) and Jean M. Auel.

This is an ambitious project for a network that just entered the original series game a few years ago, but Lifetime has been steadily building their slate of original scripted programming. Contemporary drama/soaps Devious Maids and Witches of East End are performing well, and the other shows that are in development look promising:  the upcoming Un-Real should be a fun rom-com and The Lottery looks like a strong entry into the  futuristic dystopia genre. Add the prehistoric fantasy of  The Clan of the Cave Bear, and we’ve got ourselves an interesting lineup of female-centric stories to follow.

Are you looking forward to seeing The Clan of the Cave Bear come to television (and erase the awful 1986 movie from our collective memory)? Who would you cast as Ayla?