Fall TV Preview Party: The CW

The 10th Annual Paley Preview Parties at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills got underway this past Saturday with The CW first on tap to present their fall dramas Jane the Virgin and The Flash.

Before the combined panel for both shows got underway, the audience got to watch the pilot episodes; both of which were very entertaining. I had the opportunity to see The Flash this past July at San Diego Comic Con, but seeing it again was quite a treat. As for Jane the Virgin, I was very reticent about the dramedy, but after seeing the pilot episode I was, to say the least, charmed.

Since the audience was asked not to spoil the storylines for either show, I won’t give away any details about The Flash or Jane the Virgin; but thankfully I can share what was discussed during the panel.

The panelists included Jane the Virgin lead actress Gina Rodriguez (Filly Brown), Mexican actor Jaime Camil and executive producers Jennie Snyder Urman (Emily Owens, M.D.) and Ben Silverman (The Office and Ugly Betty); The Flash cast members Jesse L. Martin (Rent and Law & Order) and Candice Patton (The Game) and executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, who are two of the men behind Arrow.

Jane the Virgin is based on the Venezuelan telenovela Juana la Virgen, and according to Jennie the American version is very similar to its predecessor. The show will focus on Jane Villanueva (Rodriguez), a hard-working, religious young Latina woman whose family tradition and a vow to save her virginity until her marriage to a detective is shattered when a doctor accidentally artificially inseminates her by mistake during a checkup.

Perhaps one of the highlights of the panel was when Gina talked about what brought her to the character of Jane. She shared that she got into acting to make a difference, to be in a positive role that would be a role model for other Latina girls; something that was lacking when she was growing up. She wanted to play someone with dreams and goals and that is Jane.

While I cannot reveal too much about Jaime’s character, I can share he is the star of the telenovela that is featured within the series and he will be seen more in later episodes of the show.

In terms of family dynamics on the show, Jennie shared that she wanted to show that a family can be overbearing yet well-meaning; and she wanted the show to have grounded emotional moments while translating the Latino culture to a mass audience.

As for The Flash, the idea for the spin-off came from Greg. He presented the idea to his other Arrow executive producers (Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns) during Christmas 2012, who thought it was hard enough to do Arrow since they were “just getting the hang of things” at that point. But, Andrew shared that if they hadn’t found series lead Grant Gustin (Glee) to play Barry Allen “it wouldn’t have happened”.

When asked if she was familiar with The Flash world from the comics, Candice shared that she wasn’t, as she is actually more of a Batman fan; but she “did her homework” as she wanted to go into the role of such a strong female, who is curious and inquisitive, with as much knowledge as she could.

As for Jesse, his character – Detective Joe West – is a surrogate dad to Barry Allen (Gustin); and while Joe “obviously is not Barry’s real dad, he has had to do all the things that dads have to do”. He continued that Joe doesn’t have superpowers like Barry, but he does have his “wits, his body, his gun and his badge” to use to protect Barry, like any real dad would do. Jesse also shared that he never though he would pick up a gun and badge again after concluding his role on Law & Order.

Greg and Andrew shared there will be a lot of villains featured in The Flash throughout the show’s freshman season; and they mentioned Wentworth Miller, playing Leonard Snart (aka Captain Cold); but, of course, they wouldn’t spoil. They also shared there will be plenty of Easter Eggs for fans to look out for throughout the season. And, there will be a meeting between Iris West (Patton) [who Barry has had a crush on for quite some time] and Felicity Smoak (Arrow series regular Emily Bett Rickards) [for whom he had a connection with when he visited Starling City]; and ironically the two ladies will get along.

Make sure to tune into the debut of Jane the Virgin on The CW on Monday, October 13 at 9/8c while The Flash will debut on Tuesday, October 7 at 8/7c.

Check out the following trailers for both shows:

Photo Credit: Kevin Parry for The Paley Center for Media