The CW bolsters line-up with acquisitions

Serinda Swan stars in Coroner

US broadcast network The CW has acquired shows including cancelled DC Universe series Swamp Thing for broadcast and AVoD.

Based on the DC comic book character of the same name, Swamp Thing follows Dr Abby Arcane as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small Louisiana town.

It premiered as a web series on the DC Universe VoD service last year but was cancelled after the first season. The show will now make its TV debut on The CW following a deal with distributor Warner Bros Television Distribution.

The series is based on characters created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, and produced by Atomic Monster in association with Warner Bros. James Wan, Mark Verheiden, Gary Dauberman, Michael Clear and Len Wiseman exec produce.

The CW has also picked up Tell Me a Story, another show that originated as a web series. Retelling popular fairy tales as psychological thrillers, the show’s first season is set in modern-day New York and interweaves The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel. The second run, which is based in Nashville, combines Beauty & the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

Tell Me a Story launched on CBS All Access in 2018 but was recently cancelled after season two. Both seasons will now make their broadcast debut on The CW.

The show comes from Kapital Entertainment, whose founder Aaron Kaplan wrote and exec produced both seasons with Kevin Williamson and Dana Honor. Liz Friedlander also exec produced and co-wrote season one, while Michael Lohmann did the same for season two.

Meanwhile, The CW has also acquired Coroner, a Canadian investigative drama about a recently widowed, newly appointed coroner who investigates suspicious, unnatural or sudden deaths in Toronto.

Based on the Jenny Cooper series of novels by MR Hall, the show originally aired on Canadian pubcaster CBC last year, with a second season airing earlier this year. Its launch on The CW will mark its US debut.

Coroner is produced by Muse Entertainment, Back Alley Films and Cineflix Studios, with Morwyn Brebner, Adrienne Mitchell, Jonas Prupas, Brett Burlock and Peter Emerson exec producing. Distributor Cineflix Rights secured the deal with The CW.

Also making its US debut on The CW is Dead Pixels, a half-hour British comedy series about three people who are obsessed with an online fantasy game. The show is split equally between the characters’ tragicomic real lives and their computer-animated misadventures.

Created by Jon Brown, Dead Pixels began airing on Channel 4’s youth-skewing network E4 in March last year. It is produced by Various Artists Limited and distributed by BBC Studios, with Brown, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain and Phil Clarke exec producing.