The 100, a YA sci-fi show about a group of rowdy teens making their way on a post-apocalyptic Earth, ran for seven seasons on The CW and amassed a loyal fanbase. The CW wanted to give them more, and worked for two years on a prequel that would have been set much closer in time to the original apocalypse, and explored what life was like in the immediate aftermath even as a lucky few humans got to kick their heels in space and wait out the worst up on The Ark. They even made a backdoor pilot for the series in The 100 season 7.
So clearly they were serious about this, but it is not to be. Deadline reports that the show, which was tentatively titled The 100: Second Down, has been killed the crib, shot down before it left the ground. Pick a third metaphor if you want, the point is the show isn’t happening.
The 100 prequel would have had “Lost-style flashback episodes”
The 100 producer Jason Rothenberg told TV Line that he wanted to the show to have “Lost-style flashback episodes” to times before the apocalypse, and to get the characters up in space to the Ark. “Clarke’s great, great, great grandparents are up there on the Ark,” he said. “Same with Bellamy, Raven and all the characters. I have a plan to get us up there and meet the ancestors. If we’re lucky enough to tell that story, we’ll meet Great Great Grandpappy Blake.”
But it’s all moot now. I imagine the pandemic contributed to difficulties behind the scenes. Also, the original show was made in the aftermath of The Hunger Games, where teens navigating the apocalypse was all the rage, and that has died down now, so maybe they opted to chase another trend.
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