‘Kung Fu’ Reboot, ‘Republic of Sarah’ Ordered to Pilot at CW
By Joe Otterson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The CW has ordered pilots for the dramas “Kung Fu” and “The Republic of Sarah.” Both projects were previously set up at different networks prior to coming to CW.
“Kung Fu” is a reboot of the original series created by Ed Spielman. In the new version, a quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice, all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her.
The project was previously set up at Fox with a put pilot order. Christina M. Kim will write and executive produce. Martin Gero will executive produce via Quinn’s House along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions. Warner Bros. Television will produce. Kim, Gero, and Berlanti Productions are all currently under overall deals at WBTV.
The reboot has been in the works for some time, with Wendy Mericle originally attached to write before Albert Kim came onboard in 2018. The original “Kung Fu” starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who traveled the Old West in search of his brother. The series ran for three seasons on ABC.
has been a writer and producer on the NBC drama “Blindspot,” which was created by Gero and produced by Berlanti Productions, since the show’s first season. Her other credits include “Lost,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and “Ghost Whisperer.”
In “The Republic of Sarah,” rebellious high school teacher Sarah Cooper utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence from the U.S. when faced with the destruction of her town at the hands of a greedy mining company. Now Sarah must lead a young group of misfits as they attempt to start their own country from scratch.
A previous iteration of the show was set up at CBS last year with a pilot order but was ultimately passed over. Jeffrey Paul King remains attached as writer and executive producer, as do executive producers Marc Web via Black Lamb and Jeff Grosvenor and Leo Pearlman of Fulwell 73. Mark Martin of Black Lamb will also executive produce. CBS Television Studios will produce. Fulwell is currently under a deal at the studio.
These two pilots mark the first formal pilot orders for of the 2020-2021 season. The network previously ordered backdoor pilots for both an “Arrow” spinoff about the Canaries and a prequel to “The 100.” The CW also gave series orders to a “Walker, Texas Ranger” reboot starring Jared Padalecki and to “Superman & Lois” starring Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch.
