David E. Kelley may not have had much success with his buzzy yet failed NBC pilot Wonder Woman, but he believes the CW can find success with its prequel project, Amazon.
While the CW's Amazon is in development and in the early stages of casting despite its lack of a proper pilot order, Kelley admits he made mistakes with his Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights) starrer and wishes he had more time to right the ship.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour, where he was there to support his new TNT medical drama Monday Mornings, the prolific producer said he thinks the DC Comics character remains a viable property for a small screen reboot.
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The Hollywood Reporter: Wonder Woman didn't work with NBC and CW is prepping a prequel, Amazon. What do you think?
David E. Kelley: I still believe it's viable for a television series. I think it's ripe to do it. We made mistakes with ours. My only regret is we were never given a chance to correct them. We had a lot that was right about it and a great cast. In time, we could have fixed what we had done wrong, we just didn't get that chance. All my series have been a work in progress to a certain extent where you figure them out by episodes three, four or five. This one actually gelled sooner than any that I have had in the past. We would have gotten there and I wish we were afforded a little more time. I do believe in the potential of the series and I wish them well with it. I think it could be a great success.
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THR: What would you have changed have you had the chance?
Kelley: We produced it at warp speed and it's a special effects show and it took more time than we were able to give it. We were able to give it more time and extended it had we been picked up. Just learning the storytelling -- the genre was very different for me and I had a lot to learn; my learning curve probably would have gotten better. I'm sad we didn't get to do it but I do believe it can work for the CW. They're smart to try it.
THR: Do you think releasing the early image of Adrianne helped or hurt?
Kelley: I'm not really sure. Some people say no publicity hurts but I think any series eventually will find its footing and be judged on that footing. We never got to that point, but we gave it a good try.
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THR: Should the CW not move forward with the project, would you ever try again?
Kelley: I would. It's different for me, it's a genre that I have a lot to learn about. At this point in your life, everybody should do something that they're scared of; I was a little scared of it, I remain a little scared of it and be happy to wade into the fear again.
THR: Is there another superhero franchise you'd like to tackle?
Kelley: If I were going to do a superhero franchise, I'd probably call Joss Whedon and beg him to try and do it with me! (Laughs) He's pretty good at it.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
