After creating classic female characters like Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Zoë Washburne in Firefly, and Echo in Dollhouse, Joss Whedon is is at the helm of yet another show featuring strong female characters. He will executive produce a new female detective TV show for Freeform.
In 1992, Whedon came into his own when his feature-length horror-comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer was adapted into a television series. It opened the door for a successful career in writing, which earned him credits on movies like Toy Story, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and yet another horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods. This eventually led to his role in the MCU as director of the first two Avengers movies, further cementing him as one of the most successful modern writer/directors in the entertainment industry. Now, having delved into everything from Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing) and the MCU’s own competition (he co-wrote the screenplay for Justice League, then took on directing duties when Zack Snyder had to leave the project for personal reasons), Whedon is going back to his television roots with a brand new, female-led series.
According to Variety, Whedon will serve as executive producer on what’s known as Pippa Smith: Grown-Up Detective, a comedy series that centers around the title character, who used to portray a detective on TV when she was younger. Now in her 20s, Pippa is solving mysteries in real life; only, she’s also balancing her sleuthing pastime with relationship issues and addiction. From creators Siobhan Thompson and Rebecca Drysdale (whose writing credits include Key and Peele and CollegeHumor Originals, respectively), each episode of the series will center around a new mystery (which are weaved into an overarching mystery, as well as her own personal woes). Though no one has been cast yet, Drysdale will join Whedon as executive producer, and Thompson will double as co-excutive producer along with Big Breakfast’s Drew Buckley, Jillian Vogel, and Sam Reich.
Aside from producing gigs, Whedon was originally slated to write and direct an adaptation of Batgirl for Warner Bros., but the project ultimately fell through. However, as passionate as he might have been for the movie, he left the project when he realized that he “really didn’t have a story.” That said, Whedon is also in the process of writing and directing an untitled horror movie based in World War II.
Even though Whedon is most often associated with his work behind the camera, his writing talent extends into other mediums as well - like comics. Capitalizing on the steady success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Whedon is teaming up with Christos Gage and Georges Jeanty to co-write the upcoming four-issue run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12: The Reckoning. However, whether or not this lights a fire for a Buffy series revival, Buffy star Clare Kramer firmly stated that it wouldn’t likely garner much support from fans unless the original cast was included, which she isn’t confident would ever be the case.
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Source: Variety
