Brooke Bunny
“Buffy” alum Anthony Stewart Head will return to the CW, where he played Rupert Giles on Joss Whedon’s cult classic, for the network’s new “Hunger Games”-esque series “The Selection”, says THR.
The series, based on a book by Kiera Cass, has Head playing royalty again – a part he perfected on British series “Merlin”.
Set 300 years in the future, the drama is an epic romance centering on a young working-class woman named America Singer (Israeli actress Yael Grobglas) chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women for the Royal Prince Maxon’s (newcomer Michael Malarkey) hand to become the nation’s next queen. Balancing her loyalty to family, true love and the kingdom, she must attempt to remain true to herself as she navigates the cutthroat competition and palace intrigue, all while a budding rebellion threatens to topple the crown.
Head will play King Clarkson, the patriarch of the royal family that rules the nation. He replaces Martin Donovan, who played the role in the previous incarnation of the pilot. Clarkson is described as a seasoned leader and politico who warns his son, Maxon, that he’ll have to give up any idea of romantic love and that his choice should be based on making a powerful political alliance.
“The Selection” was originally set to happen last year, with Aimee Teegarden in the lead role and Martin Donovan (“The Opposite of Sex”) in Head’s role, but the pilot needed to be retooled. Sean Patrick Thomas and Peta Sergeant reprise their roles from the earlier incarnation.
