Pilots: ABC Conjures Up 'Eastwick'

Zap2It.com | January 23, 2009

'The Witches of Eastwick,' circa 1987

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NBC orders drama project 'Mercy'

"The Witches of Eastwick" has gone from novel to movie to stage musical, and now ABC is hoping the story will translate to television.

The network has given a pilot order to a drama called "Eastwick" that's based on John Updike's book. NBC also got into the pilot game Thursday, ordering a drama about three nurses called "Mercy," the showbiz trade papers say.

"Eastwick" is the second attempt at turning the novel into a TV series. FOX developed a version of the show in 2002 that starred Marcia Cross, Kelly Rutherford and Lori Loughlin, but it didn't get past the pilot stage. The book was first turned into a 1987 movie starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cher and Susan Sarandon and was adapted into a musical in 2000.

ABC's version comes from writer Maggie Friedman, who has worked on "Dawson's Creek," "Jack & Bobby" and "Once and Again." The show, which will be a loose adaptation of Updike's book, centers on three women who discover otherworldly abilities when a mysterious man enters their lives.

NBC, meanwhile, has given the green light to "Mercy," which also centers on the relationship between three women but leaves out the supernatural part. The show follows a trio of nurses who are also good friends outside the hospital.

"Friday Night Lights" scribe Elizabeth Heldens is writing the project and will executive produce.