'The Notebook' TV series in the works

A TV version of Nicholas Sparks’ beloved romantic drama The Notebook is in the works at The CW.

The network is developing a series based on Sparks’ bestselling 1996 novel and the 2004 New Line sleeper hit film, which starred Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.

The official logline: “This series will follow the romantic journey of the two beloved central characters Noah and Allie, at the outset of their blossoming relationship as they build their lives and their future together against the backdrop of the racial politics, economic inequities, and social mores of post-World War II of the late 1940s in North Carolina.”

If greenlit to series, The Notebook would represent The CW’s second period drama after Reign (and a surprisingly earnest one, at that—assuming the series reflects the tone of the source material). A classically romantic tale that spans decades, The Notebook is an intriguing potential departure from The CW’s action-filled genre shows and contemporary rom-coms.

That said, The CW will probably omit the story’s tear-jerker framing device—which has an elderly version of the couple, with Allie having been stricken with Alzheimer’s.

“I don’t believe we’re going to see the older couple—what they become,” The CW president Mark Pedowitz told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s press tour in Beverly Hills. “But things change [in development]. I’m thrilled Nick Sparks wanted to do it at The CW.”

The project is a Nicholas Sparks Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Sparks will serve as an executive producer on the project along with Theresa Park. Todd Graff is the writer and producer.

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