The CW and Drew Barrymore to produce horror anthology series written and directed by women

Results were mixed when it was attempted in this year’s XX, but The CW is hoping that the concept of a horror anthology written and directed entirely by women translates well to TV. As reported in Deadline, the network is developing a new series called Black Rose Anthology, a one-hour series featuring “vignettes about guilt, jealousy, repression, paranoia, insanity, sexual obsession, and survival through a modern and distinctly feminine lens.” Whatever that means. Still, a project that gives work to female writers and directors—who have struggled to break into the industry, and the traditionally male horror genre in particular—is something to be celebrated, even tentatively.

No word yet on a full lineup for the series, but the pilot will be written by Jill Blotevogel, a writer on USA’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone and former showrunner on MTV’s Scream: The TV Series. Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen’s Flower Films is on board to executive produce, and Gaye Hirsch, who’s had a hand in everything from Gossip Girl to Riverdale, will tend to Black Rose at the network.