Former Angel and Alias Producer to Run ABC’s New V Show

Variety reports that former Angel, Alias, and Day Break producer Jeffrey Bell has been tapped by Warner Bros. Television as the showrunner for their new series V, based on the ’80s mini-series and short-lived show from Kenneth Johnson. I’ve hinted at it before, but a show like V has come at the perfect time, when the country seems to be throwing a heck of a lot of blind faith in some stranger who has appeared out of nowhere to promise them pretty much everything, in return for nothing short of total obedience and blind faith. Nonbelievers, it would appear, need not apply in this new V universe. In the article, producer Bell seems to think along the same lines as me, though how much follow-up will happen will probably depend on how brave the show is willing to be.

Just as the original “V” used the story of an alien invasion as an allegory for Nazi Germany, the new “V” will tackle issues of government, devotion, race and faith.

“Especially when you look at our current times, with the economy, wars and social strife, it’s the perfect time for a force like this to come along,” Bell said. “In many ways this is a very American show, about the individual vs. society. It’s about how America can appreciate and question things that seem to be too good to be true.”

The new V currently has a 13-episode order from ABC, though that could change with subsequent seasons. According to ABC’s Steve McPherson, the show will have a finite number of seasons, though, with a mapped out beginning, middle, and end similar to what the net is doing with Lost.

The new V will co-star Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut and Scott Wolf as the humans, and Morena Baccarin and Laura Vandervoort as two of the comely aliens who will tempt us before, of course, serving us for dinner. Hey, there are worst ways to go…