We’ve known it was in the works and have even been treated to a first look image ripped straight from the comics, but today The CW made the news official—Naomi has been picked up to series.
Written and executive produced by Ava DuVernay and Arrow writer and co-executive producer Jill Blankenship, Naomi stars Kaci Walfall in the lead role along with Alexander Wraith, Cranston Johnson, Camila Moreno, Mary-Charles Jones, Barry Watson, Mouzam Makkar, Daniel Puig, Will Meyers and Aidan Gemme. The series is based on the critically acclaimed comic series from Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and Jamal Campbell that’s also slated to return with a second volume in the not-to-distant future.
DuVernay tweeted about Naomi’s pickup this morning, while also sharing a few behind-the-scenes pics and a new photo of Walfall in the role.
The origin story of a new hero. NAOMI is now officially a series at @TheCW! Many hands/hearts went into bringing this saga to the screen. Thanks to my creative ace Jill Blankenship, the teams at @ARRAYNow + @warnerbrostv, and the extraordinary @kaciwalfall, our Naomi. You shine! pic.twitter.com/gUfh8S5u5k
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 24, 2021
According to the show’s official description, Naomi follows a teen girl’s journey from her small northwestern town to the heights of the Multiverse. When a supernatural event shakes her hometown to the core, Naomi sets out to uncover its origins, and what she discovers will challenge everything we believe about our heroes.
While The CW is home to a number of successful TV shows based on DC superheroes, Naomi promises to stand out for several reasons. Unlike series like The Flash, Batwoman and Superman & Lois, Naomi doesn’t have a deep well of comic book storylines to draw from. First introduced in Bendis, Campbell and Jamal’s six-issue miniseries, Naomi McDuffie has since made guest appearances in other Bendis-written titles like Action Comics and Young Justice and is currently a member of the Justice League, but her own story is still largely yet to be explored, giving the newly greenlit CW series a pretty open canvas when it comes to what we should expect. Naomi is also a teenager, setting her apart from the heroes of the Arrowverse who are all adults. (Though several of the series feature teen heroes in supporting roles.) Finally, Naomi, as perhaps indicated by the series title, also currently lacks a superhero name. Whether she’ll eventually be given one on the show or in the comics first—or if she’ll be given one at all—remains to be seen.
DuVernay’s involvement also helps set the series apart. Naomi is produced by DuVernay’s Array Filmworks in association with Warner Bros Television, with Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes also set as EPs. Amanda Marsalis directed and co-executive produced the pilot episode.
Along with the announcement, Naomi launched its official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, so make sure to give them a follow, and let us know what you think about DC’s newest small screen hero over in the DC Community!
