For Global Frequency, the path from print to primetime is laden with as much mystery and intrigue as the graphic novel itself. The spy series is back in business after some industry-changing hurdles which stretch back half a decade. In early 2004, The WB ordered a trial episode based on the popular 12-part comic book series created by Warren Ellis, starring Michelle Forbes as agent Miranda Zero, with Josh Hopkins and Aimee Garcia in team roles. But while the pilot was being filmed, the network changed presidents and took a new direction. Global Frequency and Angel were left off the schedule—The WB’s final season—in favor of lighter fare such as Related and Twins. In a covert twist at the time, someone illegally leaked the entire 45-minute Global pilot onto the internet, which incensed studio execs, Ellis blogged, as the industry was just coming to grips with the computer age. The highly-stylized video became (and still is) an international sensation online, but the groundswell of support went nowhere…until now. The CW has commissioned sci-fi guru Scott Nimerfro to write a new script, Production Weekly reports, introducing the intel system that exists to counter world governments’ secret projects, ranging from rogue military threats to paranormal phenomena. There are reportedly more than a thousand field agent “experts” on the Global Frequency, but their identities are unknown until they meet on a mission. If you were a fan of Jennifer Garner in Alias, this series should be on your radar. Ellis’ stand-alone comic stories were compiled into two paperback volumes, Planet Ablaze and Detonation Radio. Time will tell if this high-profile project crosses over to television—a clandestine story of survival.
