Jason Rothenberg
Rothenberg at the 2018 WonderCon
Rothenberg at the 2018 WonderCon
OccupationProducer
Television writer
director
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Notable worksThe 100

Jason Rothenberg is an American television producer, writer and director, known for his work on The CW television series The 100.

Career

Body Politic

In 2009 The CW ordered a pilot to Jason Rothenberg and Bill Robinson's long-in-the-works drama about a group of young Washington, D.C. staffers titled Body Politic. The project was originally sold to The WB back in November 2005 by ABC Studios (then known as Touchstone Television).[1] However the show did not appear in the CW's fall schedule in early 2009 and on May 21, 2009, in an interview with Dawn Ostroff, the CW's CEO stated the show was still in consideration for midseason.[2][3] Finally, on August 4, 2009, Dawn Ostroff announced that the project was officially dead for the CW.[4]

After the CW didn't pick up the pilot, the Rothenberg and Robinson tried to promote the potential series to other networks including NBC and ABC. It was reported that NBC liked what they saw, but didn't have space for it and ABC was considering the series for midseason.[5] In the end, no one picked up the series.

Although the series was left out, critics were positive enough with the 14–20-minute pilot presentation. E! Online describe it as the "Best Pilot you may never see" and that "if the CW ever wants us to take it seriously as a trademark network of our generation, it needs to branch out from its usual routine of picking up shows geared for a younger audience. The Body Politic is a cure to that problem".[6]

The 100

See also: The 100 (TV series)

On May 9, 2013, it was announced that CW ordered The 100, developed by Rothenberg and based on first novel in the book series of the same name by Kass Morgan.[7][8] The series premiered on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, and was watched by an estimated 2.7 million American viewers, and received an 18–49 rating of 0.9.[9] It is considered the most-watched show in its time-slot on The CW since 2010 with the series Life Unexpected.[10] On Rotten Tomatoes, the show's first season had 72% of professional reviewers reviewing it positively, with a consensus of "Although flooded with stereotypes, the suspenseful atmosphere helps make The 100 a rare high-concept guilty pleasure."[11] On Metacritic, the first season scores 63 out of 100 points.[12]

The second season premiered on Wednesday, October 23, 2014, and received an 18–49 rating of 0.5 with 1.54 million American viewers, which was less than the final episode of season one.[13][14] However the second season was met with more favorable reviews, holding a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.[11] IGN also gave the show a more positive review. IGN editor Eric Goldman writes, "Overcoming most of its early growing pains pretty quickly, The 100 was a very strong show by the end of its first season. But Season 2 elevated the series into the upper echelon, as the show become one of the coolest and most daring series on TV these days."[15]

On January 11, 2015, The CW renewed the series for a third season.[16] In this season, Lexa, a lesbian character, was controversially killed.[17][18] After criticism by fans and critics, Rothenberg posted an apology letter.[18][19][20]

The series continued into its seventh season, with its final episode being written and directed by Rothenberg and airing on September 30, 2020.[21][22] Rothenberg was credited as the writer for sixteen of the one-hundred episodes of the series.

The 100 episodes written by Jason Rothenberg:

Searchers

In October 2016, Deadline reported that The CW bought the rights of to the new Rothenberg and Greg Berlanti project Searchers,[23] but by May 2017, Deadline reported that CW has opted not to proceed with the pilot.[citation needed]

Filmography

Film

Title Year Notes
Original Intent 1992 Key set production assistant
American Cuisine 1998 Key production assistant
Julien Donkey-Boy 1999 Production office coordinator

Television

The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.

Title Year Credited as Network Notes
Creator Director Writer Executive
producer
Body Politic 2009 Yes Yes No Yes The CW Unsold pilot
The 100 2014–20 Developer Yes (1) Yes (16) Yes
Searchers 2017 Yes Yes No Yes Unsold pilot

References

  1. ^ "Development Update: Thursday, February 5". The Futon Critic. February 5, 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Ghosh, Korbi (May 21, 2009). "Dawn Ostroff says 'Gossip Girl' spin off could still get a spot on The CW schedule". Zap2it. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  3. ^ Ghosh, Korbi (May 27, 2009). "'Body Politic': I've now seen the pilot, The CW needs to pick it up". Zap2it. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  4. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 4, 2009). "Press Tour Diary: The CW executive session". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ^ C, Nick (June 19, 2009). "Body Politic Future". WordPress. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Abrams, Natalie (June 6, 2009). "The Body Politic: The Best Pilot You May Never See". E!. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Hibberd, James (May 9, 2013). "CW orders 3 new sci-fi shows". Entertainment Weekly.
  8. ^ "100, THE (CW)". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  9. ^ "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Survivor' Adjusted Up; No Adjustment for 'The 100'". TV by the Numbers. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014.
  10. ^ "'The 100' Premiere is the CW's Most Watched Show in the Time Period Since 2010". TV by the Numbers. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "The 100 (2014- )". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  12. ^ "The 100 : Season 1". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "'Beauty and the Beast', 'The 100' and 'Hart of Dixie' Renewed by The CW". TV by the Numbers. May 8, 2014. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014.
  14. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (October 23, 2014). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'The Middle', 'The Goldbergs', 'Modern Family', & 'Criminal Minds' Adjusted Up; 'black-ish' Adjusted Down + Final World Series Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014.
  15. ^ Goldman, Eric (March 15, 2015). "The 100: Season 2 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  16. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (January 11, 2015). "CW Renews 'Arrow,' 'Flash,' 'Supernatural,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Originals,' More". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  17. ^ Prudom, Laura (March 3, 2016). "'The 100' Boss Talks Latest Casualty, That Flashback Twist". Variety. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Ryan, Maureen (March 14, 2016). "What TV Can Learn From 'The 100' Mess". Variety. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  19. ^ "Fans revolt after gay TV character killed off". BBC. March 11, 2016. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  20. ^ Rothenberg, Jason (March 24, 2016). "The Life and Death of Lexa". Medium. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  21. ^ Rothenberg, Jason [@JRothenbergTV] (August 4, 2019). "With #The100 Season 6 finale just days away, I have some bittersweet news to share: Season 7 will be our last. We are eternally grateful to WB & CW for always allowing us to tell our story the way we want to & to wrap the show on our terms. What an incredible ride this has been!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 7, 2019 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (March 4, 2020). "The CW Sets Premiere Dates For 'Stargirl', 'In The Dark' Season 2 & Final Season Of 'The 100'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  23. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 25, 2016). "The CW Buys Action Drama 'Searchers' From 'The 100' Creator & Greg Berlanti". Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.

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