VIDEO Hunger Games meets The Bachelor in the CW’s “The Selection” pilot

It’s no secret the CW is struggling. The network’s only recent success story is The Vampire Diaries, which rode the coattails of the Twilight phenomenon into the hearts of vampire genre lovers. Now the CW is hoping to capitalize on the huge success of The Hunger Games with its pilot The Selection, based on a trilogy of as-yet-unpublished novels by author Kiera Cass.

Here’s the just-released trailer for the book, which will be released on April 24:

Just like The Hunger Games, The Selection features a young woman in a war-ravaged futuristic world who is chosen in a lottery to compete against other young people chosen at random. But, instead of competing to the death in an arena, America Singer (cringe-worthy name) must compete with other young ladies for the heart of Prince Maxon (slightly less cringe-worthy). Bows and arrows will be replaced with barbed, catty banter, and the literal backstabbing of The Hunger Games will be replaced by the figurative backstabbing we’ve become familiar with on reality competition shows such as The Bachelor.

Here’s the plot summary from KieraCass.com:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

The similarities with The Bachelor as well as The Hunger Games are not lost on author Cass:

“I totally see how it lines up with The Hunger Games – there’s a lottery aspect, a competition, it’s in the future – and when we went to pitch it to editors, that’s how my agent and I described it: The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor,” Cass tells TheWrap. “I don’t think we expected that label to stick. But it kind of works. It’s a lot lighter than The Hunger Games though, so if that’s something people are looking for, then they might really enjoy my book.”

But Cass is also quick to point out that she came up with the idea for The Selection in the summer of 2008, before the first Hunger Games novel was published.

Friday Night Lights and Scream 4 actress Aimee Teegarden (above) will be playing America Singer and Gregory Peck’s grandson Ethan Peck has been cast as Prince Maxon.

Another similarity between The Selection and the CW’s other hit series, The Vampire Diaries? The pilot episode of The Selection is penned by TVD writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain. The pilot joins the network’s much-anticipated prequel to Sex and the City, The Carrie Diaries starring AnnaSophia Robb, the Smallvilleesque Arrow featuring superhero Green Arrow, and a new take on Beauty and the Beast starring Kristin Kreuk.