The 100 showrunner Jason Rothenberg says the show took a darker turn thanks to CW head Mark Pedowitz. The 100 came to an end earlier this month after an explosive seven-season run. The show initially followed 100 teens sent down to Earth following a nuclear apocalypse to see if the planet is still habitable. Since then, the series has carefully built out a sprawling post-apocalyptic world.
The 100 isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty, both literally and figuratively. Fans have come to expect the unexpected, and the show has had plenty of bloody battles, character deaths, and gory scenes. More specifically, perhaps one of its darkest, most controversial season 7 moments was the death of fan-favorite Bellamy Blake (Bob Morley), who was killed by Clarke (Eliza Taylor) in the episode “Blood Giant.”
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In The 100 series recap video, Rothenberg explains that the show wasn’t always so dark. He’d initially planned on a much lighter show that highlighted all the “beautiful people.” However, he says that CW President Pedowitz called him after watching season 1, episode 5. Rothenberg states that Pedowitz said the episode was good, but the series could still be darker. In turn, Rothenberg highlights that this was a significant turning point and that the gloves came off from that point forward. You can catch Rothenberg’s full quote on Pedowitz’s influence, as well as the recap video, below:
“The truth is we also were trying to make a show for a different CW. We were still trying to make a show for the network that brought you Gossip Girl. By the way, the producers of Gossip Girl – Gossip Girl was great, but this is a very different show. We started out trying to make a bright, shiny, beautiful people show, and then we were influenced by Mark Pedowitz continuously telling me it can be darker, it can be darker, it can be darker. He watched episode 5 of season 1, which is the episode where we kill 300 people to make more oxygen and buy more time, unnecessarily. The girl with the pink barrette – everyone loved that episode. It was tragically emotional and powerful. Mark called me and said that was a great episode, but you could go darker. And I was like – really? Okay! The leash is now off.”
The 100’s gritty, unflinching post-apocalyptic world has only added to the show’s popularity. The episode Rothenberg referenced led to 300 people’s death and is just one instance of the many impossible choices that The 100 characters are often forced to make. Another early example of this is Clarke’s decision to mercy-kill Finn (Thomas McDonell) rather than let the Grounders slowly execute him. All in all, though, the show certainly took a darker turn in its later seasons, and it seems Rothenberg took Pedowitz’s words to heart.
Despite a jaw-dropping series finale, this may not be the last time fans will return to the greater world of The 100. Although there’s no official greenlight from the CW yet, Rothenberg is optimistic that a spin-off could still happen. This new, untitled prequel will be set 97 years before The 100 and center around Bill Cadogan’s (John Pyper-Ferguson) kids. As such, Clarke and the rest of the gang likely won’t return if the prequel does go into development. However, it’ll still be an incredible treat to see what Rothenberg does with the prequel — and if it will be as dark as The 100.
Source: The CW via YouTube
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