News just hit that young starlet, AnnaSophia Robb, is stepping into some seriously fabulous shoes for the CW's most buzzworthy pilot: Sex and the City prequel, The Carrie Diaries. And with the star in place, the momentum for the could-be series is snowballing. Naturally, it's time to take a minute to add a little background and context about this prequel pilot and find out how it's set apart from its raunchy HBO predecessor.
1. Carrie Bradshaw Has A Lil' Sis
Well, if you read the Carrie Diaries books, you know Miss Bradshaw has two younger siblings, but as of right now, she actually has one cast for the CW pilot. Dorrit, is Carrie's youngest, more rebellious little sister and she'll be played by former Running Wilde trouble-maker Stefania Owen (Puddle). This pre-teen tomboy is about as far from Miss Manolo as you can get, so get ready for some sisterly fireworks.
2. Carrie in Real Life?
The woman who started a revolution, SATC and Carrie Diaries author Candace Bushnell, is actually pulling a bit from her own experience. Like Carrie, who comes from a small town, eventually following her big city dreams to New York, Bushnell hails from small town Connecticut and she moved to the Big Apple at age 19 in hopes of really "making it." As she struggled in her youth, so does Carrie, which adds a whole new layer of realism to the character's experience. And if writing the source material isn't enough, Bushnell's also an executive producer on the pilot.
3. The Puns Are Coming
For die-hard SATC fans worried that the original series' pith and wit will be miles away from this teen version of the Carrie Bradshaw saga, it's okay to breathe easy -- at least for now. Amy Harris, a writer and story editor on the HBO series from 2001 until 2004 (she originally started as a SATC production assistant), is penning the pilot and it's safe to say she's got a bit of a handle on that signature Carrie tone.
4. We Won't See the Fabulous Foursome For Quite Some Time
This is a pre-SATC tale, and as such our favorite New Yorkers haven't quite made their way into each other's lives. However, one of Carrie's best friends is the missing link: Samantha Jones is the older, cool, big city cousin of one of Carrie's teenage besties.
5. Fans of The Books: The Names, They Are a-Changin'
In the books the pilot is based on, one of Carrie's best friends, Roberta Castells, is the one who instigates Carrie's thoughts about virginity and sex -- a topic that very clearly eludes to the parent series -- but you won't find any Roberta on the CW version. But don't worry just yet; she's still around. Her name's just been changed to Jill Thompson.
