‘Buffy’s’ Anthony Head to Co-Star in CW’s ‘The Selection’ (Exclusive)

Giles is (sort of) coming back to the CW.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Anthony Head has been tapped to play royalty on the network’s retooled drama pilot The Selection, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

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Set 300 years in the future, the drama is an epic romance centering on a young working-class woman named America Singer (Israeli actress Yael Grobglas) chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women for the Royal Prince Maxon’s (newcomer Michael Malarkey) hand to become the nation’s next queen. Balancing her loyalty to family, true love and the kingdom, she must attempt to remain true to herself as she navigates the cutthroat competition and palace intrigue, all while a budding rebellion threatens to topple the crown. It’s based on the book by Kiera Cass.

Head — who played Rupert Giles, the lovable brains of the Scooby gang on the CW predecessor WB Network’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer — will play King Clarkson, the patriarch of the royal family that rules the nation. He replaces Martin Donovan, who played the role in the previous incarnation of the pilot. Clarkson is described as a seasoned leader and politico who warns his son, Maxon, that he’ll have to give up any idea of romantic love and that his choice should be based on making a powerful political alliance.

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The Vampire Diaries‘ Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain will pen and executive produce the Warner Bros. Television pilot, which will film in Budapest; Alex Graves will direct. Sean Patrick Thomas and Peta Sergeant will reprise their roles in the retooled Selection pilot, which will also feature Celia Massingham and Lucien Laviscount.

In addition to Buffy, Head’s credits include features The Iron Lady and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and the small screen’s Merlin, Free Agents (both the British and NBC’s short-lived remake) and Little Britain. He’s repped by APA and Donna French in the U.K.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit