Third in line was The Secret Circle. Fifteen minutes in I wrote in my notes: Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl. Which – though simplistic – gets your head about 75% of the way there. Teenaged girl Cassie is out and about when a mysterious man approaches her home, performing little acts of symbolic magic: pouring a bottle of water out on the street causes the plumbing in the house to go haywire, and lighting matches sets the house ablaze, killing her mother. One month later, we see Cassie moving in with her grandmother (her father died before she was born) in the town her mom grew up in, and – like Harry Potter – everyone seems to know her, even people she’s never met. Turns out: almost everyone in town is a witch, Cassie’s mom was a witch, and Cassie’s a witch too.

I can’t tell if The Secret Circle is about being a girl in high school with a little bit of magic added, or about witches with a little bit of adolescent female drama added – because while often it’s evenly blended, it also spends a lot of time being purely one or the other. When adults are screen without the kids, it feels closer to something like a True Blood (though decidedly less sexy or scary); when it’s just the tykes, it can sometimes feel more like 90210. Likewise, while the show itself looks well-produced and slick, it also felt inconsistent: sometimes interesting with decent acting, other times feeling and sounding like dumb teenaged girl fanfiction. Take my favorite line, spoken of the show’s bitchy girl: “Faye’s always been a bit unpredictable. You never know what she’s going to do next.” But then it will throw in something charming enough that even a grown man – presumably well outside of the show’s target audience – can forgive the clunkiness. I will say this: it’s easy to watch, and while the audience snorted at a few scenes (Cassie’s bedroom window lining up with that of the often-shirtless boy across the way was ripe for mockery), people seemed to enjoy it overall. In short: fun, albeit derivative and shallow.

Source

Last year, my first official Comic-Con experience was the Preview Night screening of the series premiere of The CW’s Nikita. This year, SDCC topped itself by offering not one, but three series pilots, along with a look at a Japanese animated take on a popular U.S. TV series. While Alcatraz, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural: The Anime Series were all entertaining, CBS’ upcoming procedural Person of Interest won the night.

Based on L. J. Smith’s novels, this new CW drama follows a teen girl named Cassie (Britt Robertson) who goes to live with her grandmother after her mother dies in a mysterious fire. She’s quickly drawn in by a group of witches who believe she’s meant to be a part of their circle. And so begins your typical teen drama with a magical twist. Dangers lurk not far in the distance as these kids begin to dabble in powers that might have them in over their heads very soon.

My guess is that The Vampire Diaries fans are going to be on board with this one. The pilot was a little campy at parts, but it does offer a similar kind of glamorous danger to some of the other supernatural-themed TV dramas out there. Fans of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles may recognize Thomas Dekker, playing one of the teens that befriends Cassie.

Full Source

Its that time, and for all those going or in San Diego you can see the Pilot for Secret Circle tonight!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20: PREVIEW NIGHT
6:00-9:00 – Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings:
Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural: The Anime Series
Comic-Con 2011 wastes no time at all in its planned assault on our asses, opening with three straight hours of sitting watching pilots for this fall’s newest TV shows. Look for impressions of each, right here. (GH) Ballroom 20

And if you arn’t down there till Sat the pilot will screen again!

5:10–6:00 p.m. Room 6BCF The Secret Circle Screening and Q&A – The coven is coming to Comic-Con! The Secret Circle series stars Britt Robertson (Scream 4), Thomas Dekker (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Phoebe Tonkin (H20: Just Add Water) and Natasha Henstridge (Species) join executive producers/writers Kevin Williamson (The Vampire Diaries), Andrew Miller (Nothing) and Richard Hatem (Supernatural) for a screening of the pilot and Q&A session. The ordinary becomes extraordinary when the new girl in town, Cassie Blake, learns that she is part of a circle of young witches living in Chance Harbor, Washington. As Cassie discovers her abilities and adjusts to her new surroundings, she uncovers some of the town’s dark secrets … which may be tied to the death of her parents. Mystery, romance and danger await. From Bonanza Productions Inc., Outerbanks Entertainment and Alloy Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios, The Secret Circle premieres September 15 and airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.

This panel is scheduled for Saturday, July 23rd at 5:10–6:00 p.m. and will take place in Room 6BCF (the same room where Vampire Diaries had their first panel two summers ago). This panel will be the second and LAST chance for Comic Con attendees to see the Secret Circle pilot. Following the pilot screening, there will be a Q&A session with the cast and creative team members mentioned above.

You can see on the sidebar there’s a new widget from Clicker that will update to let you watch Brittany’s different projets online.

“The First Time” is the new movie Brittany is doing, and we’ve got news of the casting of her parents in the film – Josh Malina and Christine Taylor will play her parents in the movie.

According to EW Britt has been cast in the new CW pilot Secret Circle.

Brittany Robertson now has a back-up plan.

She’s been cast in The CW’s promising supernatural pilot Secret Circle.

The casting is in “second position” to Robertson’s starring role on Life Unexpected, which is on the bubble for renewal. The CW has not yet decided on the show’s fate and casting actors in a new project when their current series is still part on a network’s lineup is increasingly common this time of year. Still, the casting could in theory impact the fate of Unexpected if The CW loves the Secret Circle pilot (and Robertson in it), and decides that new project is a better fit than Unexpected for one of its fall slots.

Secret Circle is based on a series of books by author L.J. Smith about a young woman who moves to a new town and discovers that not only is she a witch and part of a secret coven, but she’s also the key that will unlock a centuries-old battle of good versus evil. It’s from Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios.