Heartbroken 'The 100' Fans Can Rest Easy Because A Prequel Series Is On The Way
Oct. 27 2019, Updated 12:08 p.m. ET
Fans of the hit CW show The 100 may have been heartbroken to learn that the show is ending with its seventh season, but they can feel a little relief today knowing that the story doesn't completely have to end. Although The 100 is concluding, creator Jason Rothenberg is going all the way back to the beginning with a brand new prequel. Here's what we know so far about The 100 prequel in the works for The CW.
What's The 100 prequel all about?
According to Jason, The 100 prequel is going to take us way, way back. The new spinoff is set 97 years before the original series and it begins with the end of the world. When a nuclear apocalypse wipes out most of the humans on Earth, a group of survivors must learn to cope with the new world while trying to form a better society than the one that came before.
The prequel is actually a long time coming. Earlier this year, Jason was teasing that he'd been playing with the idea for the prequel for a while. At WonderCon earlier this year, Jason said that a spinoff set in the universe of The 100 could be in the works but he couldn't say anything. But one of the show's stars, Richard Harmon, may have accidentally spilled the beans at the convention.
When asked what he wanted to see in the spinoff, he said, "I think I would want to see one where ... the beginning of the spin-off is the first bomb going off. And everything of like the people who become the Grounders, the people who survive, them dealing with kind of everything."
Judging by the plot of the prequel, it sounds like Richard is getting his wish. The story of those who survived the apocalypse and became the Grounders was briefly explored in Season 3 of The 100, but there's plenty more backstory to delve into.
When is the prequel premiere date?
At the moment, there's no set date for the prequel. That's because the show is sort of premiering within The 100. In the seventh and final season of The 100, the prequel will get a backdoor pilot. As far as when that pilot is happening or who will be in that episode, that's being kept under wraps.
Because the show will be set 97 years before the original series, it doesn't seem likely that the original cast will be returning and, because the show was only just announced, casting may not yet be completed. The backdoor pilot may not yet be filmed either, as Season 7 of The 100 is still filming and will not wrap until March 2020.
The prequel will likely be taking the spot of The 100 on CW's lineup, so, because the show is concluding in 2020, we may see the prequel premiere in the spring of 2021. Season 7 of The 100 does not yet have a premiere date either but we can expect to see the final season, and the prequel's backdoor pilot, in the spring of 2020.
