Executive Producers Jennifer Levin (Felicity) and Sherri Cooper (Brothers and Sisters) sat down with us today at a roundtable interview to talk about CBS Television Studios’ exciting new fall series, Beauty and the Beast, starring Kristin Kreuk as tough NYPD detective Catherine Chandler and Jay Ryan as Vincent Keller, a former Afghanistan veteran with a terrifying secret.  The highly anticipated series is a modern-day reimagining of the 1980’s cult classic CBS television show and will premiere on the CW on October 11^th.

The producing duo told us how they set about developing the series for a new generation inspired by an idea that came from new entertainment chief, Mark Pedowitz.  They explained how they were drawn to the concept of a modern day Beast with a bad boy image, why Kreuk was always their first choice for the role of Catherine Chandler, and how Ryan’s character will only get ‘beastier’ as the story advances and more triggers are revealed.  They also discussed the challenges of striking a balance with a female lead who is a very capable detective but struggles with accepting someone who wants to protect them and why they believe the classic story still resonates today because it’s timeless and deals with forbidden love and yearning.  Check out our recap of the Beauty and the Beast panel and hit the jump for the interview.

With Smallville all wrapped up, the lovely Kristin Kreuk found herself without a show. But thankfully, her longtime home at The CW found something to keep her around on the small screen as Deadline reports she has been set to take the lead role in the network’s new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, a modern-day, procedural twist on the classic tale. In this new version, the potential series will follow Catherine (Kreuk) as a tough-minded NYPD homicide detective haunted by witnessing her mother’s murder nine years ago and the killers’ quick demise at the hands of a Beast. After years of searching, Catherine finally finds the Beast, Vincent Koslow, the survivor of a military experiment that went disastrously wrong, and becomes the protector of his secret life as a superhero.

We already know Jennifer Levin and Sherri Cooper (Brothers and Sisters) are attached as the head writers, to produce alongside Paul Witt, C. Anthony Thomas, Ron Koslow, and Bill Haber. Now Gary Fleder (Runaway Jury, Don’t Say a Word) is slated to direct the pilot. The concept is intriguing, but using the Beauty and the Beast title seems like a bit of a gimmick since not much beyond the pilot will resemble the original series or the classic tale. The question remains as to who will play the Beast. Stay tuned.