Ilene Chaiken Takes Helm on CW's 'Confessions of a Backup Dancer'

Ilene Chaiken, the notorious force behind Showtime's hit drama The L Word, will be heading back to network television with a new series for the CW. Loosely inspired by the teen book of the same name, Confessions of a Backup Dancer will explore the lives of backup dancers on the road with a pop star.

Chaiken already has one new show in the works, a new Showtime series titled The Real L Word: Los Angeles, a reality TV spin-off of The L Word featuring a group of 'real' lesbians in L.A. Like it wasn’t bad enough to have to compare ourselves to the larger-than-life L Word ladies, now we get to do it with actual live Hollywood lesbians.

Now, apparently, Chaiken will also be returning back to network TV to head The CW's new drama, Confessions of a Backup Dancer, adapted from the Alloy Entertainment novel which “explores the glamorous and gritty behind-the-scenes world of a major pop tour from the point of view of the star’s troupe of backing dancers.”

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If it sounds like an odd choice for Chaiken, let's not forget she worked under B-television guru Aaron Spelling for years. This is the lady who prior to The L Word counted Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Barb Wire among her credits. So a cheesy CW drama is probably right up her alley. After all, you can only skim the cream off of your own sordid lesbian life for so long.

Chaiken will be writing for Confessions and serving as executive producer along with Les Morgenstein and Bob Levy - the guys also behind the helm of the new CW series The Vampire Diaries. Considering how badly the Confessions of a Backup Dancer book itself has been bashed by various critics, it almost seems doomed even before it airs. Then again, lots of people thought The L Word would never make it past the first season. So you never know with Chaiken holding on to the reins.

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