CW orders ‘The Flash,’ ‘iZombie’ and others; renews three more dramas

Budding superheros, virgins, zombies and an apocalypse -- oh my! The CW is adding four new series to its lineup in the 2014-15 season. And it’s bringing back “The 100,” Beauty and the Beast” and “Hart of Dixie.”

The network has picked up “The Flash,” “Jane the Virgin,” “The Messengers” and “iZombie” for the upcoming season.

“The Flash,” perhaps the network’s more buzzed-about pilots, is the origin story of fast-moving superhero Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash. A spinoff of the network’s hit superhero drama, “Arrow,” the series stars Grant Gustin as the boy wonder. “Arrow’s” Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and David Nutter will serve as executive producers, and Geoff Johns as writer.

The genre-adventures continue with “iZombie,” which tells the story of a medical student turned zombie who takes a job in the coroner’s office to gain access to the brains she must feed on to sustain herself. The hitch: Calories aren’t the problem, it’s the corpses’ memories she has to content with. Serving as executive producers are some “Veronica Mars” alums: Diane Ruggiero, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Danielle Stokdyk.

The network has also picked up the apocaylpse-themed drama “The Messengers.” The story centers on a group of seemingly unconnected strangers who die after a mysterious object plummets to Earth. They awaken to learn they have been deemed responsible for preventing the impending apocalypse. Feature producer Basil Iwanyk (“The Clash Of The Titans” franchise) will serve as an executive producer along with Ted Humphrey (“The Good Wife”).

And what would a new TV season be without a new female soap on the CW? “Jane the Virgin,” a drama based on the Venezuelan telenovela “Juana la Virgen,” centers on a hardworking religious girl who, due to a string of outrageous events, is accidentally artificially inseminated.

The additions to CW’s lineup come as the network just passed a year where they finally cracked Tuesdays with the combo of “Vampire Diaries” spin-off “The Originals” and nine-year vet “Supernatural.” Can they keep the momentum going?

And joining previously announced returning series “Arrow,” “Supernatural,” “The Originals,” “Reign,” “The Vampire Diaries” for the forthcoming season is this year’s midseason entry, “The 100,” along with “Hart of Dixie” and “Beauty and the Beast.”