Felicia Day

Last January, Drew Barrymore made her interest in making a third Charlie’s Angels movie public. Slight change of plans. Now, she’d like to update the old TV show for ABC. A rep for Sony Pictures Television confirms that the network is close to ordering a pilot of the reboot, which Barrymore would develop with Leonard Goldberg, who produced the original series with Aaron Spelling, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles‘ Josh Friedman, who’s been tapped to write and exec produce.

The challenges facing the team are many: Though we all seem to get excited about action shows centered on ass-kicking woman, Nielsen families don’t. Fox canned Terminator and now Dollhouse, NBC made Chuck earn its renewal in Subway sandwiches. As we’ve seen (hello, Knight Rider), nostalgia will get you buzz, but it alone won’t keep viewers coming back week after week. Then there’s casting, which will set the tone for the show. Here’s hoping they’ll be looking for women in their late 20s or 30s (as the original did). It’s so much more appealing, for me at least, to think about watching women play detective rather than girls.

My colleague Michael Slezak was quick to offer his dream cast: Dirty Sexy Money’s Natalie Zea, who played Karen Darling; Alias‘ Merrin Dungey, who played Francie; and Secret Diary of a Call Girl’s leading lady Billie Piper. I’d keep Zea, and add Terminator Salvation’s Moon Bloodgood, and, in the Kate Jackson role, Claire Danes. Word was she was being courted last pilot season. (UPDATE: If Danes won’t bite, I’d go with one of the reader suggestions below: Felicia Day. I should have thought of that. Love her.)