The CW Aims to Refresh 'Roswell' Teen Alien Drama

'Roswell" is a sci-fi drama that aired from 1999 to 2002 on the WB network and UPN. The show followed the lives of three alien-hybrid teenagers who search for answers about their extraterrestrial identities alongside friends and blooming romantic interests. (Image credit: Everett Collection)

Get your alien aprons and Tabasco bottles ready, 'Roswell' fans — the sci-fi teen drama is getting a rebooted pilot on The CW television network.

The WB series "Roswell" first aired in 1999. It followed three extraterrestrials living as human teenagers, desperately trying to learn more about who they are and what distant planet gave them life, all while keeping their unearthly identities hidden from government agencies that wish to detain them. On Tuesday (Jan. 30), Variety reported that The CW has ordered a pilot episode of the new series.

According to the article, the writer and executive producer of the new, 1-hour drama series, Carina Adly MacKenzie, will expand on the outsider metaphor by exploring the topic of immigration on Earth as well..

The Vasquez Rocks in southern California were a key location site for several scenes in the 1999 "Roswell" series, and according to the Los Angeles Times, the location was also the backdrop for Capt. Kirk's battle with Gorn in the original "Star Trek" series. (Image credit: Rennett Stowe/Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

In the original story, Max, Isabel and Michael arrive on Earth as a result of the famous Roswell UFO crash event of 1947. While most people accepted the sighting as a myth, a young waitress named Liz discovers the accounts are true after Max harnesses alien powers to save her life.

The new plot will follow new characters, including the daughter of two undocumented immigrants. According to the breakdown, she reluctantly returns to Roswell, New Mexico, her former hometown and scene of the original show, where she discovers her teenage crush has been keeping his alien identity a secret all along.

Like the first run, the reboot will be based on the "Roswell High" book series by Melinda Metz.

Kevin Kelly Brown, an executive producer with the original series, will resume that role for the new installment. Amblin Television and Bender Brown Productions will produce, in association with Warner Bros. Television, whose network ran the first two seasons of 'Roswell" before the show moved to UPN for its final season.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Doris is a science journalist and Space.com contributor. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Communications at Fordham University in New York City. Her first work was published in collaboration with London Mining Network, where her love of science writing was born. Her passion for astronomy started as a kid when she helped her sister build a model solar system in the Bronx. She got her first shot at astronomy writing as a Space.com editorial intern and continues to write about all things cosmic for the website. Doris has also written about microscopic plant life for Scientific American’s website and about whale calls for their print magazine. She has also written about ancient humans for Inverse, with stories ranging from how to recreate Pompeii’s cuisine to how to map the Polynesian expansion through genomics. She currently shares her home with two rabbits. Follow her on twitter at @salazar_elin.

More about space movies shows

The new 'Doctor Who' episode 'The Well' is actually a sequel to a David Tennant classic

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 158 — Hubble's 35th Birthday

New record! 6 rockets launch in less than 24 hours

See more latest

Get the Space.com Newsletter