‘The Republic Of Sarah’ CW Pilot Casts Stella Baker As Its Lead

Stella Baker (Tell Me Your Secrets) is set as the titular lead in the CW drama pilot The Republic of Sarah, from writer-producer Jeffrey Paul King, Marc Webb, CBS TV Studios and studio-based Fulwell 73.

Baker landed her first starring role after testing for the part alongside several other young actresses. The project was redeveloped by the CW this season after going to pilot at CBS last season with Sarah Drew as the title character.

Almost immediately following her 2018 graduation from the Yale School of Drama, Baker was cast as a series regular on TNT’s drama Tell Me Your Secrets, fka Deadlier Than the Male. That series is yet to air on TNT — or HBO Max — and its future is unclear. The cast of the project, which was picked up to series two years ago, has been released, and The Republic of Sarah has Baker in first position.

Written by King, in The Republic of Sarah, faced with the destruction of her town at the hands of a greedy mining company, rebellious high school history teacher Sarah Cooper (Baker) utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence. Now Sarah must lead a young group of misfits as they attempt to start their own country from scratch.

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Baker’s Sarah is a quintessential New Hampshirite: friendly, fiercely loyal and always willing to lend a hand. Although hesitant to be in the spotlight at first, Sarah finds the courage to step up and fight back against an external force that threatens to destroy her beloved community.

King executive produces with Webb, Mark Martin and Fulwell 73’s Jeff Grosvenor and Leo Pearlman. CBS Television Studios is the studio.

Baker also co-wrote, produced and starred in the short film Candace, which made its premiere and won best film at the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. Baker is repped by Untitled Entertainment and UTA.

Baker follows a long tradition by the CW and predecessor the WB of breaking new talent as the leads of their series.