EXCLUSIVE: The Vampire Diaries‘ Rick Cosnett and Danielle Panabaker (Shark) are set to co-star opposite Grant Gustin and Jesse L. Martin in the CW pilot The Flash, based on the DC comic. The project, from Warner Bros TV and Berlanti Productions, is an origin story about Barry Allen aka The Flash (Gustin), a Central City assistant police forensics investigator who arrives in Starling to look into a series of unexplained robberies that may have a connection to a tragedy in his past. Cosnett plays star Detective Eddie Thawne, a recent transfer to the Central City Police Department, whose past is a mystery and who harbors a dark secret. Panabaker plays Caitlin Snow, a highly intelligent bioengineering expert who lost her fiancé during an explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs. Originally envisioned as a backdoor pilot episode of Arrow, Flash will now film a regular pilot directed by David Nutter, a move clearly geared toward a series pickup.

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Cosnett, who is recurring heavily on the CW flagship drama Vampire Diaries as Doc. Wes Maxfield, is repped by Resolution, managers Martin Berneman and Meghan Schumacher, and attorney Derek Kroeger. The CW has a tradition of taking actors who have popped as guest stars on one of its established series and cast them in a pilot. That happened with Arrow star Stephen Amell who previously did arcs on both The Vampire Diaries and 90210. Panabaker, repped by UTA and John Carrabino, had a recurring role on Justified.