Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is a upcoming American fantasy-drama series that was created by writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, along with producers Zack Estrin and Jane Espenson for ABC Studios. The program is a spin-off of Once Upon a Time and will air on ABC as a Thursday night entry in the 2013–14 television season.

The series is based around the Lewis Carroll fairytale classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but with a different twist from the other adaptations and takes place in the same universe as Once Upon a Time in present-day Wonderland, with flashbacks to pre-Curse Wonderland. As such, it is expected to follow the same setting as the parent series, including the use of Disney and Lost related allusions. In addition, the series will have crossover episodes with Once Upon a Time that will also involve a connection with the characters that are trapped in Storybrooke, Maine.

Premise
In Victorian London, the young and beautiful Alice tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole. An invisible cat, a hookah smoking caterpillar and playing cards that talk are just some of the fantastic things she’s seen during this impossible adventure. Surely this girl must be insane and her doctors aim to cure her with a treatment that will make her forget everything. Alice seems ready to put it all behind her — especially the painful memory of the genie she fell in love with and lost forever, the handsome and mysterious Cyrus — but deep down she knows this world is real and just in the nick of time, the sardonic Knave of Hearts and the irrepressible White Rabbit save her from a doomed fate.

Cast

 * Sophie Lowe as Alice
 * Michael Socha as The Knave of Hearts
 * Peter Gadiot as Cyrus
 * Emma Rigby as The Red Queen
 * John Lithgow as the voice of The White Rabbit

Production and casting
In February 2013, Kitsis and Horowitz, along with producers Zack Estrin and Jane Espenson, developed a spin-off focusing on Lewis Carroll's Wonderland. The show will include new characters, such as "Amahl, described as exotic, soulful and optimistic; and The Knave, a sardonic adventurer, a man of action, a loner and a heart-breaker." On March 28, 2013, it was announced that Sophie Lowe would portray the lead role of Alice. It was also announced that Peter Gadiot would play her love interest, Cyrus, who has "a background". Michael Socha will portray the Knave of Hearts. Barbara Hershey, who has appeared as Cora, the Queen of Hearts, in the main series, may also appear in this spin-off reprising the same role. Also, during the month of April, Paul Reubens was cast as the voice of the White Rabbit and Emma Rigby was cast as the Red Queen.

On May 10, 2013, ABC announced that it had greenlit the spin-off, as well as also announcing that John Lithgow would replace Reubens as the voice of the White Rabbit. On May 14, 2013, ABC announced that the spin-off will air in the Thursday night timeslot instead of making it a fill-in for the parent series.