The CW television network is developing a new period crime drama based on Samuel Marlowe, the Jamaican immigrant private investigator who inspired author Raymond Chandler’s famous fictional detective, Phillip Marlowe. Samuel Marlowe is thought to have been the first black private detective to receive a license in Los Angeles. He was born in Montego Bay in 1890 and served with Britain’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force guarding the Suez Canal during World War I. After the war, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Los Angeles where he became a private investigator. He is said to have corresponded with mystery writers Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett for many years. The drama is based on Samuel Marlowe’s career and will be set in the Los Angeles of 1937, although it will feature a contemporary soundtrack. In 1937, Los Angeles was a city that stretched from Beverly Hills mansions and red carpets to the back alleys and jazz clubs of Little Harlem. The project is still in the early stages of development, with Devon Greggory, who wrote “CSI Cyber” and “State of Affairs,” writing the scripts and acting as co-executive producer of the program with Aaron Kaplan of Kaplan Entertainment. While there is no guarantee that “Marlowe” will actually be shown on the network, if it does become a series on the CW, it would be the network’s first to feature a central black character. The CW announced its new project following the publication of the “Network Diversity Scorecard,” which rated The CW as one of the worst of the “big five” television networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW) in terms of diversity programming.