The CW’s Nancy Drew pilot has cast Freddie Prinze Jr. as Nancy’s estranged dad. Prinze was arguably one of the most well-known teen stars of the 1990s and early 2000s, starring in a host of popular rom-coms and horror films, including a stint as Fred in the Scooby-Doo live-action films and a small role on Friends.
Based on the long-running series of novels about a young girl who excels at solving mysteries, the Nancy Drew TV adaptation will follow the famous teen sleuth as she works to crack a harrowing murder case that holds her back from her first year at college. Though the books began in the 1930s as a female counterpoint to the Hardy Boys series for young male readers, the passing years have seen Nancy Drew stories updated and reinvented again and again. There is apparently much life in the character, as well as the IP, and The CW appears ready to take the famed super sleuth to new heights with her own TV series.
Though we aren’t certain of exactly when the CW’s Nancy Drew series will premiere, what we now know thanks to TV Line is that Freddie Prinze Jr. has landed a spot as Nancy’s estranged father, Carson Drew. When the character’s hectic life as an attorney is put on hold due to the death of his wife, Carson finds himself back in his daughter’s life once more. Unfortunately for Nancy, however, her father’s return threatens to uncover dark secrets from his past.
The CW’s Nancy Drew series came about after much indecision on the part of both CBS and NBC, who tried, but were ultimately unable to get a Nancy Drew TV adaptation off the ground. The eventual announcement that The CW would be taking on Nancy Drew came just a few months after Warner Bros. revealed that they would be releasing a feature film adaptation, entitled Nancy Drew and The Hidden Staircase. The film, starring IT’s Sophia Lillis as the titular character, comes 12 years after Warner Bros.’s initial failed attempt to put Nancy Drew on the big screen. Avoiding the temptation to re-imagine Nancy as an adult - as was the plan of NBC and CBS - both the TV series and the upcoming film keep the character in her teenage years.
Though Nancy Drew hasn’t found much success at the box office or on TV in the past, now just might be the time for the clever sleuth. Audiences and what they want to see are changing, and the lengthy history behind this character has the potential to better help it navigate those changes. Ahead of her time since the moment she was introduced, it could very well be that a new generation of fans will take to Nancy Drew and help provide the modern recognition she deserves.
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Source: TV Line
