TV Review: Nancy Drew Will See You Now
If Riverdale did its own version of Veronica Mars, and she moved to Sabrina’s Greendale, we would get Nancy Drew. Horseshoe Bay might as well be a town over from Pennywise’s Derry with its balance of humanity and creepiness. Moreover, this Nancy Drew is fiercely smart but she is far from perfect.
Premiering October 9, at 9PM on The CW, Nancy Drew erases the “cookie-cutter” nature of the childhood heroine. Kennedy McMann still makes Nancy tenacious, intelligent, and loyal to finding the truth. Yet, she has her issues: both familial and in determining her dreams. She is not in college, though she wants to go to Colombia University, and is haunted by her mother’s loss. Moreover, from friends to co-workers, she has no idea who she can trust or what she wants from them. In a way, her case feels clearer to her than her life, but what murder mystery wouldn’t right?
Nancy Drew | First Look Trailer | The CW
From the onset, Nancy Drew sets that it is both dark and young: a teenaged, 2019 version of “Murder She Wrote” and audiences will buy it, especially because Nancy feels like Riverdale’s Jughead. The latter character is clearly a fave amongst CW’s fan-favorite show: an outcast with bigger dreams and brains than his underestimating, homicidal town. This series premiere feels like the CW picked up this element from Riverdale and turned it into a promising show. Think if Jughead was the solo lead in a supernatural, Law & Order episode. That would be AWESOME!
Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (creators of the Ultimate Teen, Pop Culture shows The O.C and Gossip Girl) know how to take a batch of good-looking kids and put them through the ringer. Like most tv shows based on teen’s lives, you might ask, “Where are the adults and why are the few known ones plotting against these kids?” You will definitely get those vibes with each adult character, even ones working for law enforcement or Scott Wolf’s Carson Drew. In some ways, every CW show has a mistrust of authority and adults’ benevolent intentions, which WORKS for her teenaged audience. I can’t recall a time where you wish more that “the elders” of your life backed off and let you do your thing, which Nancy does.
Nancy Drew | Answers Trailer | The CW
What I loved about Nancy Drew, in the books, transferred perfectly to this series: she does not take “NO!” for an answer. Through voice-over, McMann delves into a psyche of a young woman that may not have herself figured but she can figure YOU out. Such a twist is endearing, and makes Nick (Tunji Kasim), George (Leah Lewis), Bess (Maddison Jaizani), and Ace (Alex Saxon) have a push/pull dynamic with the unlicensed detective. From grudges to secret lives, it is the younger characters carrying scandals that won’t let them overcome or leave this crazy town. Each one is filled with so much personality and back-story, especially because they have passed the high-school era. They are a batch of “in-betweeners;” not quite sure where life goes when you do not follow the social plans and pressures placed upon you. The biggest symbol of this truth comes in the mystery of Lucy Sable’s death.
The series premieres with two deaths that Nancy is investigating, but the Lucy Sable case is the highlight of the series. It gives Sabrina Spellman has lunch with Stephen King spookiness and I AM HERE FOR IT! With the solidity and heart of its lead, you want to see Nancy Drew delve into ghosts and haunted houses. WHY NOT! Nancy Drew premieres on The CW at 9PM.
