The CW has just announced several renewals for their lineup of TV shows today. Among the shows confirmed for a new season is Nancy Drew, which will be returning for a fourth season. This is according to a new report from Variety.
The series follows the famous teen sleuth, Nancy Drew, as she solves mysteries with her loyal group of friends. The character originated in a series of novels first published in the 1930s. However, the character has since evolved, being adapted into several television series and films over the nine decades since the novel's first release. The most recent adaptation, the CW's Nancy Drew series premiered in October of 2019.
The series stars Kennedy McMann who is the daughter of Lisa McMann, a Young Adult novelist. McMann's role as a YA icon is certainly fitting considering that fact. The series also stars Leah Lewis as George and Scott Wolf as Carson Drew. The series takes a different approach than previous iterations of the character and her famous mystery storylines, making Nancy herself the center of a murder investigation.
The series takes a similar approach to its source material as the soap-operatic Riverdale, which often takes tremendous liberties with its source material. Nancy Drew, like Riverdale often takes a vamped-up approach to its beloved characters, emphasizing sex and violence in an over-the-top way. Other details from characters' relationships and the story's setting have also been changed for the series.
Of the latest batch of renewals, which included Nancy Drew, Mark Pedowitz, chairman and CEO of The CW Network said, "...these scripted series...serve as the start of a solid foundation utilizing some of our most-watched series for us to build on for next year and beyond." He continued, “These dramas are also important to our overall digital strategy, as they are some of our most-streamed and socially-engaged programming, and we look forward to adding more new and returning series to help strengthen and expand our multiplatform footprint.”
The renewal of both Nancy Drew and Riverdale certainly indicates that the new, vamped-up approach to familiar properties is central to the network's strategy for moving forward. The series is created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who both previously worked on the iconic teen soaps The OC and Gossip Girl. No exact premiere date for the fourth season of the series has yet been set. Season 3 of the series concluded in January of this year.