'Nancy Drew': A Riverdale Remake or Something More?

In recent years, The CW has saturated the TV market with shows filled with beautiful people and less-than-engaging storylines. With its mix of superhero spin-offs and teen romantic dramedies, one of the greatest challenges this network has faced is crafting narratives that don’t rely solely on the sex-appeal of their cast. This phenomenon peaked with the emergence and cult-like popularity of “Riverdale.” In the first season, the story of Jason Blossom’s murder captivated audiences while the hot bodies of Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper added sex appeal. As the seasons have worn on, the plots have thinned and more clothes have come off. With the entirety of the Archie comics as reference, it shouldn't have been difficult to cultivate thrilling stories. The CW recently brought another classic story, “Nancy Drew,” to the screen with the hope of finding the proper balance between intriguing stories and the usual cast of attractive actors.

Based on the premiere, the trajectory of the show is still largely up in the air. With its intro showing the broken history of the town and setting the stage for what will be Nancy’s great mysteries and adventures, “Nancy Drew” does a fair job of enticing the audience and raising thoughtful questions. Sadly, this introduction is a poor imitation of what was initially shown in “Riverdale.” The slow pan across what appears to be a typical, cute little town nestled up against a happy body of water is less effective knowing its a copy, a mere sliver of David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” – the ultimate reference for these teen drama mystery shows. Overall, this is symptomatic of the introduction being a dupe of the more exciting and tantalizing one of “Riverdale,” now going into its fourth season.

Following a lackluster introduction to the town of Horseshoe Bay, the mood and the entire approach of the show changes. “Nancy Drew” quickly transitions from an imitation to its own independent show. There is no doubt that it is still a distinctly CW-esque show with moody lighting and an incredibly attractive cast set one year out of high school, but the show moves past this to gradually introduce the characters. The audience meets Nancy Drew, played by Kenny McMann, while she and her not-quite-boyfriend Ned “Nick” Nickerson, played by Tunji Kasim, are getting intimate before work. Clearly, this show aims to show how Nancy works through the pain and heartbreak of the untimely death of her mother during her senior year in high school. It attempts to show the real, human side of the famous girl detective so many knew and loved growing up.

With the location of the story well-established (albeit poorly) and the title character authentically introduced, the rest of the show follows suit with casual introductions and laughable dialogue. With Nancy taking a year before going to college because of her mother’s death, she begins work with former classmates at The Claw, a local diner which may or may not resemble Pop’s Chock’lit Shop in “Riverdale.” Little does she know that this diner will lead to her return to old hobby: sleuthing, a part of herself that died with her mother. It quickly becomes clear that the mysterious death of a well-to-do woman will haunt Nancy and her crew as well as stir up the history of the town’s annual Sea Queen, Horseshoe Bay’s take on high school homecoming or prom queen. The episode serves well to set the stage for a season of shenanigans and mischief.

“Nancy Drew” appears to be living in the shadow of The CW’s other successes, but if the tantalizing mystery and well-loved roots are respected, the show could very easily move to join the network’s repertoire of popular shows. With a traditionally beautiful cast of characters and what could grow into a great story, the show has promise even if the first iteration of the series wasn’t pure 24 karat gold.