Nancy Drew Spinoff Centered on Tom Swift Eyed at The CW; Iconic Inventor Is Now Black, Gay Billionaire
The CW is developing a Nancy Drew spinoff and — twist! — it’s not centered on The Hardy Boys!
TVLine has learned that a potential new series centered on iconic inventor Tom Swift is being eyed at the network, albeit with a huge (and super-cool) asterisk attached: The formerly white, blonde and straight lead character will now be Black and gay.
Tom Swift follows the “serialized adventures of the billionaire inventor who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father. Tom takes to the road on a quest to unravel the truth, leaving behind the comforts of his usual moneyed lifestyle, all while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group hell-bent on stopping him. Tom’s missions will require his genius and flair for innovation guided by love, romance, friendship and the mysteries of the universe yet-unsolved.”
The Tom Swift character will appear in an episode of Nancy Drew‘s upcoming second season. Plans are for Tom to crash into one of Nancy’s investigations, an event which Nancy interprets as supernatural and Tom believes to be cosmically paranormal.
Melinda Hsu Taylor and Noga Landau, showrunner and co-creator of Nancy Drew respectively, co-created the project with Cameron Johnson (Empire), and will write and executive produce. The project hails from uber producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.
Like the Nancy Drew books, the Tom Swift book series hails from Stratemeyer Syndicate, which also publishes the Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins books.
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