CBS Orders Pilot for Nancy Drew TV Series

CBS has ordered a pilot for a new television series called Drew, which will be based off of the popular Nancy Drew mystery book series.

The title character will be a little different compared to the book version. In the book series, Nancy Drew was a teenager solving mysteries in the Midwest. In the new television series, Nancy Drew will be detective in New York in hers 30s who “uses her uncanny observational skills, all while navigating the complexities of life in a modern world.”

She is also expected to be non-caucasian.

“She is diverse, that is the way she is written,” CBS president Glenn Geller stated at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “I’d be open to any ethnicity. … We’re not casting color-blind, we’re casting color-conscious. It’s not ‘the best actor wins,’ it’s the right roles for diversity. … It really is about being conscious of what America looks like. It is always going to change, it’s going to evolve, and we’re aware of that, which is why we’re making efforts every year to get more diverse.”

Joan Rather and Tony Phelan, who produced Grey’s Anatomy, will pen the pilot and serve as executive producers along with Dan Jinks. Jinks will also direct.

The character of Nancy Drew first appeared in books in 1930, followed by films, TV shows, and video games over the past few decades.