Nancy Drew appeals to those who read the popular book series and those who like a good mystery. No matter how much time passes, the young detective will always be an appealing part of popular culture, and a new adaptation will always make sense.
Thirteen episodes of the CW drama have aired so far, and that’s definitely enough time to figure out the strengths and flaws of this series. Here are five reasons to binge-watch Nancy Drew and five reasons to skip it entirely.
Binge: Nancy Is Still A Great Detective
A TV adaptation of Nancy Drew needs an actress who can explore the character’s love of solving mysteries while bringing something fresh and new. Kennedy McMann does that in spades as she makes this version of Nancy vulnerable, strong, intelligent, and interesting.
Nancy is the kind of person who makes people stop and stare when she walks into a room, and she can figure out someone’s true nature and intentions in mere seconds. Since the character is still a great detective and one worth watching, that’s one reason to binge-watch this show.
Skip: The Romance Leaves Something To Be Desired
A good TV drama needs romance and a teen drama needs even more of it. Unfortunately, the relationships on Nancy Drew don’t really measure up to the great love stories of shows like Dawson’s Creek and Beverly Hills, 90210. While the pilot sets up an intriguing and complicated storyline featuring Nancy and Ned (Tunji Kasim), it doesn’t feel like they have enough scenes together for viewers to really get a clear picture of whether they’re meant to be.
Hopefully, since the show has gotten a season two renewal, that will give Nancy and Ned some more screen time, and their relationship will be developed more. Until then, this is a reason to skip the series.
Binge: The Drew Crew Is Great
On the other hand, Nancy Drew is an awesome binge-watch because of the Drew Crew (aka the people that Nancy hangs out with). These characters are diverse and fascinating: stubborn and smart George (Leah Lewis), secretive and stylish Bess (Maddison Jaizani), sweet Ace (Alex Saxon), and of course, Nancy and Ned.
The success of this show definitely hangs on this friend group since Nancy needs people to help her solve the various cases. Thankfully, this crew is a lot of fun.
Skip: The Supernatural Parts Feel A Little Silly And Lame
Nancy Drew deserves to be skipped thanks to the silly and lame supernatural parts, which can be a huge distraction from the main mystery of who murdered Tiffany Hudson.
Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a small town with creepy characters and secrets. That can be done super well. The problem is that Nancy and her friends seem to just accept that there are ghosts in this town, and since Nancy and George feel like pragmatic people, that’s a bit confusing.
Binge: The Claw Is The Perfect Hang-Out
Nancy Drew takes place in the small town of Horseshoe Bay and this environment pays off big time for the TV drama. Nancy and her friends work at an old-fashioned diner called The Claw and it couldn’t be a more flawless hang-out.
Like Luke’s on Gilmore Girls where Lorelai and Rory grab coffee and burgers (and all matter of baked goods), or The Peach Pit on Beverly Hills, 90210 where the gang celebrates the ups and mourns the downs of life, The Claw is a solid hang-out. This is one reason to binge the show as viewers will want to grab a table and try the specials.
Skip: The Pacing Feels A Bit Off
Now that the first season of Nancy Drew is in full swing, it feels like the pacing is a little off. Some dramas will have a major mystery and then the characters will solve some smaller ones in a “case of the week” formula. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. One good example of a series that embraces this formula is Veronica Mars.
On Nancy Drew, fans want to know who killed Tiffany Hudson… but whether Nancy and her friends are finding important coins, Ace is in a coma, or George’s younger sister goes missing, it feels like a lot of the narrative isn’t focused on the main mystery.
Binge: Nancy Wonders If Her Dad Murdered Someone
Is there anything more dramatic than a teenage girl thinking than her own dad murdered someone? Around the halfway point of season one, Nancy starts getting super concerned about the part that her dad, Carson Drew (Scott Wolf), could have played in Lucy Sable’s murder.
This is one reason to binge the show, as it’s fun and entertaining to wonder if Carson is a good guy or not. At the end of the ninth episode “The Hidden Staircase,” Nancy sees Carson get arrested, and it’s a crazy moment.
Skip: Nancy Seems Stuck In Horseshoe Bay
The pilot explains that Nancy meant to say goodbye to Horseshoe Bay and go to college but she’s still here, and the fact that she seems totally stuck is where the show fails a bit in terms of storytelling.
It makes sense to keep Nancy at home as this allows her to solve mysteries and if she was off at college, there would really be no show at all. But there should be a better explanation than simply saying that she’s home for a while. This was a problem that the latter seasons of Pretty Little Liars had as the series found random reasons to explain the liars still being in Rosewood despite being able to move far, far away.
Binge: The Dialogue Is Clever And Funny
Definitely binge Nancy Drew as the dialogue is clever and funny. It’s easy to ignore the supernatural stuff that doesn’t always seem super logical when the characters are so witty.
For example, Tiffany Hudson, the socialite whose murder kicks off the season, says, “This place isn’t the Hamptons. No, it’s not the Vineyard. Do you remember that town in Jaws? Yeah, it’s like that, but with no shark. At least the shark made things exciting.”
Skip: A Juicy Storyline Is Left Hanging
It’s pretty wild to learn that Ryan Hudson (Riley Smith), Tiffany’s husband, and George had an affair. And yet as the season progresses, there isn’t a lot of talk about this.
Since this juicy storyline is left hanging, that lessens the dramatic impact and makes viewers wonder why even make this a plot point in the first place. Hopefully some of these problems will be fixed as the series goes on because despite some of the flaws, it’s still a solid entry in the Nancy Drew universe.
