The series was adapted for the CW by Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz, and Stephanie Savage and is produced by CBS Studios, in association with Fake Empire.

The series is narrated and led by the amateur sleuth Nancy Drew, played by Kennedy McMann, and features an ensemble cast with reimagined versions of the characters from the books: Leah Lewis as George Fan, Maddison Jaizani as Bess Marvin, Tunji Kasim as Ned Nickerson, and Alex Saxon as Ace.

It also stars Scott Wolf as Carson Drew and Alvina August and Riley Smith as new characters invented for the series.

[2][3][4] After putting off applying to Columbia University to deal with the loss of her mother, eighteen-year-old Nancy Drew gets entangled in the investigation of town socialite Tiffany Hudson's murder.

She and the employees of the Claw, the restaurant at which she works — prickly manager George Fan, worldly and polished waitress Bess Marvin, laidback dishwasher Ace, and mechanic Ned "Nick" Nickerson, whom she is having a no-strings-attached fling with — reluctantly ally to clear their names of suspicion.

[5] In September 2018, the CW announced that Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage were developing a new Nancy Drew series.

[3] In early 2019, the pilot was cast with Kennedy McMann as the title character,[6][8] Tunji Kasim as Ned "Nick" Nickerson,[9] Alex Saxon as Ace,[8] Leah Lewis as George,[8] Maddison Jaizani as Bess,[8] and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Nancy's father, Carson Drew.

[25] Principal photography for the first season began on July 22, 2019, and was expected to end on April 7, 2020, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The website's critical consensus reads, "An appealing aesthetic and promising ensemble can't quite manage to liven up Nancy Drew, an overly broody and unfortunately bland mystery that follows too closely in the footsteps of the shows it aspires to be.

Entitled Nancy Drew: The Curse it was written by Micol Ostow and served as a prequel to the show's events.

[60] Later that month, Marquise Vilsón, April Parker Jones, and Albert Mwangi joined the regular cast in the roles of Isaac Vega, Lorraine Swift, and Rowan, respectively.