NANCY DREW: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)

Summary

The first in this dramatic fantasy/mystery series, based on the character created by Edward Stratemeyer, about a teenage amateur detective. In this episode, high schooler Nancy Drew is crowded as "Sea Queen," explaining that while she doesn't buy Horseshoe Bay's various ghost stories, she has developed a crime-solving "curiosity" thanks to some mysterious incidents from her childhood. When her mother dies of pancreatic cancer, a grieving Nancy abandons her college dreams and takes a job as a waitress at The Claw, a local seafood restaurant, and enjoys a casual non-relationship with one Ned "Nick" Nickerson. During the annual summer festival, wealthy Ryan Hudson and his cronies arrive at The Claw after hours, and after a momentary power outage, Nancy is shocked to find Ryan's wife Tiffany dead on the ground outside. Police Chief E.O. McGinnis interrogates The Claw's staff – Nancy, bossy manager George Fan, prissy waitress Bess Marvin and enigmatic dishwasher "Ace" – and hints that Nick too is a suspect, as he is an ex-convict.

At the urging of Detective Nancy Hart, a close friend of Nancy's mom, Nancy figures out that Tiffany's giant diamond ring was taken when she was killed, though McGinnis suggests that Nancy's mom's steep medical bills could've been her motive for murder. Later, Nancy discovers that she inadvertently recorded the crime scene, which seems to show a ghostly figure attacking Tiffany. Ace points to Lucy Sable, the 2000 Sea Queen who vanished on the night of her crowning and is now considered the town's resident ghost, though Nick agrees with Nancy that Ryan is a much more likely culprit. Determined to solve the mystery, Nancy sneaks into the Hudsons' home, though she is nearly caught by the security company and escapes with Nick, accidentally leaving her hat behind. He gently urges her to confide in him about her mother, but she refuses, reminding him that they're not emotionally involved. Back at The Claw, George confirms that the necklace Nancy found hidden in Tiffany's drawer is a mariner's good-luck charm – featuring the same seahorse symbol found on Lucy Sable's crown – and a note reveals that it was given to her by "H.G."

Nancy, Bess and George track down the town's medium, who tries to contact Tiffany in the afterlife – but it is Lucy who "appears" and orders them to "find the dress." Elsewhere, Karen tells Nancy's father Carson that she found his daughter's hat outside the Hudsons', and Nancy walks in just in time to discover that Carson has found love again with his late wife's close friend. Outraged and hurt, she storms out and goes straight to Nick, emotionally declaring that she wants to "get to know him" after all. The two share a romantic night, but when Carson spots them together, he sternly tells Nancy to stay away from him, hinting that he was Nick's lawyer in the past. Nancy, naturally, breaks into her dad's files and discovered that Nick was actually charged with manslaughter – and was convicted thanks to Tiffany's testimony, thus making Nick a prime suspect in her murder. As Nancy carefully charts out the timeline and various clues of the case, it is revealed that George is having an affair with the now-widowed Ryan and that Ace is secretly McGinnis' informant – and Bess somehow has Tiffany's ring. When the power blinks out again, Nancy is drawn into her attic, where she discovers etchings in the wall referring to Lucy's mysterious disappearance. As she finds a bloodied dress inside a trunk, she is unaware of the spectral presence behind her. Commercials deleted.

Details

NETWORK: CW, The
DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 0:43:26
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: 137717
GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Drama, police/private detective; Teenagers; Indigenous Peoples Collection
SERIES RUN: The CW - TV series, 2019-
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Melinda Hsu Taylor … Executive Producer
Lis Rowinski … Executive Producer
Josh Schwartz … Executive Producer, Developed by, Writer
Noga Landau … Executive Producer, Developed by, Writer
Stephanie Savage … Executive Producer, Developed by, Writer
Grace Gilroy … Co-Executive Producer
Larry Teng … Co-Executive Producer, Director
Jonathan C. Brody … Producer
James Baldanzi … VFX Producer
Siddhartha Khosla … Music by
Kennedy McMann … Cast, Nancy Drew
Leah Lewis … Cast, George Fan
Maddison Jaizani … Cast, Bess Marvin
Tunji Kasim … Cast, Ned "Nick" Nickerson
Alex Saxon … Cast, Ace
Alvina August … Cast, Detective Nancy Hart
Riley Smith … Cast, Ryan Hudson
Scott Wolf … Cast, Carson Drew
Adam Beach … Cast, Chief E.O. McGinnis
Sara Canning … Cast, Katherine Drew
Pamela Sue Martin … Cast, Harriet Grosset
Sinead Curry … Cast, Tiffany Hudson
Kurt Long … Cast, Ethan Gomber
Stephanie Van Dyck … Cast, Lucy Sable
Eden Summer Gilmore … Cast, 7th-Grade Nancy
Gage Marsh … Cast, Boyfriend
Jenika Rose … Cast, Nancy's Friend #1
Jasmine Vega … Cast, Nancy's Friend #2
Emma Oliver … Cast, 4-Year-Old Nancy
Will Chilton … Cast, Security Guard