In a surprise twist of date, the “Hardy Boys” series is quickly becoming a new favorite teenage mystery/drama of mine. When the CW originally debuted the new series of “Nancy Drew,” I was so excited! If you grew up reading Nancy Drew, then you were probably pretty excited too! But they lost me as a viewer in the very first episode when they decided to make Nancy Drew a promiscuous delinquent and focus the show entirely around creepy supernatural encounters. I guess with the absence of their former fan-favorite “Supernatural” this was the direction they chose. Which was a bummer when I had been hoping for some classic sleuthing either set decades back or brought into today’s society—either model would have been okay. But they chose to deviate completely from the original Nancy Drew so that their version and the one in novels share nothing more than a name.
So, a while later when Hulu dropped the premiere of “The Hardy Boys”, I was not super excited again. It came without a lot of fanfare or expectations, and I worried it might be like it’s counterpart if Nancy Drew but, I decided to give it a try anyway. The first season was pretty good—it’s a period piece so it was nice to see that they stuck with that and added a few supernatural elements, but not so much as to ruin the show. The acting was decent and I was curious about what the future held.
Fast forward to the second season of “The Hardy Boys” recently being dropped and I am definitely ready to recommend this show! It has elements of early Riverdale (before the show got too trashy and ridiculous), while also carrying on the tradition of small-town detectives, honor, and mystery. There are a few anachronisms as far as societal norms of the time, but I think this is the platform’s way of bringing the show into a space where it is still a period piece but also cognizant of what today’s society is like, so I can see how many young viewers would appreciate that.
The actors are more comfortable this season and you can really see them coming into their roles. They don’t have the same dynamics as the “Stranger Things” gang just yet but getting closer to that kind of camaraderie. There are decent bad guys. Great twists in the episode plots. There are plenty of feel-good moments along with a lot of suspense and drama. While the CW typically reigns supreme when it comes to teenage drama shows, Hulu is definitely holding its own with “The Hardy Boys”. I feel it’s far superior in its writing and characters than the Nancy Drew remake. Check it out and see for yourself! You won’t be disappointed.
