Whenever it comes to a popular CW series, a spin-off usually follows close behind. The CW’s mystery series Nancy Drew may be gearing up for its third season but they also have a spin-off on the way. Back in October 2020, it was first announced that the CW planned to release the stand-alone series Tom Swift. Then on August 30th, the tv network made the announcement again on their Twitter page, stating that Tom Swift will be “coming soon.”
The promotional photo features actor Tian Richards aka Tom Swift, looking back, while surrounded by a jet plane, a red hot car and the fiery blast from an activated missile. Furthermore, Richards’ character first appeared in season two of Nancy Drew, on episode “The Celestial Visitor.” The upcoming series will pave the way for tv shows that promote inclusivity and diversity.
The synopsis for the show reads that Tom Swift a “black, gay billionaire inventor” will be the main star of the series. Yahoo News! acknowledged the rare occurrence of a lead character being black and gay, which helps represent the black LGBTQ community in a more positive light. Not only does the series lend a voice to the marginalized community, but it also allows Tian Richards to live his truth freely.
During an interview with TVLine, the Burden actor expressed his gratitude for the changing times, where there’s loads of opportunities available for everybody.
“At the time, that was the face of young boys, All-American kids full of possibilities . . . But in 2021, that can look so different. It can look like someone like me — a Black guy who is chocolate, who is queer, who is all those things that we’re told aren’t the normal or the status quo,” Richards told TVLine.
In addition, the actor noted that Tom Swift would explore “a queer boy’s journey into becoming a queer man. Not just learning self-acceptance.” Actor Tian Richards relates to his character Tom Swift on so many levels.
On a lighter note, Tom Swift will keep fans on their toes the entire time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Swift is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father. Tom takes to the road on a quest to unravel the truth, leaving behind the comforts of his usual moneyed lifestyle while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group hell-bent on stopping him.” Even though many CW shows get a bad rep, Tom Swift might actually be worth a watch.
Furthermore, the series will be similar to the Nancy Drew show, where it’ll be based solely off of 20th century mystery novels. Additionally, Tom Swift will draw material from earlier and current book adaptions of the title character. Variety reported that the character appeared in several novels since 1910. Most recently, well-known publishing house Simon & Schuster published a “Tom Swift” series back in 2019. Clearly, the character has a huge fandom and loads of promotion. He even has his own book series.
Speaking of fandoms, the fans and even the stars themselves can’t stop raving about the upcoming series all over social media. Both Nancy Drew actors Kennedy McMann and Tian Richards took to their social media pages to spread the good news. While McMann tweeted on August 30th that “it’s a good day in the neighborhood”, Richards himself expressed his excitement at his own spin-off series on his Instagram page.
Of course, the entire team behind the Nancy Drew series couldn’t contain their excitement over Tom Swift. In fact, the Nancy Drew showrunner Melinda Hsu Taylor and series creators Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, all hoped on board to make the spin-off a reality.
Moreover, Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau and Cameron Johnson will all co-create the show. Additionally, they’ll act as executive producers alongside Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and Lis Rowinski of Fake Empire. Furthermore, CBS Studios will produce Tom Swift in association with Fake Empire, which is currently under a “broadcast-only overall deal” at the studio.
In regular speech, that means the Nancy Drew spin-off has been set to schedule as straight-to-series. There’s no guessing whether or not the spin-off will happen or waiting around for a possible cancellation.
The CW network has agreed to broadcast the show immediately. Unfortunately, no series premiere date has been listed at this time. Though, Variety did provide that the Nancy Drew spin-off will debut during the 2021-2022 broadcast season. Be sure to catch the action-packed Tom Swift. More importantly, watch to see black LGBTQ history being made.