Original ‘Nancy Drew’ passes torch to TV’s newest version
BEVERLY HILLS >> Pamela Sue Martin, TV’s original Nancy Drew, has passed the torch to the actress playing the latest incarnation of the teenage sleuth.
Martin will appear on The CW’s remake that blends mystery, suspense, a supernatural element and a bit of horror. She got her big break on “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries” with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson in the late 1970s.
Martin wrote a letter to Kennedy McMann, who at 22 is getting her big break on the remake a year after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University.
“It’s, like, tear-stained. I cried when I read it,” McMann told a TV critics gathering on Sunday. “It had a lot to do just with the industry and standing up for oneself and making your own decisions and how to kind of transition into a role like this and the repercussions of that in Hollywood. It was very thoughtful.”
Martin quit the original after one season when her role was reduced with the merger of the two shows. But she was thrilled to be asked to appear in the remake. “She came so prepared,” director Larry Teng said. “She was a real huge contributor.”
While some of the characters and mystery theme resemble the original, McMann’s Nancy Drew has sex.
“We’re making the show for The CW and that audience,” executive producer Stephanie Savage said. “The little ones know that this show isn’t for them, and they’re going to have to wait until they’re older.”
Scott Wolf, who plays the sleuth’s father, Carson, joked, “I was just hearing about this sex thing for the first time. We’ll talk later.”
McMann, the daughter of young adult author Lisa McMann, grew up reading the Nancy Drew series of books, but she didn’t reread them in preparation for the role.
‘The Rookie’ star alleges sexual harassment, discrimination
NEW YORK >> Afton Williamson, star of the ABC crime series “The Rookie,” says she’s quitting the show because of sexual harassment and racial discrimination she experienced during the show’s first season.
In an Instagram post Sunday, Williamson said throughout the filming of the show’s pilot, “I experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department.” She said the treatment worsened when she was sexually harassed by a recurring guest star, bullied by executive producers and ultimately was sexually assaulted by a crew member at a wrap party.
Representatives for ABC did not respond to messages Sunday.
A representative for Williamson didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking further details on the actress’s claims, or whether the alleged sexual assault was reported to the police.