'Nancy Drew' star Alvina August on how her character Karen Hart draws similarities with Drew's caretaker in the books — Hannah Gruen
This is part 2 of an interview with Alvina August, who plays Detective Karen Hart on 'Nancy Drew'. You can read part 1 of the interview here.
Spoilers ahead for Season 1 of The CW's 'Nancy Drew'
So far, Nancy Drew (Kennedy McMann) has had a rocky relationship with pretty much every adult character on the show. She is also upset with her father Carson Drew (Scott Wolf) for a plethora of reasons but mainly for dating Detective Karen Hart (Alvina August).
Nancy thinks her father moved on rather too quickly after the death of her mother and this upsets her.
"Nancy is going through a very difficult period in her life and is grieving in her own way. She sort of coming to terms with that loss," August shared with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) in an exclusive chat.
It was evident from the beginning itself that The CW was making changes to the source material the show picked from namely her clashes with Carson Drew (which are almost non-existent in the books).
One of Nancy's friends, Bess' (Maddison Jaizani) apparent makeover and her sexuality are other noteworthy changes to the plot.
Detective Karen was one such character not present in the books. But Alvina August points out to similarities her character shares with one from the books — Hannah Gruen.
"I actually have yet to confirm this with the writer," she tells us and adds, "but I suspect that Karen is very similar to the housekeeper of the Drews — Hannah Gruen."
August points out that just like Gruen in the books, Karen is set to take the role of a caretaker for Nancy. "She is constantly checking in with Nancy to make sure she's doing okay."
Karen's profile as a detective is only going to help Nancy going forward — not that it already hasn't. "Karen's in a position where she can help Nancy's in a lot of ways where Nancy doesn't necessarily have access."
"But I hope that their relationship eventually evolves into more once they have gotten over their personal kinks. I really feel like, in a lot of ways, Karen is always looking out for Nancy [much like Hannah Gruen]," shares the actor.
Karen has had Nancy's back on two occasions, where she finds her hat at the crime scene and doesn't think twice before bringing it back to her because she knows that the law doesn't always protect the innocent.
The second instance is when she is persuading Nancy to give the police leads on her boyfriend Nick's (Tunji Kasim) involvement in Tiffany Hudson's (Sinead Curry) murder.
While she is unaware that Nick has nothing to do with it, her intentions behind the persuasion were clean. August points out that Karen bears similarities with Nancy too.
"Karen is, in a lot of ways, much like — a vigilante. She's willing and will do whatever is necessary to protect Nancy," August adds. 'Nancy Drew' airs on Wednesdays at 9 pm ET/PT.
