'Nancy Drew' star Tunji Kasim talks about his mysterious character, chemistry with Nancy and show's return in 2020
May contain spoilers for 'Nancy Drew'
When Tunji Kasim got on board 'Nancy Drew' as Ned 'Nick' Nickerson, he was aware that fans of the books were skeptical of how the sleuthing world of Nancy Drew would be brought alive in The CW show. "It's inevitable that people are going to be protective of Nancy Drew that has been a part of their lives," he tells MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) during an exclusive chat.
Yet, in over two months since the show first premiered, it has garnered a following that has grown to love the channel's unique fusion of supernatural and crime mystery, offering the "perfect combination of mystery and supernatural", in Kasim's words.
Nancy Drew opens with the mysterious murder of Tiffany Hudson (Sinead Curry). The first suspect is, in fact, Kasim's Nick, who had served prison time for manslaughter as a juvenile. When his character is introduced in the show, there is very little we know about him apart from his run with the law — we couldn't tell if he could be trusted. And neither did Kasim.
"When I first read Nick, I didn't know which direction we were going to take for him — good or bad — and I suppose that was interesting," he points out. This was perhaps the same reason that Kasim's character is a fan favorite — they had no clue who he was.
His character is also not written in the same way as the books. For one, Nick is actually called Ned. But the reason for this change was solely practical — "Ned is quite a 1930s name; not many young people are called Ned these days," he quips. This isn't confirmed directly from the writers and Kasim makes a mental note to ask the writers.
With time, it is revealed that Nick is the good guy caught in a bad situation, and is "just trying to make the most of his life".
So when Nick meets Nancy (Kennedy McMann), sparks fly. The sweet chemistry is, unfortunately, quickly deteriorated eight episodes in and they break up. "Nick and Nancy are in different points in their life and they just want different things," Kasim tells us. As the Drew Crew finds itself more and more involved with the murders in Horseshoe Bay, Nancy has her hands full. Determined and single-minded, Kasim points out that "once she gets on a case, it takes up all of her attention and she just dives forward".
On the contrary, Nick, owing to his life experiences, "is more guarded and careful about getting mixed up in things lest they jeopardize his life. He wants Nancy's attention and a certain commitment from her."
The show went on its winter break on December 11, 2019. Kasim is cautious to not give away a lot without spoiling it for the fans — and breaching his contract — "There might be a bit more development between Nick and George (Leah Lewis). At the same time, things get a wee bit complicated between Nick and Nancy. We are also going to see a lot more ghosts and a lot more otherworldly stuff," he promises.
While he can't tell us more than this, he assures that "if you liked what came in the first half of the season, you'll love what comes in the second half".
'Nancy Drew' airs on The CW on Wednesdays at 9 pm ET/PT. Following the winter break, it will return in 2020.