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Today we’re looking at the nearly 100-year-long (!?!?!?) history of the literary teen detectives, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
3:10 – The Characters
Frank Hardy – The dark-haired older Hardy brother who’s approximately 18-19 years old.
Joe Hardy – The other Hardy with blonde hair who is a year younger than Frank.
Nancy Drew – A young woman who is also in her late teens.
All three characters were created by Edward Stratemeyer, who then hired writers to write novels based on his story ideas.
9:30 – Hardy Boys Novels
The first Hardy Boys novel was published in the late 1920s with Franklin W. Dixon credited as its writer. However, Franklin W. Dixon did not exist. It was a pseudonym used by multiple ghostwriters hired by Stratemeyer. The books were an instant hit and were soon read by children nationwide, including many young girls.
15:30 – Nancy Drew Novels
Stratemeyer took notice of the book series’ success with females and capitalized on it by creating the character of Nancy Drew. He again hired ghostwriters to flesh out his ideas into novels, this time with Carolyne Keene as the pseudonym.
24:15 – TV and Animated Series
The Hardys were adapted for multiple mediums over the years. Comics, animated series, and live-action TV shows were produced. most notably, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries in the late 1970s. Pamela Sue Martin portrayed Nancy while teen heartthrobs Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy played Frank and Joe respectively. Nancy Drew was adapted to the big screen with a self-titled movie in 2007 and again in 2019. The CW produced a Nancy Drew TV series from 2019-2023
36:15 – The Future
Given Hollywood’s track record of remaking things over and over again, it’s probably just a matter of time before the characters are seen again in some form of live-action series or movie.