CBS has finally selected the lead of its Nancy Drew reboot, titled Drew: Sarah Shahi. She has an extensive TV resume that includes roles on Person of Interest, Chicago Fire, and Fairly Legal, and joins a cast that includes longtime ER star Anthony Edwards as Nancy Drew’s dad.
The choice of Shahi, the Texas-born daughter of an Iranian father and a Spanish mother, hews to CBS’s declaration that this reboot of Nancy Drew—depicted in the long-running Carolyn Keene book series as a red-headed college student—would offer more diverse casting and a more mature approach
The CBS show will depict the thirtysomething Nancy Drew working for the NYPD. Presumably this means the stakes will be raised on the crimes she’ll be solving, which (if memory serves) traditionally revolved around inheritance theft, con artists, and Scooby Doo-style faux hauntings.
In its report, TV Line notes that this casting announcement may couch news for the future of Person of Interest, too:
Shahi returned to Person of Interest on a full-time basis for the yet-to-be-scheduled Season 5, after taking a maternity leave. Curiously, TVLine has learned that the actress’ deal puts Drew in first position ahead of a potential — yet extremely unlikely — sixth season of POI. “My guess is [Season 5] is the final season,” executive producer J.J. Abrams said last month at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “The only heartbreak there is how much good story there was to come if it were to have continued.”
Aside from Edwards, other Drew cast members include Vanessa Ferlito (Graceland) as George, Nancy’s onetime NYPD partner (George is a key character from the books); and Felix Solis (Colony, The Good Wife) as Nancy’s NYPD boss, who—in grand old cop-show style—will be oft-exasperated with his gifted yet rebellious detective. No word on whether or not Bess (another Nancy BFF from the books) or Ned (Nancy’s longtime beau) will make the cut.