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Remember Nancy Drew? Of course you do: that series of detective novels you used to binge read as a teenager revolving around a plucky teenage heroine and her two best friends solving crimes and besting the local police. The books are some of the most popular young adult crime novels every produced, and have since been turned into a film starring Emma Roberts in the title role.
This year, a much-hyped television show was set to be released on major American network CBS, starring half Iranian, half Spanish actress Sarah Shahi as a grown-up Drew, making good use of her uncanny observational skills at the NYPD.
The show’s pilot filmed earlier in the year from a script penned by two former screenwriters of Grey’s Anatomy, and tested well with audiences both male and female.
But you’re never going to get to see a kickass Nancy Drew narrative for adults on the small screen. Why? Because CBS cancelled the show before it even made it to air, deeming the series “too female” for its programming schedule, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
Yes, really. Fans took to Twitter to vent their outrage, petitioning CBS to reconsider, with the hashtags #NancyDrew and #TooFemale soon trending. “Why is too female an acceptable criticism?” one wrote, while comedian Jen Kirkman joked that “It skewed too ‘51% of the population”.
Shahi thanked the fans for “all the love” she received in the wake of today’s announcement, adding that “I believe we need strong female role models. She def could have been one.”
We think so too, Shahi. We think so too.
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