The actress playing Nancy Drew in forthcoming CBS series definitely won't be white

CBS' Nancy Drew is going to look a little different than the blond-haired, blue-eyed character described in the books. According to CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller, the forthcoming Nancy Drew television series will be casting a woman of color in the lead role.

"[She will] not [be] Caucasian. I'd be open to any ethnicity," Geller told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. "We have a lot of new series in development, both series targeted to have full African-American or Latino casts but also many leads that are being developed [as diverse]. We're not casting color blind, we're casting color conscious."

The new Nancy Drew series will break from the books in other ways, as well: It will take place in modern times, with Nancy in her 30s and working for the NYPD.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Nancy Drew series was originally created by Edward Stratemeyer in the 1930s, and published under the name Carolyn Keene. While there have been numerous adaptations of the series over the years, the most recent Nancy Drew was played by Emma Roberts in a 2007 release.