Freddie Prinze Jr. Will Play Nancy Drew's Dad In The CW Pilot, So Prepare For Major Nostalgia

The CW's Nancy Drew pilot just got even more nostalgic, if you can believe it. Freddie Prinze Jr. will play Nancy Drew's dad in the potential new series, per The Hollywood Reporter. Anyone who came of age in the late '90s and early '00s will know Prinze as not only the star of teen favorites like She's All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer, but also as Fred in the live-action Scooby Doo movies. So basically, Fred from Mystery, Inc. is now teen sleuth Nancy Drew's dad, and if that's not a '90s kid's dream come true then nothing is.

Prinze is set to play Carson Drew, an accomplished lawyer whose relationship with his daughter is strained after the death of his wife. Their father-daughter reunion will become even more uneasy when Nancy begins to uncover secrets about her father while investigating a murder in their small town. But for the young detective, digging into the murder is a matter of self-preservation since she's a suspect herself, according to The Wrap.

The CW pilot marks the third attempt by the networks to bring a Nancy Drew series to television since 2016. But the third time might actually be the charm with this one. Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are executive producers on the project, and it sounds suitably spooky — there might even be a supernatural twist.

The Wrap reported that the series kicks off with Nancy deciding to stay in her small town after graduating from high school due to a family tragedy. She soon finds herself a suspect in a "ghostly" murder investigation, which leads her back to the world of detective work. Add in an extra dash of mystery surrounding her father, and the show really does start to sound like the perfect companion to Riverdale.

In addition to Prinze, the cast includes newcomer Kennedy McMann as Nancy, and Charmed's Leah Lewis as her frenemy George. For her part, McMann sounds exciting about taking on such an iconic role. On Feb. 14, she wrote on Instagram, "The 12-year-old girl in me hogging the family computer playing Nancy Drew computer games and living out fantasies in her head about solving mysteries has been crying tears of joy for the past three days. An absolutely incomprehensible dream come true. Here we go, Nancy."

While Prinze hasn't commented on his casting in the pilot just yet, knowing that he's a part of the team only adds to the project's appeal. The CW is making a welcome habit of casting former teen stars in current teen shows. On Riverdale, the late Luke Perry took on the role of Archie's dad, while '80s teen queen Molly Ringwald plays his mom.

Nancy Drew fans will have to wait until The CW announces their 2019-2020 series pickups at the network's upfronts event in May to find out if the pilot will move forward. But the show's early casting news is plenty of reason to hope that this take on the teen detective's story makes it to the small screen.