New Hardy Boys TV series coming!

SDLagent · October 02, 2010, 08:58:40 PM

According to C21Media.net, a television revamp of The Hardy Boys is in development at Nelvana! Although they are best known for their animated children's shows, the Canadian company has produced a few live-action series including the short-lived Hardy Boys show from the 90s.

Page 50 of a pdf document on Nelvana's Parent Company's (Corus Entertainment) web site also mentions the Hardy Boys.

SDLagent · October 02, 2010, 09:08:49 PM

*fist-pump* YES! I hope this is good. I've been waiting a long time for another Hardy Boys TV show!

MacGyver · October 02, 2010, 11:59:09 PM

Seriously? WOW! I hope this is actually a good thing. I wonder what continuity it would be based on- the original 58 and Digests, the Hardy Boys Casefiles, or more likely- The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers?
Well, anyway- definitely very cool to know. Thanks for the heads-up. Who knows? This might even be the push Universal needs to finally release Season 3 of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries on DVD.

MacGyver · October 03, 2010, 12:22:47 AM

And of course, they could always write new stories and their own continuity- but it would be nice to see some adaptations of the books- even ones from multiple series, if possible. And as far as I can tell, it is live action, right?

SDLagent · October 03, 2010, 01:55:51 AM

Quote from: MacGyver on October 02, 2010, 11:59:09 PM
Seriously? WOW! I hope this is actually a good thing.

That was pretty much my reaction when I saw the article. Hopefully Nelvana learns from their mistakes in the 1995 series and gets it right this time. Not that I've watched any of that series but from what I've seen, and considering it only lasted one season, it couldn't have been that great. Plus, I'd like to see something closer to the source material.

Quote from: MacGyver on October 03, 2010, 12:22:47 AM
And of course, they could always write new stories and their own continuity- but it would be nice to see some adaptations of the books- even ones from multiple series, if possible. And as far as I can tell, it is live action, right?

I think this is, most likely, what we're going to see. The article does use the word "revamp". I'm kind of hopping for a Casefiles inspired take on the Hardys.

hardygirl847 · October 03, 2010, 12:58:43 PM

I hope for a Casefile spin on it too. SOOO excited!!!

And yeah...the '95 series wasn't all that great.

MacGyver, I hope it gives a HUGE push to release Season 3! But NOT The Hardy Men movie. lol

I wonder if we could make a petition/request to Nelvana to make them the right ages, right personalities, etc. Hmm....

MacGyver · October 03, 2010, 01:38:55 PM

Well, I don't think the 1995 Hardy Boys series was totally horrible necessarily. I enjoy it for what it is. It could've been better though- I think the half hour format is just not enough time to really cram a full mystery into. I guess it works well enough for Scooby-Doo, but then that show is meant to be a comedy/mystery and the mysteries are generally not meant to be too in-depth. Watching the 1995 Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series is a great mental exercise though- because you really have to be very observant to pick up on everything that's going on and really understand the whole story. Of course, it's still better than taking a entire story from the original 58 revised books and try to condense it into a 15 minute cartoon episode. Throw in 2 of those and a song in between and you've got the 1969 Hardy Boys cartoon. Wow- that's really stretching your mental powers to keep up.
Anyway- back to this new Hardy Boys series- I presume it would not start airing until next year in any case, as it's really too late to get into the fall season, unless it's going to be a mid-season replacement. (And of course, we don't know much Nelvana has already done on this other than discover that they still have the rights to The Hardy Boys and decide to make a new TV series.) I'm still not positive if they are talking live action or animated though- but I got the impression it was live action, since they emphasized that Nelvana is not known for doing live action shows, though it has done some in the past. (Obviously, most notably for this forum- the 1995 Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series.)
I think I would like to see maybe a mix of adaptations and original stories. But I suppose they would have to pick one continuity and stick with it, as it may be confusing to have the various continuities all represented.

SkyWarp · October 04, 2010, 12:44:31 PM

And here is an official file on Nelvana's Parent Company's web site Corus Entertainment.
http://www.corusent.com/home/CorusentFiles%5Cfiles%5CCorporate%20-%20Investor%20Day/2010InvestorDaySeminar_slides.pdf

Page 50 of the PDF document mentions the Hardy Boys.

SkyWarp · October 04, 2010, 12:57:28 PM

With "The Hub" now entering children's tv cable this month, the need for additional children's (young through teen) television programming is needed for all children's networks.

SDLagent · October 04, 2010, 03:18:36 PM

Quote from: SkyWarp on October 04, 2010, 12:44:31 PM
And here is an official file on Nelvana's Parent Company's web site Corus Entertainment.
http://www.corusent.com/home/CorusentFiles%5Cfiles%5CCorporate%20-%20Investor%20Day/2010InvestorDaySeminar_slides.pdf

Page 50 of the PDF document mentions the Hardy Boys.

Thanks for the update.

JoeHardyRocks · October 04, 2010, 04:34:40 PM

That sounds AWESOME!!! I am soo going to watch it.

SDLagent · October 04, 2010, 05:00:22 PM

Quote from: MacGyver on October 03, 2010, 01:38:55 PMI'm still not positive if they are talking live action or animated though.

The news story says "[Nelvana] is looking to add an updated version of the age-old mystery property to its recent line of live-action titles" and the PDF groups The Hardy Boys with other live-action shows.

Quote from: JoeHardyRocks on October 04, 2010, 04:34:40 PM
That sounds AWESOME!!! I am soo going to watch it.

We can agree 100% for once.

Mattie · October 04, 2010, 05:14:20 PM

Im soooo excited!!!

MacGyver · October 04, 2010, 07:10:06 PM

QuoteThe news story says "[Nelvana] is looking to add an updated version of the age-old mystery property to its recent line of live-action titles" and the PDF groups The Hardy Boys with other live-action shows.

Yep- that's the confirmation I wanted. Thanks.
I also noticed one other thing about that PDF file- the live action shows are listed under the Corus Kids line, which makes me wonder if this version of The Hardy Boys is going to be aimed at a younger audience than most of the other Hardy Boys shows. (i.e. Of the live action versions around- the Disney serials were certainly aimed at kids (0-12 or so)- but I'm not sure on The Hardy Boys '90s show. That one seems to be aimed more at the ages of 10-18 and maybe through early '20s or so. And The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries seems to be aimed at slightly older audiences too- that 10-18 and maybe through early '20s or so.)
So basically I guess I just realized that there is another line of Hardy Boys books the show could be based on. It could be technically be based on The Hardy Boys: Clues Brothers or Secret Files books- but I kinda doubt it really. When they say "Corus Kids", they probably just mean kids in general from 6 or 7 on up.
Oh well- I guess this thread is going to be nothing more than speculation until further details are released. I'm definitely interested to see how it turns out.

SkyWarp · October 04, 2010, 09:48:35 PM

"kids" tv shows are more grown-up than "kids" books.

Or at least they tend to be.

And a great "kids" show can be great for us older folks as well.

Take the following current examples for instance...

Backyardigans
Phineas and Ferb

Of course, these are animated versions, but I am sure we could all come up with some live-action ones too.