Everything We Know About Season 4 of The CW’s ‘Nancy Drew’

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

Everything We Know About Season 4 of The CW's 'Nancy Drew'

The mystery continues! Fans of The CW's Nancy Drew were in for a surprise when season 3 turned the lead character's future with Ace into a star-crossed twist. In the finale, which aired in January, Nancy Drew (Kennedy McMann) thought she was finally together with Ace (Alex Saxon) when a deadly car crash made her realize that it was all a lie created by Temperance. Amid her death, Temperance (Olivia Taylor Dudley) released a curse that would prevent Nancy and Ace from getting together romantically. During an interview with executive producers Noga Landau and Melinda Hsu Taylor, the writing duo confirmed that it won't be long before Ace is clued into his fate. "We definitely will pick up with Ace wanting to know why Nancy ran out of his apartment like that. His question to her, 'Are you in trouble?' is going to be the thing on his mind if and when we start season 4. 'Why did Nancy run out of my apartment just when I thought she was going to kiss me? I bet she's in trouble, I need to find out what's going on," Taylor told Entertainment Weekly in January, two months before the series was renewed. According to Landau, the upcoming season would focus on the emotions that would be kicked up a notch between Nancy and Ace. "Season 4 is going to be a season of intense yearning for both of them," she added at the time. "It's only ramping it up even more, for sure. For me, this show is always about the simmering love and yearning — for multiple characters, but especially for Nancy and now for Nancy and Ace together." Even though there might be a way to solve the curse, Nancy won't immediately look for a way out of her predicament. "I think the real challenge is she knows after this season that Temperance's magic is very sneaky and that Temperance has probably built in a lot of fail safes so that she doesn't try to undo this curse. And that's part of the mystery that eventually she probably will try to solve," Landau explained to EW. "We can't say if she's going to be successful or not. But yeah, she's definitely going to want to." The showrunner continued: "She doesn't know if she can tell him she loves him. She doesn't know if she can even tell him about the curse without triggering it. So she has to kind of figure out the rules of it, if she's ever going to even consider undoing it." Landau and Taylor also teased that season 4 would make an effort to return to the roots of the show. "Putting Nancy back in a graveyard with her beanie and her flashlight, and the beginning of a new mystery that should feel a little bit more like the mysteries that we tackled in season 1 and season 2 — for a bit of a palate cleanser," Landau shared with EW about the season 3 cliffhanger. "And so as for the graves and the mystery, we'll definitely say that there is a tendril of connection between some of the stuff that you see in the finale and why those graves are like that in the end." Scroll down for everything to know about season 4 of Nancy Drew: [podcast_block]

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

When Does It Air?

The CW confirmed that Nancy Drew would be returning on May 31.

During an interview with TVLine, Taylor noted that their plan is to create a new chapter with season 4. "[We’d be able] to welcome new viewers in a way where you wouldn’t have to have seen the previous three seasons," she said shortly after the season 3 finale aired in January 2022. "It would benefit if you to check them out on HBO Max, but you wouldn’t have to in order to join the fold."

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How Will Nancy and Ace Navigate Their New Normal?

"They both are super raw in their love for each other and their incredible pain surrounding this inability to be together. So, I think it makes them both a little irrational at times," McMann told Us in May 2023. "It's really interesting to see them contend with this high intensity emotion that they're both experiencing and [how they] so deeply need each other. But at the same time, they are so at odds with each other in terms of how to go about dealing with it."

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Where Does the Drew Crew Go From Here?

Season 3 ended with the core friend group going their separate ways as they tried to figure out their respective futures as adults. According to Taylor, the intention is to have everyone reunite amid their new beginnings.

"They'll always come back together, for sure. For sure. We now kind of have people in different areas of law enforcement. George (Leah Lewis) is going to be pursuing law, and Ace works at a morgue, Bess (Maddison Jaizani) has got the mystical thing covered which, technically, is a community leader and has a lot of connections to the town," Taylor pointed out to EW.

She added: "There's a lot of opportunity for teamwork. I'm excited for the friend group and how they come back together in a slightly evolved, not like the other thing was bad but just as people get more life experience, your friendships evolve as well."

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How Will Nancy Handle the Curse?

After breaking off a future with Ace due to Temperance's curse, Taylor opened up about how the decision will "weigh heavily" on Nancy's mind.

"To her, the experience of being responsible for Ace's death in a car crash was very emotionally real to her. That's going to be quite the deterrent anytime she even wants to give him a look that she wouldn't give to a platonic friend," the producer explained to EW. "Her mind is so regimented that she will train herself not to let him know how she feels, which is going to convince him all the more that something's going on, because he knows Nancy wouldn't be one day about to kiss him and the next day like he's just somebody she barely knows. It's going to live in her mind in a really real way and influence a lot of her actions."

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Will Ace Give Up on His Future With Nancy?

During an interview with TV Insider in January, the former Vampire Diaries writer revealed that it won't take long for Ace to piece together that Nancy lied to him.

"He needs to figure that out. And I think that there will be other things for Nancy to be in trouble with, so maybe she’ll be able to divert him for a little bit? But as an audience member, I want him to know very soon and for her to deny, deny, deny," she shared.

Later that year, McMann noted that Ace would be "relieved" to discover the truth behind Nancy's rejection.

"What's so heartbreaking about Ace's story — and at the end of season 3 — is how he feels like Nancy is rejecting him because he's not enough. And it is so painful and tragic," she explained on "The Wayne Ayers Podcast" episode. "I think in some ways it will be reliving for him to know that of course she loves him and there's just other things going on."

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What Happened to the Missing Bodies?

The season 3 finale ended with Nancy receiving a mysterious tip about bodies going missing from the cemetery. The writing team, however, included small clues about the upcoming mystery throughout the season.

"That will be a launching point for a longer supernatural mystery arc that’s going to continue bringing threats together such as, 'What’s Ryan (Riley Smith) up to with those strange people who just moved to town?' And is there a connection to some of the things that we’ve already seen planted in Season 3? Which the answer is yes," Taylor told KSite TV in January. "I think it’s kind of exciting to have Nancy launch on a big case where there are stakes for the town, but it also puts her to the test as a detective."

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What Does the Premiere Script Include?

McMann teased her initial emotions after reading the first episode’s script. “Script reactions include deep pain giddiness sorrow heart flutterys overwhelm shock joy ache & looming destruction CAN’T WAIT,” she tweeted in July 2022. 

Credit: Courtesy of Kennedy McMann/Instagram

When Does Filming Start?

In July 2022, McMann showed off her look for the first day of filming. "We’re back and this season is about HAIR THANK YOU," she tweeted alongside a photo of her on set.

In a separate post, the actress teased that there were more surprises ahead, writing, "As a public service I will say a *full* cast pic will be a minute bc we’re not all here for another week but there WILL be pics today."

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What Will Change for the Group?

In August 2022, McMann teased a shift for the core group of characters.

"A lot of the season is about becoming an adult and each of [the characters'] own personal journeys in that way. From a career perspective even, they’re all starting their official adult lives in a lot of ways," she said on "The Wayne Ayers Podcast" episode. "They’ve moved out of their parents houses if they lived there before. Nancy’s opened her investigator business. George is studying law. Bess is the new Keeper of the Historical Society. Nick is sort of figuring out where he stands with everything now that Nick and George are broken up. Ace just started working at the morgue."

She continued: "There’s also the sort of primary mystery of the season which kicks off in the first episode that inherently unites them, and they all will be working together to solve that throughout the season."

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What Does the Future Look Like for Nancy and Ace?

"I think this is very much a new chapter in their relationship for them in their relationship with each other, and their openness with each other and their ability to lean on each other emotionally is at an all-time high," McMann hinted in August 2022. "I think that’s something I’ve really wanted Nancy to be able to have — that experience with someone and to be really emotionally vulnerable with someone else. So, that’s definitely a part of it."

According to the actress, the potential couple will deal with the curse keeping them apart in a surprising way.

"I think it will be unexpected the way that the writers have kind of taken this curse and what they have to deal with in the terms of their relationship with each other and how to navigate that," she continued. "I love reading what fans have to say about the show and I read a lot of people’s theories and stuff, and everyone is wrong so far. I think it will be really unexpected and really satisfying. In the nature of our show, it's incredibly romantic and beautiful and absolutely heart-wrenching and painful and all of the above.”

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

Is This the End for the Show?

It was confirmed in October 2022 that Nancy Drew would end after its fourth season.

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

Has Filming Concluded?

“We will be thinking of you all day my drewds!!!” McMann tweeted on December 16, 2022, revealing it was the cast’s last day on set. “And by we I mean everyone!!! all cast & crew, our producers, everyone. this is a beautiful moment of closure for all of us, but at the end of the day, we do it for you ❤️.”

Lewis, for her part, also shared a sweet message about the last day on set. She wrote: "Today is our last day of shooting Nancy Drew. A swell of emotions with love, growth, and major accomplishment spent telling this story with such special people. ... As we’ve grown together as women the last couple years, I hope you’ve also grown with us. I’ll miss shooting with these girly pops."

Credit: Courtesy of Kennedy McMann/Instagram (2)

How Has the Cast Said Goodbye to the Show?

In December 2022, McMann uploaded side-by-side photos of her from the last day of filming season 1 and season 4.

"That’s a series wrap on nancy drew," she wrote via Instagram. "I wrapped the pilot, never knowing if we’d really get to do this. but we did. I started this journey at 22 and finish now at 26. I’ve grown up, I’ve gotten married, I’ve bought a house, I’ve found myself, I’ve lived an absolute childhood dream. this experience has completely changed my life. what an incredible gift."

The actress continued: "And to nancy, who has taught me to be brave against all odds, who has shown me how to stand up & speak out. who is vulnerable & passionate & kind, who I will always admire. it has been my greatest pleasure to walk in your shoes, nancy drew. onto the next."

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

What Story Will Season 4 Introduce?

According to The CW, Nancy Drew‘s final season “begins as Nancy launches a new investigation to find a group of missing bodies from Horseshoe Bay’s cemetery that have been dug up and stolen—or have possibly risen. As Nancy is drawn into this ghostly case, a string of unexplained paranormal crimes leads the Drew Crew to believe that the literal sins of the town’s past have returned to haunt the living."

Nancy, who continues to struggle with "yearning" for Ace, will end up in a "slow-burning attraction" with the son of Ryan Hudson’s newest enemy, Ace, for his part, will also be tempted by a new relationship. 

The synopsis also noted that Nancy's "efforts to protect her seaside hometown from the sins of its past backfire, she must do the unthinkable to save her friends from both the supernatural and earthbound threats coming for them—and it could cost her everything, and everyone, she’s ever loved.”

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What Did the Trailer Reveal?

In May 2023, The CW released a trailer which featured a glimpse at the core group's final journey. Nancy's feelings for Ace are at the center of the clip as the detective seemingly tries to save his life following Temperance's curse. The sneak peek also shows the new ghosts and threats putting Horseshoe Bay at risk.

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

Will There Be Resolution in the Final Season?

“We solve the mystery of who dug up these graves and what forces are at work in town, and it turns out it’s something very big that stretches back over generations, and [Nancy] is definitely integral to that," Taylor teased during an interview with USC’s The SCoop in May 2023, according to TVLine.

Credit: Colin Bentley/The CW

What Did the Season 4 Stills Reveal?

In May 2023, The CW released a first look at the season, which included a photo of the Drew Crew.

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Will Ace and Nancy Find a Way to Break the Curse?

The star-crossed lovers share a moment during the season 4 premiere.

Credit: Jeff Weddell/The CW

Will Fans Be Happy With the Ending?

"I really think that the whole series is a huge message of hope that things will always get better and that there are people that will always believe you're worth fighting for," McMann exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2023. "In terms of how the series ends — without spoiling anything — I think it will be unexpected in a lot of ways. But I am very happy with it and I think it was handled with great care by the writers and they did justice to the series."

She continued: "It was really such a gift to be able to bring all these characters to a solid conclusion and to do that for the fans, but also for us. I feel like I put Nancy to bed in a way that felt really good and gave me a lot of personal closure and that's such a gift."

Credit: Shane Harvey/The CW

Will Nancy Surprise Viewers in Season 4?

According to McMann, the lead character will make some decisions that will shock fans.

"Nancy does one particular thing that is quite surprising. I think her reasoning will make sense to people — but she's definitely entering a new era. She feels more like a grown-up this season in a lot of ways," she shared with Us in May 2023. "She's gone through so much emotionally over the course of the last four seasons, and she's really learned how to rely on her friendships and pick herself up by her bootstraps and do things that are surprising. She's really learned how to balance her principles with protecting people in her life. I think it all kind of stems from there, but it's a really interesting journey."