Development The Hardy Boys and
Nancy Drew were both successful book publishing franchises owned by the
Stratemeyer Syndicate, a publishing group which owned many successful children's book lines. At the time the television series started production (Fall 1976), there were 55 books in
The Hardy Boys series and 53 books in the
Nancy Drew series. Producers Joyce Brotman and Arlene Sidaris wanted to adapt both book series to television, and proposed a series to
Universal Television in 1976. Universal was excited about the series, but first had to gain approval from the Stratemeyer Syndicate, headed by
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. At first, the 83-year-old Adams was skeptical. Adams had inherited the Syndicate from her father,
Edward Stratemeyer, after his death in 1930. In the late 1930s,
Warner Bros. approached Adams about buying the film rights to the Drew series. An inexperienced Adams sold all rights to Warner Bros., who made a series of B-films that did not please her.
The Hardy Boys had previously been adapted for
The Mickey Mouse Club in the late 1950s, and a
Saturday morning cartoon series in the late 1960s, both of which disappointed Adams again. Adams wanted Brotman and Sidaris to keep the wholesome, conservative values of the characters; when Brotman and Sideris agreed, she approved of the series, but with full script approval. Universal gave the assignment to
Glen A. Larson, who had produced the police drama
Get Christie Love!. The show was pitched to ABC in September 1976, and the pilots were filmed for 24 straight hours. ABC picked up the series in November, with a set launch date of January 1977. Actress
Jamie Lee Curtis auditioned for the role of Nancy Drew. She later guest starred in a Nancy Drew episode, "The Mystery of the Fallen Angels". Whereas the characters were generally depicted as teenagers in the original books and most previous screen adaptations, the TV series "aged-up" Frank and Nancy, as Stevenson and Martin were both in their mid-20s; Cassidy was 18-years-old when the series entered production.
Janet Louise Johnson was also 18 when she replaced Martin as Nancy Drew in season 2.
Title sequence The
whole-tone inspired main musical theme was composed by series producer Glen A. Larson. • For the first season, the opening credits featured a maze under the series title. Martin, Stevenson, and Cassidy were all credited in all episodes, despite the program alternating between the characters. After the theme music, the voice-over announcer would state who was featured in the episode and the episode title. • For the second season, the title sequence was altered; the maze was replaced with clips from the series and a collage of book covers from the book series. Depending on which characters were featured - the Hardy boys, Nancy Drew, or both - the sequence was altered to give emphasis to one or the other. • For the third season, the series' theme song was remixed, and given more of an upbeat disco sound. It featured clips from the various season three episodes, along with the names of Cassidy and Stevenson.
Filming The show was filmed at
Universal Studios, on the studio lot on parts of
Colonial Street. This backlot street was later used in the
Tom Hanks comedy film ''
The 'Burbs''; the music video for
Smash Mouth's hit song "
All Star"; and as
Wisteria Lane in the ABC drama
Desperate Housewives, in which the home of the Hardys also served the home of main character
Susan Mayer. The series replaced the short-lived
Cos, and aired before Top 10 hits
The Six Million Dollar Man and
The ABC Sunday Night Movie. The series ran against
60 Minutes on
CBS and
The Wonderful World of Disney on
NBC.
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries did not achieve the Top 10 success of the night's other series, but well enough to knock
60 minutes from its Top 10 position to #18. Following the departure of Pamela Sue Martin and the subsequent mixed reaction with replacement Janet Louise Johnson, producers once again rebooted the series. This time, they cut the Nancy Drew character, and the series, now titled
The Hardy Boys, focused solely on the Hardys. The series became "darker", and featured the Hardys as professional investigation agents at the
Justice Department. This season aired before another notable Glen A. Larson series,
Battlestar Galactica.
Cancellation In January 1979, the series was abruptly canceled. According to the cast and crew members, this was due to ABC attempting to garner better ratings in that time period; this ultimately failed, and after ratings declined significantly, it took years for the network to recover. Larson later stated that the network had "cancellation remorse", while Stevenson said that, years later, an ABC executive at the time said his biggest mistake was cancelling
The Hardy Boys. ==Reception==