Tom Swift
Genre
Based onThe Tom Swift book series
by Victor Appleton
Developed byMelinda Hsu Taylor &
Noga Landau &
Cameron Johnson
Starring
Music byMatthew Head
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Jonathan C. Brody
  • Kristin Killey
Cinematography
  • Glenn Brown
  • Michael Blundell
  • Hollis Meminger
Editors
  • Meghan Robertson
  • Hector Carrillo
  • Saleem Aziz
  • Brian H. Merrick
Production companies
Original release
NetworkThe CW
ReleaseMay 31 (2022-05-31) –
August 2, 2022 (2022-08-02)
Related
Nancy Drew

Tom Swift is an American mystery drama television series based on the book series of the same name developed by Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau and Cameron Johnson. Starring Tian Richards, it is a spin-off of Nancy Drew. The series premiered on May 31, 2022 on The CW, with the series finale airing on August 2, 2022. In June 2022, it was canceled after one season.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.Title [1]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [1]U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"...And the Liftoff to Saturn"Anton CropperMelinda Hsu Taylor & Noga Landau & Cameron JohnsonMay 31, 2022 (2022-05-31)0.44[2]
2"...And the 4b Curl"Michael AllowitzCameron JohnsonJune 7, 2022 (2022-06-07)0.34[3]
3"...And Nine Inches of Danger"Jeff ByrdBrad Marques & Fola Goke-PariolaJune 14, 2022 (2022-06-14)0.29[4]
4"...And The Chocolate Cowboys"Clara AranovichTeresa Huang & Sydney BaloueJune 21, 2022 (2022-06-21)0.37[5]
5"...And The Crashed Cotillion"Ruben GarciaMichael Poisson & Brittany NorthcrossJune 28, 2022 (2022-06-28)0.34[6]
6"...And The Benefits of Bondage"Bille WoodruffErika Harrison & Eric Anthony GloverJuly 5, 2022 (2022-07-05)0.30[7]
7"...And The Book of Isaac"Ruba NaddaTeleplay by : Melinda Hsu Taylor
Story by : Elliott Feliciano & Kahlil Maskati		July 12, 2022 (2022-07-12)0.25[8]
8"...And His Two Men and a Baby"J. Miller TobinTeresa Huang & Bradley MarquesJuly 19, 2022 (2022-07-19)0.28[9]
9"...And the Night to Remember"Andi BehringErika HarrisonJuly 26, 2022 (2022-07-26)0.28[10]
10"...And the Cost of Forgiveness"Rose TrocheCameron Johnson & Michael PoissonAugust 2, 2022 (2022-08-02)0.24[11]

Production

Development

On October 28, 2020, it was announced that The CW was developing a spin-off from their Nancy Drew series titled Tom Swift. The series is based on the book series of the same name and is created and executive produced by Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau, and Cameron Johnson.[12] The show is set in the "Drew-niverse".[13] On February 8, 2021, it was announced that Ruben Garcia will be directing the pilot episode.[14] On August 30, 2021, The CW had given the production a straight-to-series order and it was expected to debut during the 2021–22 television season. Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, and Lis Rowinski were also added as executive producers.[15]

Lead actor Richards said of the adaptation, "The original Tom Swift was great for his time and what he represented. At the time, that was the face of young boys, All-American kids full of possibilities. But in 2021, that can look so different. It can look like someone like me—a Black guy who is chocolate, who is queer, who is all those things that we're told aren't the normal or the status quo." He added, "We're going to dive into so many sectors of identity. We're going to talk about Blackness—and a different kind of Blackness than we're used to seeing, which is the Black elite, the 1 percent, the billionaires. We're also going to talk about a queer boy's journey into becoming a queer man. Not only self-acceptance, but acceptance as a whole, having the community and people around you."[16]

The series started filming in Atlanta in late-January 2022,[17] which was completed between late April-early May.[18] It premiered on The CW on May 31, 2022.[19] On June 30, 2022, the series was canceled after one season due to low viewership,[20] although it was allowed to have the rest of the episodes for the season aired on The CW.[21] The series finale aired on August 2, 2022.[1]

Casting

On January 26, 2021, Tian Richards was cast in the title role of Tom Swift.[22] On May 11, 2021, LeVar Burton joined the main cast to voice an artificial intelligence named Barclay.[23] Richards and Burton both appear as their respective characters in the May 2021 Nancy Drew episode "The Celestial Visitor".[16] In February 2022, Ashleigh Murray, Marquise Vilsón, April Parker Jones, and Albert Mwangi joined the cast in starring roles.[24][25] On March 8, 2022, Ward Horton was cast in a recurring role.[26]

Reception

Critical response

Caroline Framke, writing for Variety, said "When the show leans into this more personal conflict, thus allowing Richards to deepen his performance and character, it works. Outside its flawed hero, though, “Tom Swift” suffers from a surprising lack of imagination given all the ostensibly impressive innovation at the heart of the Swift empire" but said the series should be given a chance to recover from a "shaky launch".[27]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 5 critic reviews.[28]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Tom Swift
No. Title Air date Rating
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)
1 "...And the Liftoff to Saturn" May 31, 2022 0.1 0.44[2]
2 "...And the 4b Curl" June 7, 2022 0.1 0.34[3]
3 "...And Nine Inches of Danger" June 14, 2022 0.1 0.29[4]
4 "...And the Chocolate Cowboys" June 21, 2022 0.0 0.37[5]
5 "...And the Crashed Cotillion" June 28, 2022 0.1 0.34[6]
6 "..And the Benefits of Bondage" July 5, 2022 0.0 0.30[7]
7 "...And the Book of Isaac" July 12, 2022 0.0 0.25[8]
8 "...And His Two Men and a Baby" July 19, 2022 0.0 0.28[9]
9 "...And the Night to Remember" July 26, 2022 0.1 0.28[10]
10 "...And the Cost of Forgiveness" August 2, 2022 0.0 0.24[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Shows A-Z : Tom Swift on The CW". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Salem, Mitch (June 2, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 5.31.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Salem, Mitch (June 8, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 6.7.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (June 15, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 6.14.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Salem, Mitch (June 22, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 6.21.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (June 29, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 6.28.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Salem, Mitch (July 7, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 7.5.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (July 13, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 7.12.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Salem, Mitch (July 20, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 7.19.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (July 27, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 7.26.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 3, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 8.2.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (October 28, 2020). "Nancy Drew Spinoff Tom Swift in the Works at The CW". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise (October 28, 2020). "Tom Swift Series in the Works at the CW as Nancy Drew Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  14. ^ White, Peter (February 8, 2021). "Ruben Garcia To Direct Tom Swift Planted Spinoff Episode of Nancy Drew". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Petski, Denise (August 30, 2021). "Nancy Drew Spinoff Tom Swift Gets Series Order At the CW". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Swift, Andy (May 12, 2021). "Nancy Drew's Tian Richards Is the Tom Swift We Need in 2021: 'I'm Here, I'm Queer and I'm Going to Get S–t Done'". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  17. ^ Welch, Rebecca (February 4, 2022). "The CW Is Now Casting its Nancy Drew Spinoff, Tom Swift". Backstage. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  18. ^ Ho, Rodney (June 15, 2022). "What is filming in Georgia in June 2022?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  19. ^ Pedersen, Erik (March 25, 2022). "Tom Swift: Nancy Drew Spinoff Gets Premiere Date on the CW". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Rice, Lynette (June 30, 2022). "Tom Swift Canceled By CW After One Season". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  21. ^ Porter, Rick (June 30, 2022). "Nancy Drew Spinoff Tom Swift Canceled at The CW After One Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  22. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (January 26, 2021). "Nancy Drew casts Tian Richards as Tom Swift for Potential Spin-off Series". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  23. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 11, 2021). "Tom Swift: LeVar Burton Lends Voice To Nancy Drew Planted Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  24. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 7, 2022). "Ashleigh Murray To Star In Tom Swift, Joining Tian Richards in the CW's Nancy Drew Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  25. ^ Petski, Denise (February 17, 2022). "Tom Swift: Marquise Vilsón, April Parker Jones & Albert Mwangi Round Out Series Regular Cast on CW Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  26. ^ Petski, Denise (March 8, 2022). "Breeda Wool Joins Disney+'s National Treasure; The CW's Tom Swift Casts Ward Horton". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  27. ^ Framke, Caroline (May 30, 2022). "'Tom Swift,' The CW's 'Nancy Drew' Spinoff, Buries Its Charming Lead in Clichés: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  28. ^ "Tom Swift: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 31, 2023.

External links

The CW original programming
Nancy Drew
Categories