Eamonn McGoldrick

EXCLUSIVE: Young British actor Tunji Kasim (Nearly Famous) is set as the male lead opposite Kennedy McMann in the CW’s untitled Nancy Drew pilot inspired by the classic mysteries about the brilliant young sleuth, from Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire and CBS TV Studios.

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Written/executive produced by Noga Landau, Schwartz and Savage, the untitled Nancy Drew project centers on 18-year-old Nancy Drew (McMann) and is set in the summer after her high school graduation. She thought she’d be leaving her hometown for college, but when a family tragedy holds her back another year, she finds herself embroiled in a ghostly murder investigation — and along the way, uncovers secrets that run deeper than she ever imagined.

Kasim will play Ned “Nick” Nickerson, Nancy’s secret flame. Nick is a former high school athlete with a mysterious past, who should be on full scholarship to a top university. Instead, he’s working as a car mechanic when he winds up a suspect in the murder along with Nancy — leading her to uncover a shocking motive from his past. But whether Nick’s a victim of circumstance or something far more sinister remains to be seen.

In the 2007 movie starring Emma Roberts as Nancy Drew, Ned Nickerson was played by Max Thieriot.

Leah Lewis co-stars in the pilot, on which Lis Rowinski is co-executive producer.

Best known for his lead role in E4’s Nearly Famous, Kasim was most recently seen in the National Theatre production of Anthony and Cleopatra, opposite Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo. He will next be seen in Bill Condon’s The Good Liar, opposite Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, and also will be seen on A24’s Kill Team, opposite Alexander Skarsgard and Nat Wolf. He’s repped by Luber Roklin, APA and Curtis Brown.