Hulu, YTV pose Hardy Boys mystery

Hulu in the US and YTV in Canada are on board a live-action adaptation of Edward Stratemeyer’s classic children’s books The Hardy Boys.

Pam Westman

The 13×60′ show has just gone into production in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana and Lambur Productions.

Set to debut in 2020, the mystery drama follows the two Hardy brothers from the books in their teen years.

After the tragic death of their mother, Frank and Joe Hardy are moved from the big city to their mother’s hometown of Bridgeport for the summer.

Their father is convinced his wife’s death was no accident and leaves the boys with their aunt as he chases down a lead, while Frank and Joe set out to solve the mystery themselves.

The serialised show will star an all-Canadian main cast including James Tupper (Big Little Lies), Rohan Campbell (Mech-X4) and Alexander Elliot (Detention Adventure).

The Hardy Boys joins Hulu’s library of licensed and original book-to-television adaptations including The Handmaid’s Tale, Looking For Alaska, Killing Eve and Friday Night Lights.

Nelvana previously explored a revamp of The Hardy Boys in 2010 when the project was on its development slate.

Joan Lambur

“Given today’s trend of reimagining classic series, we realised what a hidden gem The Hardy Boys was within Nelvana’s vast catalogue,” said Pam Westman, president of Nelvana.

“While we’re excited to bring a fresh new take on The Hardy Boys, we also wanted to evoke a sense of nostalgia. The series remains true to the quintessential Hardy Boys themes of brotherly love, friendship and, of course, mystery-solving,” added Joan Lambur, executive producer and president of Lambur Productions.

The Hardy Boys is executive produced by Lambur, Peter Mohan, who also serves as head writer, and Jason Stone, who also serves as lead director.

Madeleine Lambur is creative producer and Paula Smith is supervising producer. For Corus and Nelvana, Kathleen Meek is production executive and Doug Murphy, Westman and Athena Georgaklis are executive producers.