The Hardy Boys Find a New Mystery on YTV

It’s been almost 100 years since The Hardy Boys’ first book The Tower Treasure was published; in fact that book still ranks as one of the best-selling children’s books of all time.

In the century that followed more than 100 books were published, featuring the adventures of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy. Now, The Hardy Boys are being reimagined for television. The show premieres tonight at 9 pm on YTV in Canada (it streams on Hulu in the United States) and runs for 13 weeks. It stars Rohan Campbell as Frank and Alexander Elliot as his younger brother, Joe. The Hardy boys “are a brother duo of investigators and mystery solvers; it’s adventure-mystery based,” said Campbell, who plays Frank, on who the boys are.

“[This show] is their origin story.”

The Hardy Boys 2021 is taking a modern approach to the IP (even though its set in the 80s) by serializing the story. The episodes won’t be procedural, where the boys are confronted with a mystery, explore the mystery, and then they solve it by the end.

Instead it’s one huge mystery that lasts the entirety of the season.

The story “plays into the imagination of every child,” said Elliot, who plays Joe. “[As a child everyone] dreamed of being swept up into a magical mystery; it taps into that childlike [wonder] that everyone has.”

Frank and Joe

The tension between the brothers has always been a fundamental part of the Hardy experience.

Frank is more cerebral, while Joe is more impulsive.

“Frank thinks before he acts; almost verging on overthinking. He’s more responsible, and is gradually coming into his

adulthood,” said Campbell about his character. Elliot added about Joe, “he acts first and thinks later. He runs into danger without thinking of the consequences.”

They’re opposites. On the face of it, they may not work well together, but according to Elliot, “[the differences] allow them to push the story forward. If they were both the same, they’d probably get stuck.”

The stakes of their partnership is high; the story is rooted in a family tragedy and it serves to brings the boys together to solve this greater mystery.

What to expect

Fans of The Hardy Boys are in for the same excitement as people new to the IP because “this is a brand new story. Nobody will know exactly what’s going to happen. A lot of this is modernized for a new generation, but it doesn’t lose what makes The Hardy Boys special,” said Elliot.

Like most 21st century shows, there’ll be plenty of humour, but “there’s a heaviness, [too],” added Campbell. “And there will be warm moments between the brothers that will mean a lot.”

The show ambitiously tries to cater to adult fans of The Hardy Boys while drawing in a new audience; but make no mistake, this is an adventure show that will capture the attention of young people and kids.

After all, “who doesn’t love an adventure?”

The Hardy Boys premieres Friday, March 5th at 9 pm ET on YTV in Canada. It streams on Hulu in the United States.

Images courtesy of Corus Entertainment and used with permission