Why Nancy Drew Season 2 Recast Everett Hudson

Nancy Drew season 2 marked the return of Everett Hudson but with a new actor now embodying the role — here are the likely reasons for the cast change. The Hudsons have served as one of the rich and corrupt families of Horsehoe Bay, rivaled only by the Marvins. As the uncompromising patriarch, Everett was introduced in Nancy Drew season 1, episode 4, “The Haunted Ring.” Played by Martin Donovan, he attempted to cover-up the murder of his son’s wife, Tiffany (Sinead Curry). Everett returned in later episodes in ever-more villainous ways. As well as causing a dozen deaths as part of an insurance scam, he was revealed to have been instrumental in causing the suicide of Lucy Sable (Stephanie Van Dyck).

Fortunately, Nancy Drew (Kennedy McMann) was able to unearth potential proof of his crimes. As a result, Everett was arrested and only seen thereafter in flashback sequences. The character ultimately made his dramatic return in Nancy Drew season 2, episode 1, “The Search for the Midnight Wraith”. As Nancy and her friends tried to track down Gil Bobbsey (Praneet Akilla), they inadvertently stumbled upon a sinister lodge meeting. The amassed group were revealed to be associates of Everett, plotting to get him acquitted of his charges. Presumably out on bail, Everett confronted the Drew Crew personally regarding their interruption. Rather than Donovan, however, the character was dramatically revealed to now be played by Andrew Airlie.

The Nancy Drew showrunners haven’t officially addressed the change. Still, scheduling issues were no doubt the most like reason behind the decision. Donovan has been an extremely busy actor in the last couple of years. He starred in several films that were released in 2020 or scheduled for 2021 — including Tenet. Many of these movies filmed at different locations around the world. Though Tenet likely wouldn’t have conflicted, some still-unreleased efforts like Redemption Day and Crisis could have. The former movie filmed in New York and Morocco. As such, Donovan was likely too far removed from Nancy Drew‘s set in Vancouver to return for the scheduled time.

That fact would have no doubt been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. In the last year, every production has adhered to strict protocols. These have included strict quarantines ahead of even making it to set. As a result, traveling from one set to another hasn’t been as easy as it once was. That has gone double when filming all across the globe. Given all of that, it was presumably easier to secure an actor that has confined his work in recent years to other Canada-based productions. Airlie has done just that. Several of his more recent credits have even included fellow CW shows like Supernatural. Between being readily available and Airlie’s similar ability to convey arrogant authority and menace, the recasting decision would’ve made sense. It would’ve allowed production on Nancy Drew season 2 to move as efficiently as possible.

So far, Airlie’s version of Everett Hudson has only appeared in one episode. However, the decision for the recast could also be down to the character having a bigger role in Nancy Drew season 2. Nancy has remained one of the few surviving factors in his downfall and with evidence against him. Now that it’s been established that avoiding prison is his primary goal, that would mean he’ll surely target Nancy and her friends in the future. Equally, the fact that Nancy is actually the daughter of Ryan Hudson (Riley Smith) and therefore Everett’s grandaughter has thus far been kept hidden. Given the nature of secrets in Horseshoe Bay, it will no doubt come out in the end. As such, Nancy Drew season 2 needed an actor who could appear on a more recurring basis — for when the drama inevitably explodes.

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