Nancy Drew's Kennedy McMann on How Season 3 Changes the Game

Tonight, The CW launches the third season of Nancy Drew, the fan-favorite supernatural mystery series based on the beloved children's book character of the same name. In the show's second season, Nancy learned that her biological father is actually Ryan Hudson, the heir to a massive fortune built by his criminal father. That is going to lead into the new season in a big way, as Nancy, played by Kennedy McMann, has finished high school and now as an adult, has to deal with her biological father, her adoptive father, and the shadow of her grandfather's legacy.

On a lot of shows, this would be a fairly simple thing: Nancy would inherit some of her family money, she would have an antagonistic relationship with her newly-introduced supernatural ancestor Temperance, and the show would pretty much go on as before. That isn't what's happening here, though; they are charging head on into a season that will be shaped completely by the revelations of last year.

"I think when we introduced these life-changing factors for characters, it's really exciting to actually see that come to fruition," McMann told ComicBook. "It's just laid a very heightened atmosphere for all sorts of different dynamics, especially in the Drew house at this point, with Carson and Ryan trying to co-parent Nancy, Ryan learning to parent for the first time, and Nancy learning to let him do that and navigating their strange relationship. And then Bess is living with them as well, so it's a bit of a circus in the Drew house at this point."

Last season began with Nancy and her adoptive father, Carson Drew, on kind of rough terms. The revelation that he had hidden the truth about her birth parents from her for her entire life was a gut-punch, and the fact that it came from Carson, who had been Nancy's rock, made it worse. Throughout the course of the season, they figured things out, and as the new season begins, the two are back in a good place.

"It's very exciting to start this season with Nancy and Carson on really solid ground with each other," said McMann. "From the very beginning, they've loved each other immensely. What's been so difficult is that there kept being obstacles in the way of that -- and at this point now, I think they're pretty settled into what this relationship is. The next move for them is navigating the fact that Nancy's no longer in high school, and she's no longer a child. How do they maintain their relationship through that period of growth as Nancy enters adulthood? I think we just see them sort of go from strength to strength, and I think that's a welcome relief for that particular relationship."

If that's her strength, then the Hudson side of her life is something of an Achilles heel. Temperance, an ancestor who used some of Nancy's blood in a ritual to restore herself to youth, is going to be pulling some strings behind the scenes to make life harder for Nancy, and probably more dangerous for everyone in town.

"I think Temperance, as everyone will soon discover, sort of has her hand in most things that are happening in Horseshoe Bay, and is inherently tied to Nancy," McMann teased. "You find Temperance really needs Nancy, as much as Nancy finds herself needing Temperance this season. The familial bond there, and the sort of familial responsibility that Nancy feels to continue the legacy of her family's name in a way that serves her community instead of harms her community, that's really important to her. Everything that's happening with Temperance is sort of [Nancy's] business, because her Hudson identity is very much tied to Temperance. That's critical to Temperance as well. We saw in season two that Nancy being the seventh generation Hudson was a massive deal for Temperance, and the things that Temperance wants to accomplish. And we'll see that very fleshed out as the season goes on."

Nancy Drew's third season premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.