Tom Swift Co-Creator Compares Series to The A-Team
The CW's Tom Swift may be a Nancy Drew spinoff, but don't be surprised if it reminds you of a completely different show. According to series co-creator Cameron Johnson, Tom Swift has more in common with The A-Team than Nancy Drew and her mystery solving-friends. During a recent virtual press conference attended by ComicBook.com, Johnson explained that the presentation of the tech of the show and getting ready for the missions has a distinctive montage that is all Tom Swift, much like what was done with The A-Team.
"We are absolutely still driven by the tech though. I mean our rule with the tech on the show though, is that, you know, there's a … We should speak of the Tomtage," Johnson said. "Okay, so we were working on the pilot and Melinda was like, Cameron, you know what? We just need, we need something that looks like when you turn The A-Team and you know you're watching The A-Team, it's like, what can we do that's gonna make people know that you're like, you're watching Tom Swift?"
He continued, "So after I Googled The A-Team, I then thought to myself, OK, cool let's do this, let's do this. And so, the thing that we came, that the three of us came up with is something called a Tomtage, which is a montage in which Tom does a thing that he finds, figures out what he is gonna need to go on the mission of the day. The first thing is the car. Uh, we have a lot of cars on this show. And then there is the shoe. And then finally, today it's an Air Force One. It's just something simple, I didn't wanna do anything too crazy. But it also is monochrome with the outfit. That's what matters. And then, finally there is the invention. And so, the, our rule for the inventions is that the inventions all have to be, at least come from, in some way, something kind of dumb. So, and what we mean by that is like, is what was the frivolous reason that this genius decided to invent, I don't know, a camera made of steam or something like that? Could it be for taking better nudes? Something along those lines? And so, it's things like that, that I think, but that are part of it. But the spirit of invention and the spirit of technology and the spirit of possibility is kind, are sort of the defining characteristics of our show."
Tom Swift will star Tian Richards in the titular role along with Riverdale alum Ashleigh Murray as Tom's best friend Zenzi. In addition to Murray and Richards, Tom Swift will star Marquise Vilsón (The Kitchen, Blindspot) as Tom's bodyguard Isaac, and April Parker Jones (Supergirl, Bel-Air) as Tom's mom Lorraine. LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reading Rainbow) voices Barclay, Tom's AI.
Tom Swift debuts on Tuesday, May 31st at 9/8c on The CW.