“If I had an opportunity to see someone like this exist when I was younger, just think of how much sooner I would have felt in my skin and welcomed by the world,” he added. The Dumplin’ star noted that reinventing Tom Swift allowed for more viewers to see themselves represented on screen. It can look like someone like me - a Black guy who is chocolate, who is queer, who is all those things that we’re told aren’t the normal or the status quo.” “At the time, that was the face of young boys, All-American kids full of possibilities. “The original Tom Swift was great for his time and what he represented,” the actor told TVLine in May 2021. At the time, the episode served as a backdoor pilot that hinted at a future Tom Swift series on The CW.Īt the time, Richards opened up about making the well-known literary character more suited for current times. A new kind of hero! Tian Richards‘ appearance on Nancy Drew paved the way for a new take on the Tom Swift story to be told.ĭuring season 2, Tom Swift was introduced into the Nancy Drew franchise when he arrived to help the lead character ( Kennedy McMann) deal with a mystery.
