More than a year after featuring Tom Swift via Nancy DrewThe CW on Tuesday finally invited viewers into the world of the billionaire inventor — a fashionable futuristic fantasy where few things (and people) are as they seem.
The premiere of Tom Swift resumes in 2022 (vs. Nancy‘s 2019), which means Tom is “a few years older, more in his twenties and more of a grown man,” as star Tian Richards explains to TVLine. Tom’s appearance on Nancy was just an appetizer, “and now you get the full meal.”
Unfortunately, Tom doesn’t seem mature enough (or straight) enough for his disapproving father, who doesn’t believe Tom is ready to take over Swift Enterprises. A potential father-son reconciliation becomes even less likely when Tom – in a room surrounded by his father’s closest ‘friends’ and associates – watches his spacecraft explode during a live broadcast of a much-publicized trip to Saturn .
Tom is overwhelmed with grief and guilt, but upon discovering that the explosion is causing outside of the ship, he goes into full heist mode, enlisting his entourage – cousins Zenzi (Ashleigh Murray) and Lino (Donovin Miller), as well as bodyguard Isaac (Marquise Vilson) – to help him recover vital information to expose who really killed his father.
It’s a close call, but Tom manages to retrieve the data and make it out alive, thanks in large part to Rowan (Albert Mwangi). Not only does Congressman Eskel’s (Ward Horton) bodyguard help Tom avoid getting caught, he also warns him that he’s being watched by powerful enemies.
The plot thickens when it is discovered that the organization that built the ship-destroying missile belongs to Eskel. Plus, it’s actually a front company for an illuminati-wide group called The Road Back, which aims to prevent humanity’s technological progress.
Good news: Tom then learns that not only is his father alive, but that he has sent a capsule to Earth containing vital information to save him! Sure, the capsule disassembles upon re-entering the atmosphere, but that just gives Tom and his crew an excuse for a road trip.
Unknown to them, Eskel has hacked Tom’s AI Barclay (voiced by LeVar Burton), and everyone on his team – including Rowan, presumably – pledges to keep Tom from finding out about their plans. But was Richards surprised by this final twist? Short answer: “No”.
Longer answer: “In our world, you’ll learn to keep an eye out,” says Richards. “You never know who is who. Yes, we have fun, but that’s business and that’s the company – those are the main areas where people aren’t what they always seem.
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