BINGE IT!: Hulu’s ‘The Hardy Boys’ brings back a sense of family-friendly adventure

Every month, Digital Content Producer Kim McCullough chooses a binge-worthy show to watch and discuss with tv lovers.

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Bingers, it’s time for another series worthy of your binge time.

This month, we are taking it back to an old-time favorite with a new storyline filled with drama and suspense. Hulu’s adaption of “The Hardy Boys” is mixed with mystery and adventure that the kids can also enjoy.

People young and old can remember the popular book series that ran from 1927-2005 with characters created by Edward Stratemeyer and written by several ghostwriters but mainly Leslie McFarlene, who was a ghostwriter under the name Franklin W. Dixon.

Hulu’s series aired on the platform in December 2020.

The drama received a 71 approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ “Average Tomatometer” with some audience reviews calling it “a refreshing, family-friendly show that’s enjoyable.”

The Hardy Boys is rated TV-PG for mild language and moderate violence.

If you’re ready, I’m ready to dig deep and find the web of secrets in The Hardy Boys’ newest mystery.

Review:

After the mysterious death of their mother, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy are forced to move to their mother’s hometown of Bridgeport.

Having the curiosity of a detective family, the boys already felt something wasn’t right surrounding their mother’s death, which was ruled an accident.

Fenton, their father, leaves by request on a mission to find someone connected to the incident, forcing the boys to stay with their Aunt Trudy during his absence.

At first, the boys would get stares and pity from everyone in town. Their family’s legacy is everywhere they turn, making it harder to ask questions and get straightforward answers.

During this time, they find friends willing to help make their adventures successful.

Well, sort of. But they have no idea the kind of trouble they are getting themselves in.

The story starts to get crazy once Joe gets his hands on a “lucky charm” that every important person in town wants — even their grandmother and hired help.

Soon, Joe is going to find out how bad they want it.

Joe finds himself steady running from a seven-foot manic hired to find that “lucky charm” on several occasions.

The boys continue to find information about their mother while discovering the crazy secrets of Bridgeport. At this point, they trust no one but their friends that has proven their loyalty.

Also by this time, the boys, along with their father, have figured their mother, who was a former journalist, was researching something that could affect everything surrounding her family’s connection with power.

Secrets continue to arise once the demand for the “lucky charm,” which is now known by its name The Eye, is critical. The Eye is a piece of power that, with its other halves, can take over the world.

And it seems when things can’t become more hectic, Frank becomes a candidate for a new elite school and discovers more than he bargained for regarding the purpose of the school.

It seems not only is the Estabrooks (the boys’ mother’s side of the family), is more than just wealthy people but is a part of everything that can be controlled. Along with two other families that hold the other halves of The Eye, the fight for it becomes more dangerous.

Joe realizes it’s time to get rid of this thing once and for all. Along with a friend, Joe goes to Demon’s Paw, the underground mine where The Eye was initially found and split into pieces. They are soon rescued and police are now aware of the boys’ own investigation.

You would think that they’re safe after that, but at the grandmother’s request, the police chief has other plans.

Just in time, their father returns. They work together to find a way to destroy The Eye but was somewhat too late.

After a fight and tussle with the elite families, the grandmother may have caused the world to become upside down before getting caught up and paying for her wrongs.

Kim’s rating system is simple and straight to the point:

• 1 – Hard to finish: It may be new but it’s not good. Definitely hard to finish the season.
• 2 – Boring: I finished the season, but it wasn’t that exciting or engaging.
• 3 – At least the storyline was decent: It was good, but the show didn’t pull me in.
• 4 – It was good: The show was engaging and interesting.
• 5 – I was hooked: I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.

The Hardy Boys received a 3 in our Binge It! series.

Actually, it would be more of a three and a half for me. Don’t let the rating fool you, the show did pull me in and was very interesting but some parts may be lost if you’re not paying attention. There are many pieces to the puzzle in this series and some parts may also come off a little slower than others.

With it being considered a family-friendly series, I think Hulu did a good job at keeping the drama alive, while also keeping it censored and PG for our younger bingers — even while having an 80s setting.

There are no talks of a second season as of yet, but we will see if Hulu has more in store for The Hardy Boys.

You can also catch up on previous reviews in the “Binge It! with Kim” series below:

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