Entertainment

Watch The 'Carmen Sandiego' Trailer Introduce A New Side Of The Iconic '90s Character

by Kristie Rohwedder

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego, you ask? Why, as early as January 18, she will be hanging out over at your local Netflix library. On Friday, the first trailer for Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego animated series hit the internet in all of its edutainment glory. Yes, one of the most iconic computer game characters (and one of the most iconic game show characters! and one of the most iconic board game characters!) of all time really is headed back to the small screen, and yes, this really does rock...apella.

As previously reported, Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez plays Carmen Sandiego and Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard lends his voice to her sidekick, Player. This is one of the two Carmen Sandiego projects that happen to be up the sleeve of Rodriguez’s red trench coat. As Deadline revealed in March of last year, Netflix acquired the rights to a live-action Carmen Sandiego movie, and duh, Rodriguez will play the titular character in that feature, too.

Are you old enough to remember playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? on MS-DOS? Well, Netflix sure has got the trailer for you. Or hey, maybe you are too young to know and/or remember what it was like to use floppy disks on a regular basis. Well, Netflix sure has got the trailer for you, too. (Yeah, we're basically saying the trailer is for everyone. Go ahead and call yourself Carmen Sandiego Math Detective, because your calculations are correct.)

Based on the hit computer game series that beget several television shows, Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego series digs into the character of Carmen Sandiego. Sure, we know she is an elusive, well-dressed, well-traveled, and worldly crook, but we’ve never really gotten into how or why she became this elusive, well-dressed, well-traveled, and worldly crook. Thanks to Netflix’s 20-episode animated show, that is all about to change.

The animated Carmen Sandiego reboot offers fans a peek at Carmen Sandiego’s past and what led to her becoming the legendary leader of V.I.L.E./ACME Detective Agency's number one enemy/a human being who runs a crime syndicate that specializes in matters such as stealing snow from the top of Mt. Fuji, all of the kiwi birds of New Zealand, and the keys to the Tower of London. Or, as the official description of the series puts it, “We will follow her escapades and get to determine not only where but WHO in the world is Carmen Sandiego?”

As Rodriguez told the Los Angeles Times in 2017,

“The show is so different than anything we’ve seen about Carmen Sandiego before. It’s more so like Who in the World is Carmen Sandiego? So you get to learn about her.”

Can't wait? Don't worry, Jan. 18 will be here before you can say "Where to, gumshoe." Well, unless of course you are Ivan Idea and happen to have a Chronoskimmer handy, that is. If that happens to be the case, you go ahead and jet on over to next Friday and start streaming.