It’s National Streaming Day, and Disney+ is kicking it off with the first trailer for their upcoming The Mysterious Benedict Society. The series stars Tony Hale as the mysterious title character Mr. Benedict, who recruits a quartet of gifted orphans to help him defeat his evil twin brother, Mr. Curtain (also Hale).
Those orphans are the intuitive Reynie (Mystic Inscho), the knowledgable Sticky (Seth Carr), the handy Kate (Emmy DeOliveira), and the unconventional Constance (Marta Kessler). They’re recruited by Kristen Schaal’s Number Two for what Benedict describes as an “ideally not deadly” mission to infiltrate his brother’s brainwashing scheme. Ryan Hurst, MaameYaa Boafo, and Gia Sandhu also star.
Based on the best-selling book series by Trenton Lee Stewart, the show is created and written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, who have collaborated on films like R.I.P.D. and 2010's Clash of the Titans. They’ll also be producing the series, along with Jamie Tarses, Karen Kehela Sherwood, Deepak Nayar, and James Bobin. Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin will be showrunners, having collaborated on series like Smallville and Melrose Place.
Originally slated for Hulu, Disney announced they would move the series to Disney+. In a world full of increasingly grim variations on “gifted misfits are recruited by a strange school to save the world,” the brighter tone and charming production design of The Mysterious Benedict Society feels like a breath of fresh air. I never knew I wanted Wes Anderson’s take on The Umbrella Academy until just now.
The Mysterious Benedict Society premieres on Disney+ on June 25. Check out the trailer, synopsis, and images below.
After winning a scholarship competition, four gifted orphans are recruited by the peculiar Mr. Benedict for a dangerous mission to save the world from a global crisis known as The Emergency. Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance must infiltrate the mysterious L.I.V.E. Institute to discover the truth behind the crisis. When the headmaster, the sophisticated Dr. Curtain appears to be behind this worldwide panic, the kids of “The Mysterious Benedict Society” must devise a plan to defeat him.
