‘Mysterious Benedict Society’ Series Moves From Hulu to Disney Plus

“The Mysterious Benedict Society” series is being moved to Disney Plus after originally being developed for Hulu.

The show was originally ordered to series at Hulu last year, but is now slated to debut on fellow Disney-owned streamer Disney Plus in 2021. It is based on the book series of the same name by Trenton Lee Stewart.

“‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ is a beautifully executed adaptation of the celebrated and beloved book series. It’s original, clever and fun for the whole family, which makes it the perfect fit for Disney+,” said Dana Walden, chairman of Entertainment for Walt Disney Television. “One of the great benefits to creators working with our company is that we have a platform that’s right for every series, and having seen the first few episodes of this show, there is no better home for it than Disney+.”

This marks the first time a project has moved from Hulu to Disney Plus, but the reverse has occurred multiple times. Both the “High Fidelity” series and “Love, Victor” were originally developed for Disney Plus before being moved to Hulu. Hillary Duff also pushed to have the planned “Lizzie McGuire” revival moved from Disney Plus to Hulu, though to date that has not happened.

“Disney+ has established itself over the last year as the streaming home for a diverse slate of high-quality content featuring beloved franchises, stories and characters,” said Ricky Strauss, president of Programming and Content Curation, Disney+ and Hulu. “We’re thrilled to add ‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ to Disney+ and know it will captivate our viewers’ imagination with exciting new worlds and capture the hearts of audiences of all ages.”

The eight-episode first season stars Tony Hale, Kristen Schaal, Ryan Hurst, MaameYaa Boafo, Gia Sandhu, Seth Carr, Emmy DeOliveira, Mystic Inscho, and Marta Timofeeva. Placed undercover at a boarding school known as The Institute, a group of orphans (Inscho, DeOliveira, Carr, Timofeeva) must foil a nefarious plot with global ramifications while creating a new sort of family along the way.

“The Mysterious Benedict Society” is executive produced by Sonar Entertainment, 20th Television, Jamie Tarses, Karen Kehela Sherwood, and writers and co-creators Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay. Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin serve as executive producers and showrunners. 20th Television serves as the studio.

“We are so thrilled that Disney+ will be the home for our show. What a great place to be! It’s a beautiful thing to feel as supported and inspired as we have, every step of the way, by our entire team at 20th, Hulu and the Disney family; and we are honored and gratified by the belief in the show this represents,” Manfredi and Hay said. “From the moment Jamie and Karen brought us these fantastic books, through our collaboration with Todd, Darren, Tony and our amazing cast and crew, we’ve felt very lucky. Certainly feeling that way today.”

Added Slavkin and Swimmer, “We’re excited to help bring Trenton Lee Stewart’s wonderful book and Matt and Phil’s exquisite adaption to Disney+. It is the perfect platform for the Mysterious Benedict Society and we can’t wait for the world to see this show.”