How Closely Will ‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ Follow The Books?
“The Mysterious Benedict Society,” which debuts on Disney+ this week, is the latest original programming to hit the streaming service. But it’s based on the book series of the same name by Trenton Lee Stewart, which has sold at least 3 million copies in the U.S. That’s a lot of fans who are probably wondering how closely the series will adapt those books.
Fortunately for them, according to series star Kristen Schaal, the answer is very.
Schaal plays Number Two, the right hand woman to the eccentric Mr. Benedict (Tony Hale). She’s a mousy woman, but there’s something vaguely terrifying about her. According to Schaal, she’s definitely handy in a fight, and you absolutely want her on your team.
“I think the fans of the books will be very satisfied with this season,” Schaal tells TheWrap. It definitely is very tight on the journey that happens in the first book.”
So no, you likely won’t need to have read the books to understand what’s going on in the show. They may provide some additional details — like Number Two’s real name, which Schaal says the show won’t necessarily reveal — but with any luck, “The Mysterious Benedict Society” won’t suffer from diverging storylines like “Percy Jackson” and “Eragon” did in their screen adaptations.
That said, like any adaptation, the show will add its own “embellishments.” With the Disney+ series, Schaal notes that we’ll see more of what Mr. Benedict and his cohorts are up to behind the scenes, while the Society itself is working on their mission.
“There’s just more. It’s like the book plus,” Schaal jokes. (Which seems fitting, considering the series’ home is on Disney+).
“The Mysterious Benedict Society” begins streaming on Disney+ on Friday, June 25.