The One Disney+ Show You Should Be Streaming Amid Marvel and Star Wars Fatigue
October 26, 2022 was a special day for the fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society as it marked the release of the show's Season 2. The series has returned to Disney+ with the first two episodes.
The show is based on Trenton Lee Stewart's bestselling series of books the first of which saw the light in 2007. It was followed by three more novels and a prequel. Season 1 told us the story of Nicholas Benedict (Tony Hale) as he fought his evil twin brother L.D. Curtain (also Tony Hale hence double act!) whose goal was to control the world through a mind control machine called The Whisperer.
This Season the four gifted orphans – Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance – who were recruited by Mr. Benedict, embark on another mission to save the world from the nefarious plans of his twin brother Dr. L.D. Curtain. The kids must piece together the riddles and solve puzzles relying on their wits, intellect, and empathy. The charming group of misfits embark on a globe-trotting adventure by air, land, sea and pie truck, calling upon their special skills to solve the mysteries and rescue their lost friends. In the process, they discover what true happiness really means.
Showing kids travel across the world was a bit of a challenge for the production crew, co-showrunner and executive producer Darren Swimmer said.
"Season 1 all kind of took place in a fixed location. Season 2, the books are like a road show, a road movie. It was a challenge to be able to do a television production that goes across the Atlantic, goes to several locations around Europe all while we were filming in Southern California."
According to Todd Slavkin, the series co-showrunner and executive producer, Season 2 of The Mysterious Benedict Society also reaffirms Season 1's commitment to racial inclusion and respect to neurodiversity community. He said that being a little different and not like everyone else means you're special and that's your superpower. It's not so cool to be 'normal' like everyone else.
"OMG my kids are finally represented on screen this is so great," Slavkin said.
The first season of the series was mostly well received by the critics, with Daniel D'Addario of Variety saying "within the growing set of shows about kids asked to save the world, The Mysterious Benedict Society stands out, and might itself save a rainy weekend for curious kids..."
So, if you are still unware of what happened in the first two episodes of Season 2 tune in and catch up!
They are available to stream on Disney+ now. New episodes are released every Wednesday.