MARY POPPINS TV Series in the Works and It Will Explore the Darker, Stranger Side of the Books

Disney’s practically perfect nanny could be headed to TV, but this version of Mary Poppins may be a very different creature from the one movie fans know.

A live-action Mary Poppins TV series is in development, and rather than simply recreating the beloved 1964 Disney musical starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the project plans to return to P. L. Travers’ original books.

That gives the series eight novels worth of material to explore, including plenty of strange and occasionally unsettling corners that the movies never touched.

Anyone who only knows Mary through Disney’s films might be surprised by Travers’ version of the character. The literary Mary Poppins can be more mysterious, unpredictable and dangerous, while the stories themselves venture into surreal territory that can sometimes become genuinely frightening.

That could make a Mary Poppins television adaptation much more interesting than another trip through familiar movie material.

The project is being developed and produced by Tom Winchester through Pure Fiction Television, which is backed by Slow Horses and Heartstopper producer See-Saw Films along with UK talent agency Hamilton Hodell.

Winchester is developing the series on behalf of the trustees of the P. L. Travers estate after optioning the rights. The project remains at the pitch stage, with Winchester currently approaching high-profile showrunners.

There have also reportedly been very early conversations with Disney about potentially becoming involved. Disney isn’t required for the project to move forward from a rights standpoint, but given the studio’s long history with Mary Poppins, there’s hope it could eventually participate. No agreement has been reached.

Of course, Disney and Mary Poppins have a complicated history. Travers’ books became the basis for Disney’s Oscar-winning 1964 musical, but the author famously criticized the studio’s interpretation of her work.

Her difficult relationship with Walt Disney and the making of the movie later inspired Saving Mr. Banks, starring Emma Thompson as Travers and Tom Hanks as Disney.

Disney eventually returned to the character with 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns, starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Rob Marshall directed the musical fantasy comedy.

Winchester also has experience taking established literary properties and bringing them to television. He served as a producer on the first season of FX’s Emmy-winning Shōgun, adapted from James Clavell’s novel. He’s also developing Barry Eisler’s 18-book John Rain assassin series for Apple TV.

Going back to Travers’ books gives this new Mary Poppins series a chance to carve out its own identity. The character has become so closely associated with Andrews and Disney that it’s easy to forget just how much more interesting the original material can get.

A television format also gives the creative team room to explore more of Travers’ mythology instead of squeezing everything into another feature film.

If the series embraces the books’ surreal adventures, unpredictable magic and more formidable version of Mary, we could end up with a Mary Poppins adaptation that feels familiar in name but surprisingly different in execution.

Source: Deadline