‘Mary Poppins’ is coming to TV with a darker side fans may not expect
‘Mary Poppins’ may still be carrying her umbrella, but the TV version will not be the same as the one audiences fell in love with in 1964. According to Deadline, an adaptation of the beloved British children’s book character is currently in early development for a live-action series from Tom Winchester, who will write, produce, and develop the project for his indie television company, Pure Fiction Television. Rather than focusing on the source material that inspired Disney’s film and its 2018 sequel, the series will draw on the eight novels written by P.L. Travers that depict a far stricter, more mysterious, and far less kindly version of ‘Mary Poppins’ who leads the Banks children into increasingly surreal and frightening adventures.
Winchester reportedly optioned the rights to the novels directly from the trustees of the estate of P.L. Travers, so Disney’s involvement is not compulsory to make this project happen. That said, Deadline has learned that early talks have begun with the studio, which has long been the character’s custodian, despite no official commitment from Disney yet. Winchester is shopping the project to potential showrunners, with no attachments to specific writers, cast, or networks at the moment. Pure Fiction Television and Disney both declined to comment when Deadline contacted them. Pure Fiction Television is backed by See-Saw Films, the company behind ‘Slow Horses’ and ‘Heartstopper,’ as well as UK talent agency Hamilton Hodell. It won’t be the first time for Winchester, who produced the first season of FX’s ‘Shōgun,’ based on the book by James Clavell. He is also independently developing Barry Eisler’s 18-book John Rain assassin series for Apple TV.
‘Mary Poppins’ made her debut in a novel by Travers back in 1934. Thirty years later, Disney adapted the story into a musical film featuring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. This adaptation led to disagreements between Travers and Disney, which were famously portrayed in the movie ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ with Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. Fast forward to 2018, ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ arrived as a sequel with Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, directed by Rob Marshall. Across all eight books, ‘Mary Poppins’ leaves the Banks family by the end of the third novel, with the subsequent instalments retelling past adventures, a structural oddity that the new series will have to work around if it follows the books.
