The BBC has teamed up with Moonage Pictures in the UK and German broadcaster ZDF to co-produce a new live-action series based on Enid Blyton’s 21-book series, The Famous Five.
This latest adaptation consists of three feature-length episodes (90 minutes each) and targets kids ages seven and up with stories that follow the young explorer on adventures such as discovering islands and traveling across the UK. The concept was created byNWR Originals founder Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) and Moonage Pictures’ Matthew Read (Peaky Blinders), who are also producing. BBC Studios will oversee international distribution and has already pre-sold the series to TF1 in France.
The book series, which sells more than two million copies per year, has already been adapted for TV multiple times over the years. Brit broadcasters CITV and ITV launched live-action shows in 1990 and 1978, respectively. And Disney produced an animated series called Famous 5 On The Case in 2000.
Pictured, the third book of the series, Five Run Away Together (1944).