The Mysterious Benedict Society is a Disney+ TV show that follows the lives of four gifted children. Their attempt to stop an evil genius who happens to be the twin brother of their mentor takes them on a wild adventure. The TV show was adapted from a series of books by Trenton Lee Stewart.
The Mysterious Benedict Society ran for two seasons, both of which were eight episodes long. Each season had its peculiar plot line, all of which were geared towards saving the world from the machinations of the show’s villain. The show might have had a short run and its existence on Hulu and Disney+ has been impacted by the great tax write-off of 2023, but it had a lot of high moments that appealed to audiences.
What Is The Plot of The Mysterious Benedict Society?
Four children, Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance, are recruited by a highly talented and smart man called Mr. Benedict. Their recruitment comes after a series of rigorous tests that examine their abilities to act in a certain way in different situations. Each of the four children possesses a peculiar set of skills that make each of them very strong individuals who only become stronger when they pull their forces together.
In both seasons, the children have to deal with a DR. L.D. Curtain- Benedict’s twin. The major plot point of the first season is the interception of his subliminal messages which cause a phenomenon called The Emergency, intending to ruin his plans. This phenomenon causes panic and fear which Curtain is hoping to capitalize on and control people. The children are successful and defeat Curtain.
The second season begins with Curtain taking responsibility for ending The Emergency. Banking on the goodwill this has earned him, he continues his ploy for mind control, this time through hypnosis. To ensure that he is successful without interruption from his brother, Curtain kidnaps Benedict and his assistant Number Two. This spurs the children to action where they have to save the world again. While saving their mentor at the same time.
The Cast of The Mysterious Benedict Society
The four children, Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance are played by Mystic Inscho, Seth Carr, Emmy DeOliveira and Marta Kessler, respectively. Tony Hale plays the double role of Mr Benedict and his twin, L.D. Curtain, both intelligent men who suffer from narcolepsy with cataplexy. The other adults who play recurring roles in the shows are Number Two played by Kristen Schaal, MaameYaa Boafo is Rhonda Kazembe an associate of Benedict and Ryan Hurst plays Milligan, who was a victim of L.D. Curtain’s brainwashing and the long-lost father of Katie.
Of the entire cast, Hale was the first one to be cast. He got the role in February 2020. Decisions on the rest of the cast were finalized in April of the same year. Inscho who plays Reynie the de facto leader of the children’s group spoke on getting the role and how excited he was at hearing the news of him getting cast.
Will There Be A Third Season of The Mysterious Benedict Society?
No, there won’t be a third season of The Mysterious Benedict Society. The plans for adapting the books on which The Mysterious Benedict Society are based were set in motion in 2019. The first two seasons were direct adaptations of the first two books in the Quartet of books. However, the show’s producers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi had voiced a desire to keep making future seasons of the show. They planned that they would take a departure from their previous model of direct adaptations and instead make future shows that only had elements of the books in the series.
When the show’s was cancelled before its third season, cast and crew took to social media to voice their feelings. The reason for its cancellation was never explicitly stated. However, we can theorize that poor viewership led to its cancellation.
The TV Show Was Well Received
A lot of the reactions to The Mysterious Benedict Society were positive. The show currently has a rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and 66% on Metacritic. Another proof of its success is in the many awards it won and received nominations for. The overall story and the acting were the things that endeared the TV show to critics the most.
Follow Us
