‘He's very Willy Wonka!'

Tony Hale on playing an eccentric benefactor who recruits a group of gifted orphans to save the world…

- CAREN CLARK

Readers of all ages have been captivated by Trenton Lee Stewart’s bestselling novels following the adventures of a gang of intrepid orphans as they expose wrongdoing.

Now, the colourful, darkly comic stories are brought to life in Disney+’s spellbinding fantasy drama The Mysterious Benedict Society. The eight-part series centres on quirky philanthropist Mr Benedict, played by Veep and Arrested Development’s Tony Hale, who is keen to end a global crisis known as The Emergency, which is tearing society apart.

To uncover the source of The Emergency, Mr Benedict recruits four talented but troubled youngsters to go undercover at an unsettling school, the L.I.V.E. Institute, from where sinister messages are being relayed. But when the super-smart quartet meet inscrutable headmaster Dr LD Curtain, also played by Hale, will they uncover the truth?

TV Times joined Tony, 50, for an exclusive video chat to learn more…

How would you describe the show?

The Emergency is sending everybody into panic and fear, but no one can put their finger on where it’s coming from. Mr Benedict gathers these four gifted kids together and it turns out the source is coming from Mr Benedict’s evil – or misunderstood! – twin brother, Curtain. So it’s fun.

I love that these kids don’t have magical powers; their superpowers are their intellect, creativity and empathy. And those are superpowers our own society needs. There’s a tremendous amount of noise and chaos. But voices of truth and hope can pierce through.