A Mary Poppins television series is officially in development, according to a Deadline report, and it’s taking a sharp turn from the spoonful-of-sugar version you grew up with. The project comes from Tom Winchester of Pure Fiction Television, who optioned the rights from P.L. Travers’s estate. Rather than remaking the beloved 1964 film, the series would pull directly from Travers’s original novels, where Mary Poppins is described as more mysterious, mercurial, and dangerous than her big-screen counterpart.
If you’ve only seen the movies, this might be a shock. The books are magical and surreal, but they’re also sometimes genuinely frightening, full of strange adventures that Disney softened for family audiences. Julie Andrews defined the character in 1964, and Emily Blunt brought her back in the 2018 sequel, but both versions stayed firmly in the warm-and-charming lane. This new take sounds like it’s aiming somewhere stranger.
The biggest question is where this lands. Disney, which produced both films, is not actively involved at this stage, though sources say very early-stage conversations are taking place. That means the series could end up on a different streaming platform entirely, which would be a major shake-up for one of the most iconic family characters of all time. Would you watch a Mary Poppins that’s a little bit scary? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author
Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.