Season two of The Mysterious Benedict Society, about four gifted orphans recruited to work with an eccentric rich guy, begins on Disney Plus October 26. The season sees kids Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance embark on a mission to save the world after Mr. Benedict's twin, Dr. L.D. Curtain, puts the world in peril.
They learn that Mr. Benedict and Number Two, played by Tony Hale and Kristen Schaal, have been kidnapped, and they have to piece together a spooky scavenger hunt plotted out by Benedict to foil his twin.
Executive producer Matt Manfredi likened season two to "Planes, Trains and Automobiles, in a European location," with an ocean liner, dirigible and a pie truck in the mix as well.
"Relying on only their wits, intellect, and empathy, the charming group of misfits embark on a globe-trotting adventure by air, land, sea and pie truck, calling upon their special skills to solve the mysteries and rescue their lost comrades," added Disney Plus.
Darren Swimmer, exec producer, said the kids sort out "puzzles and clues to figure out what their next step is going to be. Along the way, they learn how to maintain the family they found last season."
Mystic Inscho plays Reynie, Seth B. Carr is Sticky, Emmy DeOliveira portrays Kate Wetherall and Marta Kessler is Constance.
The kids don't have grown ups to lead the way this season. "They're on their own and don't have adult supervision," said Todd Slavkin, executive producer. "They're going to do some things that maybe are not the best things to do, and they're going to learn from it."
Slavkin mentioned the "great educational, moral, ethical dilemmas they're faced with."
The series is adapted from the book series by Trenton Lee Stewart, who Slavkin called "our biggest supporter." The producers were pleased with how season one found a substantial audience. "They really got what we were hoping they’d get out of it, which is this deep connection to empathy and to a sense of love between characters being the answer to all these problems," said Phil Hay, exec producer.
The Mysterious Benedict Society emerged as a series families could watch together, the producers said, which was an initial goal for them. "A lot of families said, this is a show we can agree on," said Manfredi. "A lot of families watched it together, which was a fun thing to learn."
The old showbiz axiom warns against working with children, but the producers said the kid cast has been excellent. "They can offer something different [than adult actors], which is a real openness and transparency and vulnerability," said Hay, "which is wonderful for these characters, because that’s who these characters are as well."
Manfredi said the youthful cast is something of an inspiration for the writers' room. "It helps in the writing process in that you see how much they are capable of," he said, "and you continue to write toward it."
Manfredi and Hay created the show. Swimmer and Slavkin are showrunners.
The tone stays consistent with the season one tone. Slavkin called it the "backbone" of The Mysterious Benedict Society. "It's been there since the very beginning–it's kind of the North Star that holds it together," he said. "It's a quirky, fun, unpredictable, anything-can-happen tone."
He added that Tony Hale plays a key part in setting the tone, never more so than when he plays both Mr. Benedict and his evil twin, on screen together. "His sense of timing, his sense of comedy is impeccable," said Swimmer.
The season two starter is titled A Perilous Journey. That Planes, Trains and Automobiles motif meant some unique production challenges. "When you do a road trip show, you have to change the sets every episode," said Swimmer. "It creates a logistical and budget challenge, but it also makes for great TV. So it worked out." ■
