Mary Poppins TV Series in Development From Travers Books — SkimNews
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- Mary Poppins TV series is in early development as a live-action adaptation drawing from P.L. Travers' eight original books, not a retelling of Disney's 1964 Julie Andrews film
- Tom Winchester is developing and producing the series through indie outfit Pure Fiction Television, which is backed by See-Saw Films and UK talent agency Hamilton Hodell
- Winchester optioned the rights from the P.L. Travers estate trustees; Disney's legal buy-in is not required, though early-stage conversations with Disney are taking place and nothing has been agreed
- The Travers novels' Mary Poppins is described as more mysterious, mercurial, dangerous, magical, surreal, and frightening than her 1964 film incarnation
- Winchester previously produced FX's Emmy-winning Shōgun season 1 and is separately developing Barry Eisler's 18 John Rain assassin books into a series for Apple TV
- The project remains at pitch stage, with Winchester approaching top-level showrunners; both Pure Fiction and Disney declined to comment
Why it matters: Winchester optioned the rights directly from the Travers estate, so the project doesn't legally need Disney — though early-stage conversations are underway and the studio could still opt in given the IP's history (1964 film, 2018 sequel). That structure lets the adaptation lean into the darker, stranger source material Travers herself favored after her public fallout with Disney, the very conflict dramatized in Saving Mr. Banks.
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