‘Spy School’ TV Series in the Works at Disney+, Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort to Produce

Disney+ is developing a series version of Stuart Gibbs’ “Spy School” novels, Variety has learned.

There are 14 books in the series, beginning with “Spy School” in 2012 and with the 14th book — “Spy School Goes East” — set to be published in October 2026. The logline for the series states:

“Ben Ripley may only be a teenager, but he’s already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he’s entirely shocked to discover that the school is a front for a CIA academy.”

The series is being written by Chris Fedak, who also serves as executive producer. Emma Watts will also executive produce, with Ryan Reynolds‘ Maximum Effort (“The Adam Project,” “Welcome to Wrexham”) executive producing along with Gibbs. 20th Television, where Maximum Effort is under a first-look deal, is the studio.

Gibbs’ books have collectively sold more than 12 million copies. In addition to the “Spy School” novels, he has written multiple entries in the series “FunJungle,” “Charlie Thorne,” “Moon Base Alpha,” and “Once Upon a Tim.” He wrote the screenplays for films including “See Spot Run,” “Replicate,” and “Showdown” among others.

Fedak, who is said to be a longtime fan of Gibbs’ work, is best known for co-creating and showrunning the hit NBC series “Chuck.” He was also previously the co-creator and showrunner of the Fox drama “Prodigal Son” as well as the ABC series “Deception.” In film, he wrote the action film “Ambulance” for director Michael Bay and star Jake Gyllenhaal.

Fedak is repped by WME and Goodman Genow. Gibbs is repped by CAA and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. Maximum Effort is repped by WME.

This would be the latest YA book-to-series adaptation to find a home at Disney+. The streamer currently airs the “Percy Jackson” series, which is going into its third season, while they are currently prepping a live-action “Eragon” series and a series version of “Animorphs.” Previously, Disney+ aired a series based on the R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” books for two seasons.