Undercover kids

A team of intrepid orphans investigate a global conspiracy in a quirky family fantasy

- CAREN CLARK, ALISON SLADE

If you fancy a break from this week’s wall-to-wall coverage of Euro 2020, try Disney+’s entertaining fantasy drama The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Based on Trenton Lee Stewart’s novels, the eight-part series (two episodes will be available from 25 June, then a new episode will be released weekly) features Tony Hale as Nicholas Benedict, a narcoleptic philanthropist, and Kristen Schaal as his deputy. Mr Benedict is determined to end a global crisis known as The Emergency, which has plunged the world into disaster thanks to strange subliminal messages that are being broadcast.

‘Mr Benedict is an affable genius – he’s very Willy Wonka,’ says Hale, 50. ‘He’s full of life but he has narcolepsy, so sometimes he’ll just pass out. But he’s desperate to find out the truth about The Emergency.