Over the past few years, the question I have probably been asked on this website more than any other is: When will Spy School become a movie or TV series? Well, the first step in that process has begun.
Here are the important points to know:
The show is being developed by Fox TV for Disney +.
It will be a streaming series, most likely with each season being one book in the series.
It will be live action, not animated.
Chris Fedak will be the showrunner. Previously, Chris created the show Chuck, which was also a CIA action-comedy. Interestingly, it is also the show that more CIA agents have told me is their favorite CIA show than any other.
It is being produced by Maximum Effort, which Ryan Reynolds’ production company, and by Emma Watts, who has shepherded such films as The Kingsmen, Deadpool and the Avatar films.
Now, I figure you have a lot of questions. I will try to answer some of them.
Does this guarantee that the show will be on the air?
No. It is only the first step in what might be a long process. There is also a chance that, yet again, the whole thing might fall apart and not happen.
Why is it so hard to get a show or a movie made?
Because making a streaming TV show (or a movie) is really really really expensive. So a lot of things have to go right to make the studio decide to spend all that money.
What is a showrunner?
In TV, a writer generally oversees the show. Multiple writers will work on the show, but Chris will really be in charge. He is also writing the pilot episode.
Why is someone else the showrunner instead of you, Mr. Gibbs?
Because being a showrunner is a big job. I don’t have time to do it and write all my books. However, I am a producer on the show and will be involved in developing the season and will maybe even write an episode (or two).
Wait. Didn’t Disney + turn down the idea of doing Spy School several years ago?
Yes.
What changed their minds?
I’m not sure, but I’m thrilled that they’re giving it another shot. I think Disney + is the right place for the show.
Can I be in the show?
That is not my decision. I am not in charge of casting.
Well, I’m a really good actor. Could you ask the casting person to consider me?
No.
Why not?
Because the casting person’s job is to find talent to play the characters on the show. My job is to write the books that the show is based on. The casting director does not make suggestions about what I should write in my books. And I don’t make suggestions about who they should hire.
However, if the casting director decides there will be an open casting call for the series, then I promise to post about it on my blog.
Do you know who is going to play any of the characters yet?
No. Casting has not begun. And as of this time, I am not sure when it might start.
Do you have any idea when the show might be ready for viewing?
No. But as of right now, July 9, 2026, I would say it will probably be at least a year.
Hopefully, I will have more good news to report about the show in the coming months, Stay tuned to this blog for more details!
Untitled –
At this moment, Disney is only planning the Spy School show.
Do you have a rough idea of the timeline of events that will take place between now and the release of the show?
Dear Mr. Gibbs,
Is the show going to be super violent or not too violent?
Love, Connor
Connot Aung
Seeing as the show is targeted at families, super violent is out of the question.
Mr Gibbs i don’t know what write this writing. Wel l can guess, you can’t addressing what l say but l can’t speak English but I…..I don’t know what l say
Mr Gibbs
So this is going to be a series and not a movie? I’d actually like that more. And are they going to do the whole series or does it depend on how the first season does?
Julian –
Yes, it will be a series, not a movie. And how many seasons of the show there are will be contingent upon how well the show performs.
OMG IM SO EXCITEDDDD!! THIS IS HUGE NEWS CONGRATS STUART GIBBSSS!!!!
Mr. Gibbs
I know I’m a little late to the party but congratulations! I’ve wanted a spy school series for a while now and I hope it can live up to everyone’s expectations. Do you know if they plan to actually film the first few seasons in and around dc, or the other setting in the book?
Congrats again!
O_O
I really have no idea where the show will film at this point. That is a decision that will be made much later in the process.
Hear me out, Daniel Craig should be Cyrus
me
Um… Daniel Craig is 58. That’s closer to Alexander than Cyrus.
Congrats Mr.Gibbs! Will they only make the first book into a show or will they keep doing all the books? Also Im a big fan. And since it is like spy school will their be scenes that are just normal classes? Or like all action?
Will the cast of the show be based on the GNs, the books, or be completely up to the casting directors? Will they weigh in on your opinion as to the casting, considering they’re your characters?
-+-+-
The first season will be the first book. If that goes well, subsequent seasons will be subsequent books.
There will definitely be scenes in classes on the show, just like there were scenes in classes in the books.
Gotham
Are you asking will they try to make the characters on the show look like the characters that Anjan Sarkar drew? Absolutely not. That would be virtually impossible.
I have no idea how much the casting director will be interested in my opinion. We do not have a casting director yet, so there is no way for me to know what they think.
Hi Mr Gibbs! I’ve been dreaming about being Ben in a spy school movie/tv show since I read the first book many years ago, and I have emailed you a few times about it! I am so glad that it is finally happening, but I have a few questions that others might also want to know.
1. When there is a casting call, whether it is open or not, are you going to post about it on your website, or will we need an agent to access it?
2. Are there any ideas on where the series will be filmed, or is that too early in the process?
3. (sorry this is a really long comment) Do you have any idea as to if previous show experience with film is needed, just local theatre and things like that, or none at all?
Thank you for the hard work you put into writing (I’m working on a book too, and working on more than one is SUPER DUPER hard) And I can’t wait to see what will happen next in the star of this amazing journey!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY also will it be cartoon or live action? I was wondering. and if it uses real people where will it be filmed? I just wanted to know
Matthew A –
1) If there is casting call information, I will post about it. I assume that anyone who wants to try out will need an agent.
2) At this time, I have no information on where the show will film or whether any actors will need previous acting experience.
SPYSCHOOLFANATIC!!!
As noted in this post, it will be live action. Not animated.
Hi!
I love all of the spy school books so much and have been waiting for another possible movie/show. I think it would be a really fun opportunity to audition for the series. Do you have any idea where I might be able to find casting/audition updates when they are available?
Emily
If and when I have casting information, I will post about it on my blog.
This show will take place over 20 months, and will have at least 14 seasons. Unless they frequently recast the kids, I’m not sure how this’ll work. This works with Harry Potter and Percy Jackson because those series span several years and the characters age with the actors
For a show like this, it might be a better idea to have each season adapt more than one book. Especially several books that take place within a relatively short period of time (Like books 6-8, even though there was a 2 week time jump between books 7 and 8, and books 12-14).
Then, in between each book, they can have an episode or two covering events that Ben mentions happening after the events of the previous book (For example, after SSBI, there could be an episode or two showing them staying with Orion after they went to Paris and then eventually returning to DC. After SSGW, there could be an episode where Catherine gets called back to the office and then the rest of the team decides to stay with Orion for a few days
Vic Fontaine
There is no way that the show could possibly adhere to the timeline laid out in the books. There will have to be adjustments made to the timeline to allow for the characters to age.
What are the characteristics of Ben Ripley? I was thinking about attempting to audition for it and after reading the previous posts I know you don’t have the actual show information but since you did write the books, I would assume you know what the characters are supposed to look like. I have a basic understanding, but I want to know more.
If the show gets to SSGN will they have to cut out Svetlana and Zoe’s relationship? Because if they do that’s just plain offensive… LGBTQ+ people are humans too.
Ethan
The idea is to cast the best actor to play Ben Ripley, so there is no preconceived notion of what Ben might look like.
-+-+-
I have no idea if we will get to SSGN, which would be eleven seasons of the show. But I would certainly hope that aspect of the show would be included.
Do you help with the directing in the movie?
kid
I will not be a director on the show.
Congrats Stuart Gibbs I’ve been waiting for a movie/show for a while I’m so glad that I started reading your books. Who do you think should play Erica and Ben?
Ari R
Since it is the casting director’s job to figure out who should play Ben and Erica, I honestly haven’t given it any thought at all.
Ok I get it. I hope you like who gets casted. Congrats again!
Nice job Mr. Gibbs!
Do you know when the series will come out?
Also, are they making other series into shows
Congrats!!!
Jeremy the anonymous
I do not know when — or mid — the show will come out. Once I know that I will post about it.
And if any of my other books become shows, I will post about that as well.
I love your books ( I’ve reread them countless times) and I’m sooooo excited for the show. Any idea on how long the production could take?
Can you try to plan an event in Ohio please. I would just love to see you and ask you questions about my favorite spy school books
Kyler
Sadly, I really don’t know how long the production could take. But at the bare minimum, it’s at least a year.
Kyler
I have been visiting schools since 2010 and in that time, I have been invited to do events in Ohio three times. I have no idea why I don’t get invited there much. But I can’t do an event if no one asks me to do one.
OMG IM SO THRILLLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE ALL OF YOUR BOOKS
that’s prob gonna lowk be my fav series ever
Hiiii I love your books so much I hope the first season goes well , do you think you can like two books in each season because 14+ seasons would be a lot, do you know how much months will it take to start filming ?
Two things: first Daniel Craig would be Cyrus because cia rarely hires the people older than 70 so Daniel Craig would be the oldest realistic choice. But if you really want someone old than Harrison Ford.
ilovespyschoolwithallmyheart
I do not think they will be able to do two or more books per season.
And I have no idea when — or even if — filming will begin.
First of all, your my favorite author, and I can’t thank you enough for creating the spy school series. It has made my imagination run wild for some time. I do love the idea of this show being made, but as a person who likes the authenticity of a book,I’ve always loved the idea of imagining a story the way you want it. For example, I’ve always imagined Erica being a blonde, and Ashley with black hair and circle glasses.
I know that you aren’t in charge of the production or the cast, but you could probably see where I am going with this and maybe put a good word in. Otherwise, I was just going to suggest that Cyrus might be played by Sam Eliot, although it may not be possible if he is not physically able for the roll.
And I just wanna say thanks for all ya do, your imagination is amazing, keep up the good work, and god bless! —J.L. (P.S- whenever you read spy school again, you should listen to the first ten songs of the twisters album, excluding the first one. It really brought the book to life for me. But it’ll bring a new atmosphere to the books.) ?
J-leech
Thanks for your kind words. I love Sam Eliot, but he might be a bit old. Not sure. For the most part, I’m going to leave all this up to the casting director.
If this is going to be a series, then I’m miserable because I have to wait for the Persian subtitles for each episode.
Barman –
I have been doing everything I can to get this made for the past twenty years. It’s this or nothing.
I love all your books countless times and am so excited for a tv series. I have been waiting for countless years for this and first found out about this in a magizine slash newspaper I read and am really happy I know you have been waiting a long time for this and I knew your writing could make it this far. I have searched up if they were gonna make a spy school series like every day of my life until this moment so I’m so excited sorry this is kinda long but I’m also wondering if they are gonna make a Space Case and Funjungle series. Congrats,Evelyn.
P.s If I get my school to ask if you will come down to Iowa will you come PLEASE?
Evelyn –
At this point, there are no plans to make a Space Case or FunJungle series — although I would be very pleased if either of those was to happen.
If your school wants to bring me to visit, then I can try to make that work. It would help to know where your school is, though.