#‘Drive’ and ‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ Director Nicolas Winding Refn to Re-Imagine Kids Classic ‘The Famous Five’ for the BBC, Germany’s ZDF

It’s safe to say that no one saw this one coming. Danish enfant terrible Nicolas Winding Refn, director of Drive, The Neon Demon and the Pusher trilogy, has been tapped to reboot The Famous Five, based on Enid Blyton’s classic series of children’s books.

Blyton wrote 21 books on the adventures of the group of four children — Julian, Dick, Anne and George, along with their dog Timmy — beginning with Five on a Treasure Island, first published in 1942. The books have been adapted for television multiple times.

Refn will act as creator and producer on a new The Famous Five limited series adaptation, which has begun filming across the southwest of the U.K. The Danish director is executive producing through his byNWR Originals company together with BBC Studios-backed Moonage Pictures (Amazon Prime’s The Pursuit of Love) for the BBC and German public broadcaster ZDF. Tim Kirkby, who directed Mike Myers’ Netflix comedy series The Pentaverate, has been tapped to helm the three 90-minute episodes of The Famous Five. The series has been presold to TF1 for France. The executive producer for Moonage Pictures is Matthew Read.

“This Famous Five will be a modern, timely and irreverent action series with adventure at its heart,” said Will Gould, co-founder of Moonage Pictures, announcing the project.

Given Refn’s reputation as a boundary-pushing auteur with a penchant for extreme visuals and sometimes OTT violence he is, depending on your take, either an inspired or insane choice to take on The Famous Five. The director’s last feature was 2016’s The Neon Demon, a horror-thriller set in the world of high fashion. He comes off back-to-back TV series — Too Old to Die Young for Amazon Prime and the Danish-language Copenhagen Cowboy for Netflix — both violent neo-noir thrillers. The Famous Five promises to be a radical departure for the cult director and his first-ever family-friendly project.

“All my life I’ve fought vigorously to remain a child with a lust for adventure,” Refn said in a statement. “By reimagining The Famous Five, I am preserving that notion by bringing these iconic stories to life for a progressive new audience, instilling the undefinable allure and enchantment of childhood for current and future generations to come.”

Sarah Muller, senior head of children’s commissioning 7+, and BBC commissioning editor Amy Buscombe commissioned The Famous Five reboot, along with Frank Seyberth and Katharina Kremling for ZDF. BBC Studios, who are handling international sales, brokered the co-production and presales deals with both Germany’s ZDF and France’s TF1.

“This wonderful series of books has enjoyed undeniable success for several generations in France,” said Sophie Leveaux, artistic director of acquisitions and international drama development at TF1. “This great brand, perfect for bringing the whole family together, fits in perfectly with TF1’s editorial line. We are convinced that this remarkably well-written TV series, faithful to Enid Blyton’s novel, will be a great asset to TF1’s programming.”

Matthew Read, Priya K Dosanjh and Matthew Bouch co-wrote the series. Executive Producers are Refn, Read, Gould, Frith Tiplady, Christina Bostofte Erritzøe, Kimberly Willming and Matthew Bouch. Sophie MacClancy is producing.