EXCLUSIVE: Veep standout Tony Hale has been tapped for the lead(s) in The Mysterious Benedict Society, Hulu’s adventure drama series based on the best-selling YA novel by Trenton Lee Stewart. Two-time Emmy winner Hale will play the dual role of Mr. Benedict and his twin brother Mr. Curtain in the project from Sonar Entertainment, 20th Century Fox TV and Jamie Tarses’ Fanfare.

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Written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, The Mysterious Benedict Society is the tale of four gifted orphans who are recruited by a eccentric, benefactor (Hale) to go on a secret mission. Placed undercover at a boarding school known as The Institute, they must foil a nefarious plot with global ramifications, while creating a new sort of family along the way.

Hale’s Mr. Benedict, a rumpled, affable eccentric genius, is the head of the Mysterious Benedict Society – a group of orphans he has recruited to save the world. While Mr. Benedict is reluctant to put the children in harm’s way, he feels there is no other choice. His Society is mysterious, and so is Mr. Benedict himself; he is the genial, cunning mastermind.

Hale also plays Mr. Curtain, Mr. Benedict’s frustratingly sharp and well put-together (if villainous) twin brother.

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Former Shadowhunters showrunners Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer serve as showrunners of the series They executive produce alongside Manfredi, Hay, Tarses and Karen Kehela Sherwood .

The Mysterious Benedict Society, written by Stewart and illustrated by Carson Ellis, was published by Little, Brown and Company in 2007, launching a best-selling book franchise that also includes sequels The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma as well as prequel The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict.

Hale is coming off a seven-season run on the Emmy-winning Veep, which earned him six acting Emmy nominations and two trophies. He also co-starred on the Emmy-winning Arrested Development and created the animated comedy series Archibald’s Next Big Thing. Hale recently wrapped Wakey, Wakey a one-man play at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and is featured in the Oscar-winning Toy Story 4 as the voice of Forky. He is repped by UTA and Hansen Jacobson.

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