‘Holes’ TV series not moving forward on Disney+

Disney+ will not move forward with the TV adaptation of the Louis Sachar novel “Holes” – which was the basis of Disney’s 2003 film of the same name – after ordering a pilot early this year.

Sachar’s novel was published in 1998 and won a National Book Award and a Newbery Medal. Directed by Andrew Davis, the film starred Shia LaBeouf as Stanley Yelnats, a teenager sent to a juvenile detention camp called Camp Green Lake for a crime he did not commit. While he is forced to dig holes in the desert every day, he discovers a shocking connection between the land and his family. The cast also included Sigourney Weaver, Khleo Thomas, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Patricia Arquette, Dulé Hill and Eartha Kitt. Both the book and film were critical and commercial successes.

The new Disney+ pilot was gender-conscious and followed a teenage girl in a detention camp instead of a boy. Shay Rudolph would play Hayley, the lead role, with Greg Kinnear as director. The cast also included Aidy Bryant as camp counselor Sissy, Noah Cottrell as kitchen worker Kitch and Flor Delis Alicea, Anire Kim Amoda, Iesha Daniels, Sophie Dieterlen, Alexandra Doke and Maeve Press as Hayley’s fellow campers at Camp Yucca.

The “Holes” pilot added Alina Mankin as writer, with Liz Phang as showrunner and Jac Schaeffer as director. Executive producers included Mankin, Phang, Drew Goddard via Goddard Textiles, Sarah Esberg and Mike Medavoy via Shamrock, which owns the rights. Andrea Massaro of Goddard Textiles was a co-executive producer. The pilot was produced by Walden Media, which produced the film, and 20th Television was the studio.