Summary

The Spiderwick Chronicles
adaptation was originally axed by Disney+ despite being finished.
Paramount TV shopped it around, leading to Roku picking it up as an ambitious offering.
The show follows the Grace Family in a fantastical world, premiering on The Roku Channel in 2024.

The Roku Channel has released the first trailer for the new TV adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Having originally been set to be released on Disney+, the Christian Slater-starring show looked like it was about to become another completed series that would never make it to screens when Disney decided to cancel it. However, after a tense few weeks, the fantasy series was picked up by The Roku Channel as one of their most ambitious offerings to date. You can check out the trailer above, and the new poster announced the April debut below.

Fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles believed that the TV adaptation starring Christian Slater and Joy Bryant was never to get its grand moment, but back in October it was announced that the series would be seen after all. The show was originally intended to stream on Disney+ but was canceled despite the series having been finished. The only hope for The Spiderwick Chronicles seeing the light of day was Paramount TV shopping the show around in order to find a new home. The studio’s team, which was led by President Nicole Clemens, managed to unexpectedly broker a deal with Roku for the exclusive U.S. rights. At the time, Deadline reported:

“It is an honor to bring
The Spiderwick Chronicles
, a spectacular adventure-filled story led by the incredible Christian Slater and Joy Bryant, exclusively to The Roku Channel. We cannot wait to introduce this exquisitely crafted series, imagined by a world-class creative team, to millions of streamers,” said Brian Tannenbaum, Head of Originals, Roku Media.

The Spiderwick Chronicles Follows the Grace Family, as they move into their ancestral home and unravel a dark mystery about their great-great Uncle who discovered the parallel, secret faerie world to their own.Release Date April 19, 2024 Seasons 1 Studio 20th Television, Disney+, Paramount Television Studios Streaming Service(s) The Roku Channel

The Spiderwick Chronicles was abandoned by Disney+ as part of a string of unpopular cost-saving decisions, with the House of Mouse opting not to air the series at the same time as canceling a wave of other shows. This was despite the fact that, similar to Warner Bros.’ Batgirl, all the episodes for TheSpiderwick Chronicleshad been completed at the time of cancelation.

“We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation. As a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms, and currently expect to take an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion,” said Disney CFO Christine McCarthy back in May.

What Is The Spiderwick Chronicles All About?

For those unfamiliar with the work, The Spiderwick Chronicles was originally a book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black that concerned the Grace family. Having moved from New York to the family’s ancestral home in Michigan, the Spiderwick Estate. While there, the family discovers several mysteries hidden inside and a fantastical, but sometimes dangerous, world around them. The Grace family will be played by Bryant, Noah Cottrell, Lyon Daniels, and Mychala Lee. Slater will star as the ogre Mulgarath while Jack Dylan Grazer stars as the brownie Thimbletack (he’s the fairy kind of brownie, not the eating kind).

“We are elated that
The Spiderwick Chronicles
has found a new home and want to thank The Roku Channel for their passionate partnership. Our showrunner Aron Eli Coleite has crafted a beautiful series full of all the enchantment that made the books so beloved, and we can’t wait for audiences to meet these wonderful characters,” said Clemens.

Related The Spiderwick Chronicles: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know About The Canceled Series Disney+ recently pulled the plug on its highly anticipated series, The Spiderwick Chronicles. Here is everything we know about the scrapped series.

Besides serving as showrunner, Coleite also serves as an executive producer alongside Kat Coiro, who directed the first two episodes. Other executive producers on the show include DiTerlizzi, Black, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, Julie Kane-Ritsch and Grace Gilroy. Besides that, Paramount Television Studios & 20th Television produce the show while Paramount Global Content Distribution will distribute the show internationally.

The Spiderwick Chronicles
will air for free on The Roku Channel starting April 19, 2024.