London-based indie prodco Nevision (Floogals) is set to adapt UK author M.G. Leonard’s middle-school Beetle book trilogy into a live-action children’s television series.

In a deal negotiated by DGA’s Kirsty McLachlan, the adaptation of Beetle Boy (2016), Beetle Queen (2017) and the recently published Battle of the Beetles will be led by Nevision board member and former BBC Children’s controller Nigel Pickard as executive producer, along with Leonard as head writer and Floogals producer Ceri Barnes as development executive.

Published by Chicken House in the UK and Scholastic in the US, Canada and Australia, the trilogy unfurls as a darkly comedic story of a teenage boy’s search for his kidnapped father and his unlikely friendship with a giant beetle that saves his life.

Beetle Boy has earned numerous accolades, including the 2017 Branford Boase Award and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016 selection. The trilogy has also been published in more than 30 additional territories, including France, Germany, Italy, China and Russia.

Along with her writing career, Leonard also works as a freelance digital media producer for clients such as the National Theatre and Harry Potter West End. She was previously a senior digital producer at the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe, and also ran indie record label Setanta Records.

Nevision’s option follows the third season commission of its hit CGI/live-action series Floogals by NBCUniversal kidsnet Universal Kids and UK-based Channel 5’s preschool block Milkshake!