Bardel Entertainment, Rainbow S.p.A. Acquire The Bailey School Kids Rights

Bardel Entertainment and Rainbow S.p.A. have acquired the rights to the best-selling Scholastic book series The Bailey School Kids by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. 

Following the announcement, the companies will work to develop a live-action series inspired by Scholastic’s best-selling book series of all time.

“We’re thrilled about the opportunity to expand The Bailey School Kids’s universe into a live-action series for future generations to grow up with,” says Rick Mischel, chief executive officer, Bardel Entertainment. “With themes of friendship, fantasy, humor and a few scares in the face of navigating pre-teen years, it’s no surprise that Debbie and Marcia’s books are counted among Scholastic’s top best-selling series of all time. We look forward to kids all around the world getting access to these stories.” 

Bardel and Rainbow will jointly produce the live-action series with Mischel, Kimberly Guidone and authors Marcia Jones and Debbie Dadey serving as executive producers. Stephen Moore of the Paul Kohner Agency negotiated the deal on behalf of Marie Lamba and Jennifer DeChiara of the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. The project was first brought to Bardel by writer/producer Arne Olsen, who will also help develop with Bardel and Rainbow.

“Rainbow is always looking for great stories that can capture the imagination of families around the world,” says Iginio Straffi, founder and chief executive officer, Rainbow Group. “These are quite rare to find and require a strong creative vision. As soon as we came across The Bailey School Kids, however, we realized that this best-selling series is a compelling concept full of potential that can’t wait to be brought to the screen.”

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