If you’re a millennial like me, then chances are you saw the 2003 movie Holes either when it was released in theaters or later when it hit home media and the Disney Channel. The adaptation of Louis Sachar’s same-named 1998 novel starred Shia LaBeouf as Stanley Yelnats, a young boy who sent to a correctional facility to dig holes as punishment after he’s wrongly convicted for a crime. Over 20 years later, a Holes TV show is now in development for Disney+ subscription holders, and I’m intrigued about the major tweak that’s being implemented for this new adaptation.
According to the officially-released logline, the Holes TV series, which has been ordered to pilot, will instead follow a teenage girl rather than a new take on Stanley Yelnats. The girl’s name wasn’t divulged, but the story she’ll be at the center of sounds pretty much the same as what came before, as she’s “sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.” The talent attached to Disney+’s Holes includes Alina Mankin as writer and executive producer, Liz Chang as showrunner and executive producer, and Drew Goddard executive producing through Goddard Textiles alongside Sarah Esberg. Goddard shared in an interview with Variety why the original novel means so much to him, saying:
My mom’s been a schoolteacher for her whole life and, as such, she’s served as a de facto book scout for Goddard Textiles. She always knows what ‘the kids’ are into long before everyone else does. ‘Holes’ was the first book she suggested to me – this was back in the late ‘90s – and she was positive it was going to be a phenomenon. It feels good to bring it full circle for Mrs. Goddard and her sixth grade class.
Drew Goddard added that the creative talent behind Disney+’s Holes TV series have “done a wonderful job capturing Louis Sachar’s unique spirit,” but he didn’t reveal anything else about the project so as not to “spoil the fun.” I’ll be curious to see if any other aspects of the main protagonist in the show will differ from Stanley Yelnats. For example, will she still get sent to Camp Green Lake after being accused of stealing sneakers donated by baseball player Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, or will it be for a different reason? I also imagine that Camp Green Lake will now be comprised of both boys and girls, meaning it’s possible characters like Zero, X-Ray and Zig-Zag could be gender-swapped too.
In any case, I’m interest to see how the small screen adaptation of Holes ends up comparing to its cinematic predecessor, particularly if it’s supposed to just be a miniseries or has the potential to be spread out across multiple seasons. The Holes movie, which is one of the best family movies from the 2000s, was both a critical and commercial success when it was released in April 2003. Shia LaBeouf’s co-stars included Khleo Thomas, Brenden Jefferson, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry Winkler and Eartha Kite, among many others. At least today’s news gives me a good reason to listen to this banger of a song again:
While we wait for more news about Holes, including whether or not the TV show will actually move forward, be sure to look over everything new and upcoming on Disney+, as well as the 2025 TV schedule for all your non-Mouse House-related small screen queries.
