No Time To Die, the 25th film to feature Ian Fleming’s superspy, James Bond, will finally hit movie screens in October, after numerous delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Judging from its trailer, it promises to deliver what fans of espionage tales have come to expect: a dark world of intrigue and danger, and a world-threatening villain. The new streaming series The Mysterious Benedict Society, mines similar territory—but it’s a kinder, gentler spy thriller that’s refreshingly positive in tone. It’s based on the 2007 middle-grade bestseller by Trenton Lee Stewart, and it premieres on Disney+ on June 25.

The novel focuses on the adventures of three sharp-witted orphans—Reynie Muldoon, who’s great at puzzles; Kate Wetherall, who’s fond of gadgetry and climbing; and Constance Contraire, a petulant child whose abilities become clearer later on—plus brilliant runaway George “Sticky” Washington, who seemingly remembers everything he reads. All undergo a series of odd intelligence tests before they’re recruited by eccentric, narcoleptic genius Mr. Benedict for a secret mission. They must infiltrate an exclusive island school called the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (L.I.V.E.), where its founder, Ledroptha Curtain (Mr. Benedict’s twin brother) is apparently enacting a nefarious plan that involves beaming messages into people’s brains. Mr. Benedict believes that the kids have what it takes to uncover the plot; if they don’t, the consequences could be dire—not just for the children, but for everyone on Earth.

It’s a familiar setup, but Stewart’s story distinguishes itself from ordinary spy tales. For example, instead of a lone-wolf hero—à la Bond, Jack Bauer, or Jason Bourne—The Mysterious Benedict Society is an ensemble affair. Mr. Benedict repeatedly stresses the importance of all-for-one, one-for-all teamwork, and how leadership and empathy go hand in hand; the kids are constantly consulting and assisting one another as they find new clues and face new obstacles. It’s a positive message, and a nice twist on the trust-no-one vibe of most espionage tales. It’s notable, too, that the bad guys are all out for themselves, with little sense of camaraderie among them; even Curtain’s dastardly plan ends up being all about him, and him alone.

There’s also very little violence in Stewart’s novel; only one gun makes an appearance, and it fires relatively harmless tranquilizer darts. The kids are fearful of getting caught, but one never gets the sense that their lives are in real danger. This is all to be expected in a middle-grade book, but it’s surprising how well the author makes it work in a spy-fiction context. It makes one realize, with a start, how much the genre depends on its villains—and heroes—being killing machines.

The book also goes out of its way to stress its puzzle-solving elements. The recruitment scenes are especially clever, showing how each child goes about solving the same problem in a different way. Later sections hinge on the kids deciphering Mr. Benedict’s cryptic Morse-code messages, and it’s consistently enjoyable to see them figure them out.

This overall sense of fun carries over to the Disney+ adaptation, which stars Veep’s Tony Hale as Messrs. Benedict and Curtain. His portrayal of Mr. Benedict gets across the character’s warm friendliness, and it’s often a pleasure to watch. Curtain briefly shows up at the end of the second episode, and Hale clearly grasps the villain’s inherent smugness. Disney+ made the series’ first two episodes available for review, out of eight, and so far, it’s faithful to the text in nearly every way. The show is written and executive-produced by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, who ably capture the novel’s upbeat tone; this may come as a surprise to fans of the last two films they wrote together: the chilling 2015 horror film The Invitation and the disturbing 2018 crime thriller Destroyer.

Child actors Mystic Inscho, Seth Carr, and Emmy DeOliveira—as Reynie, Sticky, and Kate, respectively—do a fine job of getting across their characters’ intelligence and curiosity, but young Marta Kessler, as Constance, is a standout: She brings a sly sense of humor to a Veruca Salt–like character that might otherwise have been annoying. Flight of the Conchords’ Kristen Schaal appears briefly as Mr. Benedict’s quirky assistant, Number Two, and her presence is always welcome.

The series, and the book on which it’s based, are not without flaws. Both come dangerously close to playing Mr. Benedict’s narcolepsy for laughs, striking a dissonant note in a story that otherwise celebrates difference. There’s also a general anti-television sentiment that seems a tad regressive, and rather odd in a TV adaptation. Still, it’s not every day that a genre-defying spy thriller about the power of friendship comes along—and No Time To Die clearly has no time for such sentiments.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.