Melissa McCarthy Leads Netflix’s Miss Nelson Is Missing — Cue the Nostalgia

Netflix is dusting off a grade-school classic: Miss Nelson Is Missing is getting a live-action adaptation, with Melissa McCarthy stepping in as both the sweet teacher and her legendary nightmare substitute alter ego, Miss Viola Swamp. If you grew up with Scholastic book fairs, you probably just heard the distant rustle of orange construction paper and glue sticks. Same.

Quick refresher: the 1977 book follows kind-hearted Miss Nelson, whose class treats her like a doormat until she suddenly vanishes and is replaced by Miss Viola Swamp, the kind of terrifying sub who seems to bench-press homework. The punchline (and it’s a good one): Miss Nelson and Miss Swamp are the same person in disguise, teaching those little gremlins some respect. So yes, McCarthy will play both roles.

This one is still in early development at Netflix, but here’s who is actually making it happen and how they’re lining it up:

• Star: Melissa McCarthy (The Little Mermaid, Bridesmaids) as Miss Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp
• Format: Live-action feature adaptation at Netflix, currently in early development
• Source material: Miss Nelson Is Missing, published in 1977 by author Harry Allard and illustrator James Marshall
• Screenplay: Brad Copeland, who wrote Spies in Disguise and worked on Ferdinand
• Producers: Reese Witherspoon through Hello Sunshine alongside Lauren Neustadter; Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone via their On the Day Productions; Lawrence Grey for Grey Matter; and Caroline Fraser for HarperCollins Productions
• Franchise potential: If this first movie clicks, the plan is to adapt the next two books, Miss Nelson Is Back and Miss Nelson Has a Field Day

Inside baseball: that producer lineup is basically a who’s who of book-to-screen veterans, which says Netflix isn’t treating this like a one-off nostalgia play. They’re clearly teeing up a series if the first one lands.

The only real question now is how far McCarthy and the makeup team go with the Swamp look. Prosthetics? A truly villainous nose? I’m not saying I want kids to be traumatized, but I wouldn’t hate a little old-school menace.