Now a little more than a year out from his Oscar win for the journalistic procedural Spotlight, Tom McCarthy’s on the hunt for some new work. He already agreed to punch up Alex Ross Perry’s script for the live-action Christopher Robin movie, and he had a hand in the slow-moving teen trainwreck that is Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why (that’s just me, though — it’s gotten a more positive response from other, wronger people), but the man’s keeping busy with a possible new project on the docket. Today brings the news that Tommy Failure, a nickname I have assigned McCarthy in light of the recent 13 Reasons Why, may soon get on board with Timmy Failure.

For those of us who are not currently children or in the process of raising one — Timmy Failure is the title of a chapter book series revolving around an 11-year-old boy who fancies himself his town’s pre-eminent private investigator, and runs the agency Total Failure Inc. to resolve local mysteries. The bumbling youngster would be nowhere without his team, however: a 1,200-pound imaginary polar bear acts as Timmy’s sidekick, and his partner Rollo Tookus (cue giggles from all readers with a working knowledge of Yiddish) is the brains of the operation, doing most of the work while Timmy flounders about.

McCarthy has been approached to co-write and direct the project by Disney, The Hollywood Reporter states, comparing the property to the recent breakout Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. As we know from his Up script, McCarthy’s great with kids — this could be another boon to parents looking to kill a rainy afternoon.

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