EXCLUSIVE: Best-selling children’s book author, activist, journalist and medical student, Fatima Faisal is teaming with Ben Berkowitz and Max Berkowitz‘s Not A Billionaire (NAB) have optioned the TV rights to the children’s book The Adventures of the Incredible Docs from best-selling author, activist, journalist and medical student, Fatima Faisal. The Berkowitz Brothers will lead development and produce with Faisal. The trio will serve as executive producers.

Seeing as though we are in a global pandemic (yes, we are still in one), this forthcoming animated series is more than relevant. The Adventures of the Incredible Docs series is based off Faisal’s children’s book, “The Incredible Docs Vs. Billy the Bad Virus,” which was endorsed by Governor Cuomo in his executive updates e-mail to the state of New York at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The readership ultimately reached thousands and the book remained number one for many weeks. The book takes the complex topic of the coronavirus and simplifies it for children through action. Two superhero doctors battle an evil villain guised as the virus (sound familiar? Is her name Rona?). The series will continue to educate children on complicated health topics, that are often too difficult or abstract for many parents to teach and children to comprehend, covering topics such as anxiety and depression.

“The hope is that the Incredible Docs will educate and engage children and provide them with the tools to be mentally, emotionally and physically equipped to tackle the world,” said Faisal. “The show provides a holistic approach and outlook on health, focusing on mind, body, and spirit. Our healthcare system spends billions of dollars on intervention when the solution can be found in prevention. While there are preventative measures that currently exist, most are aimed at adults or young adults, but I firmly believe if we teach children from the very start how to lead a healthy lifestyle, we can avert or at the very least mitigate several preventable illnesses and chronic diseases from occurring in the future.”

She added, “The pandemic proved to us all that the most important thing in life that we have is — our health. Simply put, the time is now, we much teach the next generation, our future, how to live and be better. This series does just that,”

“Coming out of this pandemic, we have all realized the great importance of health education and starting that education as early as possible,” said Ben Berkowitz, NAB’s co-founder. “Fatima has created a brilliant mechanism to not only educate children but entertain and make them excited about complicated health and wellness topics. We want to provide the tools and instill the necessary confidence for children and their families to talk about their health.”

“The Berkowitz brothers are the most supportive team I have ever been a part of, and I am excited to be working with them to bring this show to life,” continued Faisal. “NAB’s mission is to provide a space and voice for underrepresented individuals. As a Muslim woman, now more than ever, I am excited to break into this industry and share my ideas and words with everyone. The show’s diverse cast, including leading Muslims, Asians, African Americans, and Hispanics (just to name a few backgrounds) all working together to make the world a healthier, happier, and safer place is something our children, and really something we all need to see right now. I am eager to bring this to the screen with the Berkowitz brothers, to have some fun and to change some lives!”

This new series most definitely gives us representation and relevant topics impacting the entire world through the lens of Faisal, unpacking issues in a way that is entertaining and for children. It’s something we haven’t seen before and hopefully this will continue pave the way for more inclusive, progressive stories created by those in the margins for children.

Faisal, creator of The Adventures of the Incredible Docs series is currently a second-year medical student hoping to eventually specialize in pediatric psychiatry. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Newspaper & Online Journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a Master of Science in Applied Life Sciences with a clinical research concentration from Keck Graduate Institute. She has greatly contributed to the world of medical literature with her publications appearing in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and in the journal, Preventive Medicine.

The Berkowitz Brothers and NAB are managed by Octagon, the global entertainment representation arm of the Interpublic Group of Companies, and legal by Fox Rothschild LLP.