Mike Caron, known for directing episodes of Henry Danger and other children’s television series, has optioned Sara Coven’s award-winning middle-grade novel The One We Left Behind for a feature film adaptation. Writer Sean Lavery, whose credits include the comedies Cougar Town and Crossing Swords, will write the screenplay.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the project, which marks a new direction for Caron as he expands beyond children’s television into feature filmmaking. He will develop the adaptation through Mike Caron Productions, the company he launched in 2022 to develop original concepts and acquire intellectual property.
Caron had long wanted to explore bullying in greater depth through a feature-length story. After launching his production company, he returned to Coven’s book with plans to bring it to the screen.
“Taking an independently published, award-winning book and bringing it to the screen is the exact kind of storytelling I want to champion,” Caron said. He praised the freedom of discovering material outside traditional publishing routes and described Coven’s novel as having a rare, raw authenticity.
Set in the 1990s, The One We Left Behind follows a group of seventh-grade students navigating friendship, bullying and the consequences of their choices. The story centres on 13-year-old Evan, whose carefully built reputation as one of the “cool kids” comes under pressure when he must spend lunch with William, a new student with severe food allergies.
William has become a target of ridicule among his classmates. Evan initially resents the arrangement, but an unexpected friendship begins to develop. As the bullying grows more serious, Evan must confront the pressure to fit in and decide how to respond when someone he cares about becomes a target.
Coven wrote the novel as a personal project inspired by the effects she witnessed as her nephews struggled with severe food allergies. The book became one of six nationwide finalists in the inaugural Kirkus Indie Awards’ children’s literature category, marking a major achievement for an independently published title. Its audiobook also won first place at BookFest.
Caron has spent much of his career working on children’s television. He directed dozens of episodes of Henry Danger, Danger Force and The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. He also worked as an assistant director on series including Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly and Victorious.
The film represents a deliberate move towards a broader family audience. Caron is also in pre-production on Invader, a feature starring Amy Acker, Todd Stashwick and Tommy Walker.
Lavery brings a personal perspective to the adaptation. His son has a disability, an experience that has informed his writing. In 2019, Lavery’s pilot Me & You earned a place on the inaugural Black List Disability List, which recognises 10 scripts centred on disability or featuring a disabled lead character.
“Coming-of-age stories made me a writer, but watching my disabled son come of age gave me a whole new prism of experiences,” Lavery said. He praised the novel’s ability to turn highly specific experiences into universal stories and said he was excited to add another dimension to Coven’s world.
Caron is represented by Kaplan Stahler Agency, while Lavery is represented by Haven Entertainment.
