Maniac Magee is a television film made for the Nickelodeon network, based on the novel of the same name by Jerry Spinelli. The story follows twelve-year-old Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, an orphaned runaway with many extraordinary and athletic talents, who arrives in a town divided with racial conflict. Developed as early as 1999, the film was filmed in 2001 and broadcast on Nickelodeon on February 23, 2003.The teleplay was a finalist for a Humanitas Award in the Children's Live Action program category in 2003, though the award was ultimately won by A Ring of Endless Light.