How often do we hear the sentence ‘the book was much better’ or ‘the TV drama did justice to the novel’ or people arguing whether books should be adapted for TV or not, it is a hard judgment to make because yes, just as some adaptations can be a massive flops, there are others that allow you to live out the novel in more details and get more familiar with characters which result in the TV series being far better than the book. We have chosen some TV shows that were based on books and proved to be a huge success.
Normal People
Sally Rooney has published two books and is already being hailed as a great new voice in fiction, so we’re really excited about seeing an adaptation of her second novel. Normal People is the story of Marianne and Connell, who are from very different backgrounds and who become unlikely friends, and then more.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Based on a long-running book series by Kerry Greenwood, Phryn and set in newly industrial Melbourne in the glittering Jazz Age, Miss Fisher’s Murders follows the independently wealthy Phryne Fisher as she tracks thieves, solves murders, rescues women, and breaks the heart of every suitor who passes through her bedroom.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Based on the 1985 book of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the show is set in a dystopian America known as Gilead. There, a totalitarian government has made all women who can bear children into Handmaids, who are assigned to the homes of the ruling elite to become pregnant and have children for these men and their wives.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Based on Joan Lindsay’s eerie and unsettling Australian novel of the same name, Picnic at Hanging Rock tells the story of the disappearance of a group of teenage girls from their prestigious and rural boarding school.
Big Little Lies
Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies was a story of murder set against the backdrop of an affluent Australian community. For the TV show of the same name, adapted by and starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, t
Bridgerton
Inspired by Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels, the period drama series follows London’s posh society of eligible suitors as they look for love.
13 Reasons Why
Clay Jensen is a normal high school student until he’s given clues and finds himself investigating the tragic suicide of one of his classmates. It’s based off Jay Asher’s 2007 Young Adult’s novel of the same name.
The Baby-Sitters Club
Ann M. Martin’s iconic baby-sitters series, which encompasses over 130 books, got a fresh take in this Netflix comedy-drama series. Kristy and her best friends start their own babysitting business while also trying to juggle their own family issues at home.
The Queen’s Gambit
The Queen’s Gambit is a 2020 American coming-of-age period drama based on Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel of the same name. Beth is first introduced to both chess and drugs while at an orphanage in the 1950s. Once adopted, her toxic relationship with the latter continues to feed her talents and ego, which eventually leads to a potential fall from grace and chess royalty.
A Suitable Boy
Set in a newly post-independence, post-partition India, Vikram Seth’s classic novel A Suitable Boy tells the story of Lata and the efforts of her family to find her a husband but the 19-year-old university student refuses to be influenced by her domineering mother or opinionated brother. On a broader scale, it deals with the lead-up to the first independent election in India after the end of British rule.
