Summary
- Failed book-to-movie adaptations have found success as TV shows, like Percy Jackson, His Dark Materials, and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
- Streaming services are eager to acquire familiar book titles for their libraries, providing a fresh start to beloved novels or series.
- Harry Potter and Twilight, two highly successful film franchises, are being rebooted as TV shows, presenting an opportunity for a more direct adaptation.
Book adaptations are tricky to pull off, and many that had previously been made as movies have gotten second chances as TV shows. Game of Thrones set a widespread precedence for how the television medium could properly bring books to life, as the longer format allows for critical narrative and character details that a film might have been forced to leave out due to time constraints. Book adaptations receive some of the harshest criticisms, as their stories often have already established a popular audience who expect a faithful portrayal. While there have been many great adaptations, like The Godfather or The Lord of the Rings, many have missed the mark.
In recent years, many of these book-to-movie adaptations that fell short of their novel's prestige have become prime targets for streaming shows. In some cases, like Harry Potter or Interview with the Vampire, the movies didn't even have to fail for them to get another chance on television. With the fantasy genre in particular, every streaming service has been grasping for familiar titles to embellish their libraries, and offering a promising fresh start to a beloved novel or series is a clever way to do it.
10 TV Shows That Seemed Too Big To Fail... But Then Did Anyway
With massive budgets, super-star casts, and talented creative teams working behind the scenes, some television shows failed against all odds.
11 Percy Jackson And The Olympians (2023-)
Percy Jackson was adapted into a Disney+ series after two failed film attempts.
Contrary to the movies, the Disney+ series has been highly endorsed by the author.
One of the most beloved young adult novels of the 21st century, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians has recently found its second live-action life on Disney+. The movies, released in 2010 and 2013 to poor critical response, were ultimately a failed experiment that Riordan referred to as "my life's work going through a meat grinder," in a tweet he later deleted. Contrary to the movies, the Disney+ series has been highly endorsed by the author, and the opening episodes have received a far more positive response.
10 His Dark Materials (2019-2022)
HBO properly adapted Philip Pullman's novels after the movie attempt left out crucial elements.
One of the most disappointing fantasy book adaptations was 2007's The Golden Com, which adapted Philip Pullman's beloved fantasy novels. Given the terrific cast, it's a shame the script didn't live up to expectations. In hopes of a broader commercial appeal, the film stripped essential religious commentary from the story, weakening it. Luckily, Pullman's series was told to completion on HBO in His Dark Materials, which didn't skip any beats in bringing his world and complex narrative to life.
9 Shadowhunters (2016-2019)
Freeform's Shadowhunter series, based on The Mortal Instruments books by Cassandra Clare, consisted of three seasons and fifty-five episodes of television. While it vastly improved over the 2013 film version, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, which suffered an abysmal 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, Shadowhunters still received mixed from book readers. Even after two attempts, Shadowhunters still deserves a proper adaptation.
8 A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)
Lemony Snicket's books have had a feature film and Netflix series adaptation.
Lemony Snicket's children's novels, A Series of Unfortunate Events, were first brought to the big screen in 2004 with a decently successful film starring Jim Carrey. Due to a separate series of unfortunate events, a sequel film was never made, leading to over a decade of waiting before the story's next chance at adaptation. Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events received more unanimous acclaim, with Neil Patrick Harris in the Count Olaf role. Throughout three seasons, the show covered every book in the series.
7 Eragon ()
Eragon will finally get another chance on Disney+.
The CGI-heavy movie cost $100 million, resulting in a box office flop and the cancelation of any sequels.
Another beloved young adult classic, Christopher Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle, had a film adaptation released in 2006. The popularity of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings led to an uptick in fantasy book adaptations, and, like The Golden Com, the 2006 film Eragon unfortunately didn't pan out. The CGI-heavy movie cost $100 million, resulting in a box office flop and the cancelation of any sequels. It's another series Disney+ is reviving, with a TV series in development as of 2022.
6 Harry Potter ()
Warner Bros. has announced a Harry Potter television reboot.
The Harry Potter film adaptations were undoubtedly successful, as they're some of the most beloved movies of the century that made billions at the box office. Still, Warner Bros. doesn't want a billion-dollar property sitting dormant, and a fresh adaptation of J.K. Rowling's novels is in development at HBO. HBO's Harry Potter show is still early in development, having only been announced in April 2023, with the Wizarding World's enormous fan base speculating on potential casting. The movies have already set a high bar, and the series will have to distinguish itself with a more direct adaptation.
5 The Handmaid's Tale (2017-)
Margaret Atwood's book had a failed movie attempt before finding success on Hulu.
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a beloved dystopian novel from 1985 that's still widely relevant to modern society. Long before it became one of Hulu's most prominent TV series, the book was adapted into a feature film in 1990 starring Natasha Richardson and Faye Dunaway. The adaptation wasn't well received and barely touched on the depth of material presented in Atwood's text. The Hulu series has taken the premise and run with it, expanding upon Atwood's vision and exploring the intricacies of Gilead and its characters.
10 TV Shows That Were Nothing Like We Expected
TV is hard to predict, and while most shows shocked their audiences with crazy plot twists, others turned out to be something entirely unexpected.
4 Hannibal (2013-2015)
After five Hannibal Lecter movies, a TV series was released.
The Hannibal Lecter novels have been adapted several times, starting with Michael Mann's film Manhunter, in which Brian Cox played the iconic villain. The most famous version is The Silence of the Lambs, where Anthony Hopkins' portrayal brought fame and universal acclaim to the character and franchise. However, the follow-up films Hannibal and Red Dragon resulted in more mixed reviews. The series was rebooted for television in the 2013 series Hannibal, where Mads Mikkelsen brought something fresh and original to the role, running for three seasons.
3 Interview With The Vampire (2022-)
Anne Rice's novels had a movie with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise before the TV adaptation.
A book series that's managed to be popular in both film and television, offering a unique perspective in both, is Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. The 1976 novel continued to have multiple popular sequels known as The Vampire Chronicles. Their first adaptation came in 1994, in a film that starred Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as Lestat and Louis. Given that the film was such a commercial and critical hit, the AMC TV adaptation had to approach the text with a new voice, which has worked out fantastically.
2 Reacher (2022-)
Lee Child's crime novels have been into a Prime Video series following two Tom Cruise movies.
For many reasons, Reacher has become a highly popular TV series for Prime Video, adapted from Lee Child's enormous book series. Before television, the books were adapted into a pair of action films starring Tom Cruise. It's hard to outshine Tom Cruise, but Alan Ritchson's accuracy to the novel version of Jack Reacher has earned the TV series extra praise from book readers.