Summary

• TV adaptations offer more time for in-depth storytelling and character development, making them often superior to film adaptations.
• Genres like sci-fi, fantasy, and non-fiction books find success on TV, showcasing the potential of the medium for diverse source material.
• Shows like "Game of Thrones" and "The Handmaid's Tale" excel at bringing complex narratives to life, proving TV's adaptability.

Plenty of movie adaptations of books struggle to recapture what makes the source material so popular, but there is a lot of evidence which suggests that TV could actually be the superior medium for adaptations. TV adaptations have a few innate advantages over movies. Their extended length means that they don't always have to make as many cuts as movies do. If it takes a few seasons to do a book's story justice, then TV shows can afford this luxury. TV shows are also able to incorporate more characters and plot lines.

Some details will always be lost when adapting a book, whether it's for a movie or for TV. That's just the unfortunate truth. But a TV adaptation can often be much closer to the book than a movie. Sometimes a miniseries is the perfect length for a book, or a long-running show makes more sense for a series of novels. Sci-fi and fantasy novels are often made into TV shows rather than movies, but these aren't the only genres which could benefit from focusing more on the TV format. Not all books end up with fitting adaptations, but a TV show often gives them the best chance.

10 Game Of Thrones (2011-2019)

Based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Due to the sheer number of characters in George R. R. Martin's novels, a movie would never have had the scope to allocate enough time to each of the key players.

Game of Thrones is the perfect example of a TV show doing what a movie could not. Due to the sheer number of characters in George R. R. Martin's novels, a movie would never have had the scope to allocate enough time to each of the key players. Behind the magic and the epic battle scenes, Game of Thrones is a show about political maneuvering, and this is much more fascinating when it is allowed to play out in detail. A movie wouldn't have had time to prolong the drama, and it likely would have made too many cuts.

9 Pride & Prejudice (1995)

Based on the novel by Jane Austen

There have been countless adaptations of Jane Austen's work for film and TV, despite the fact that she only ever completed six novels in her lifetime. The 1995 BBC TV version of Pride and Prejudice is among the most faithful and the best. Pride and Prejudice captures the restrictive roles women held in Regency Era society, but it also fizzes with Austen's trademark sense of humor. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth make for a wonderful Elizabeth and Darcy, ensuring that this is the version which is so often praised as the best Pride and Prejudice adaptation.

8 The Boys (2019-)

Based on the comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson

The Boys shows that comic books are also fertile ground for TV adaptations. Comic book movies have become bigger than ever thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the small screen is just as capable of delivering compelling adaptations. While TV may not have the scope or the budget for some of the more spectacular superhero stories, The Boys proves that good storytelling and a splash of super-powered violence can be even better. The Boys changes the comic books, but these changes contribute to a more interesting story and more fully formed characters.

7 Band Of Brothers (2001)

Based on the book by Stephen E. Ambrose

Band of Brothers is proof that non-fiction books can often work much better as TV adaptations rather than on film. There are dozens of war movies based on memoirs or other real-life first-hand s, but Band of Brothers takes a different approach. Each episode focuses on a different member of "Easy Company" as they fight their way through Western Europe. This gives an expansive picture of the war, but it also sheds light on the human aspect of the conflict. Band of Brothers has a remarkable cast, which helps it tell its story in fine detail.

6 Killing Eve (2018-2022)

Based on Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

Killing Eve follows the riveting game of cat-and-mouse between a British government intelligence agent and an elusive globe-trotting assassin. The extended format of TV allows their relationship to develop more slowly and organically than a movie would usually allow, and the result is an intoxicating psychological drama which makes the viewers just as obsessed as the participants. When Villanelle and Eve finally come face-to-face after months of chasing each other's shadows, the payoff is immensely satisfying. Killing Eve is a gripping spy drama, but the slow-burn between the two main characters works at a different pace.

5 Sex & The City (1998-2004)

Based on the book by Candace Bushnell

Sex and the City is based on an anthology collection of Candace Bushnell's newspaper columns. Bushnell wrote about the experiences she and her friends had with dating in New York City, and each of her columns reads like a miniature sitcom plot. Like the show, the columns feature recurring characters, nicknames, and wry humor. The sitcom format makes Sex and the City even funnier, because there is no clear end in sight to the dating woes of the four main characters. The movies had to deviate from this winning formula.

4 You (2018-2024)

Based on the books by Caroline Kepnes

You uses the length afforded to it by the format of TV to draw out its drama for as long as possible. The Netflix show uses the unreliable narration from the books by Caroline Kepnes beautifully, as Joe often sees things as he chooses to, even if he doesn't know the truth. Each time he is nearly caught, the tension is ratcheted up to another level, but You controls the pace expertly. There are moments of peace and levity throughout, which make the explosions of chaotic drama even more impactful.

3 Sherlock (2010-2017)

Based on the series of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle

Despite its new setting, Sherlock is much closer in spirit to Doyle's original work than many other adaptations.

Many of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books are split into shorter stories, and some of Holmes' most famous cases are only a few pages long. Sherlock transplants Doyle's work into a 21st century setting, and each episode tackles a different story. The episodes are each as long as a feature-length film, but the TV format allows the show to spread its budget across three different stories each season. Despite its new setting, Sherlock is much closer in spirit to Doyle's original work than many other adaptations, and applying the same idea to a movie wouldn't have been so successful.

2 Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018-2023)

Based on the novels by Tom Clancy

Even after Tom Clancy's death, plenty of novels are still being released focusing on his most popular creation. Jack Ryan has been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine in movies, but John Krasinski's version suggests that he should have been a TV character all along. Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is a tense political thriller that doesn't skimp on action, even if its main focus is intelligence and espionage. The Jack Ryan movies are fairly uneven in quality, but Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is able to build its story gradually.

1 The Handmaid's Tale (2017-)

Based on the book by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood's most famous book has only increased in popularity after the TV adaptation, and it's hard to imagine a movie being able to treat the source material so well. The stark dystopian drama benefits from its striking visual design, but it never distracts from Atwood's acute social commentary. In a world where fertile women are forced into child-bearing servitude, The Handmaid's Tale follows the struggles of women who yearn to escape. Squeezing the complex dystopia into a movie probably wouldn't leave much room for a compelling story. A sequel series to The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments, is in development.