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The 18 Best TV Shows Adapted From Books

By YPB Team

Some were faithful to the last comma, others left the novel behind after one season. Readers and viewers rarely agree on which approach worked.

  1. Game of Thrones — ranked #11
    Game of Thrones
    HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, which ran past its source material in 2016 and never got it back.
  2. The Handmaid's Tale — ranked #22
    The Handmaid's Tale
    Hulu's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel, which outran the book by four seasons.
  3. Sharp Objects — ranked #33
    Sharp Objects
    HBO's eight-episode version of Gillian Flynn's debut novel, directed entirely by Jean-Marc Vallée.
  4. Big Little Lies — ranked #44
    Big Little Lies
    HBO's adaptation of Liane Moriarty's novel, relocated from Sydney to Monterey.
  5. The Expanse — ranked #55
    The Expanse
    The screen version of James S. A. Corey's space-opera novels, rescued from cancellation by its own fans.
  6. Normal People — ranked #66
    Normal People
    The BBC and Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel, told across twelve half-hour episodes.
  7. The Queen's Gambit — ranked #77
    The Queen's Gambit
    Netflix's version of Walter Tevis's 1983 chess novel, which sold out chess sets worldwide.
  8. Shogun — ranked #88
    Shogun
    FX's 2024 adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel, told largely in Japanese.
  9. Band of Brothers — ranked #99
    Band of Brothers
    HBO's 2001 miniseries from Stephen E. Ambrose's account of Easy Company.
  10. The Witcher — ranked #1010
    The Witcher
    Netflix's adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's short stories and novels, arriving after the games made the name famous.
  11. Outlander — ranked #1111
    Outlander
    Starz's long-running adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's time-travel romances.
  12. True Blood — ranked #1212
    True Blood
    HBO's version of Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries.
  13. Dexter — ranked #1313
    Dexter
    Showtime's series from Jeff Lindsay's Darkly Dreaming Dexter, which quickly diverged from the books.
  14. His Dark Materials — ranked #1414
    His Dark Materials
    The BBC and HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman's trilogy, made after the film version stalled.
  15. The Man in the High Castle — ranked #1515
    The Man in the High Castle
    Amazon's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's alternate-history novel.
  16. Bridgerton — ranked #1616
    Bridgerton
    Shondaland's Netflix hit from Julia Quinn's Regency romance novels.
  17. Anne with an E — ranked #1717
    Anne with an E
    The CBC and Netflix take on L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables.
  18. The Leftovers — ranked #1818
    The Leftovers
    HBO's adaptation of Tom Perrotta's novel, which used up the book in season one and improved after.

#books91#tv shows310#adaptations4

Comments

Every show here began as a novel, and one of them ran past its author in 2016 and wrote two seasons with no book underneath: https://youpick.best/articles/game-of-thrones-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·Aug 21·
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