Products featured are independently selected by our editorial team and we may earn a commission from purchases made from our links. Pop culture’s love of adapting existing IP and the proliferation of streaming services means there are many, many TV shows based on books (and in some cases, book series) are in the works. In fact, dozens made it to the small screen in 2020 alone. Long-running book-to-TV series come in all genres, from serious prestige (like the fantasy world of “Game of Thrones” or darkly prescient “The Handmaid’s Tale”) to frothy fun (Freeform’s teen mystery “Pretty Little Liars”) and everything in between (procedurals like “Bones” and “Elementary,” supernatural melodramas like “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries,” juicy interpersonal drama like “Big Little Lies,” time-travel romance like “Outlander”).
That’s why this list of some of the best recent book-to-tv adaptations contains shows that aired in 2020 or are scheduled to air in the coming months. That means: the second seasons of genre hits like HBO’s “His Dark Materials” and Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House” followup “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” delayed productions like Showtime’s “The Good Lord Bird” and HBO’s “The Undoing,” and more. Read on to find out more about the source material and where to purchase the novels. Related New Movies: Release Calendar for December 23, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films Remember When Content Was King? 2022 Was the Year Streaming Dreams Died Related Oscars 2023: ‘Everything Everywhere,’ ‘Nope’ Among Early Favorites 17 HBO and HBO Max Original Series to Get Excited About in 2023
“Lovecraft Country,” based on “Lovecraft Country” by Matt Ruff
“The Haunting of Bly Manor,” based on “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James
“The Umbrella Academy,” based on “The Umbrella Academy” by Gerard Way
“His Dark Materials,” based on “The Golden Compass” and “The Subtle Knife” by Philip Pullman
“The Undoing,” based on “You Should Have Known” by Jean Hanff Korelitz
“The Good Lord Bird,” based on “The Good Lord Bird” by James McBride
“The Stand,” based on “The Stand” by Stephen King
“The Outsider,” based on “The Outsider” by Stephen King
“Defending Jacob,” based on “Defending Jacob” by William Landay
“Locke & Key,” based on “Locke & Key” by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez
“Little Fires Everywhere,” based on “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng
“Snowpiercer,” based on “Snowpiercer” by Jaques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette
“A Discovery of Witches,” based on “A Discovery of Witches” and “Shadow of Night” by Deborah Harkness
“The Flight Attendant,” based on “The Flight Attendant” by Chris Bohjalian
“Bridgerton,” based on “Bridgerton: The Duke and I” by Julia Quinn
“Shadow and Bone,” based on “Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo
“Dash & Lily,” based on “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares” and “The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily” by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
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