Page-to-screen adaptations aren’t a new phenomenon, but the 2020s have offered an influx of TV shows based on books that have shaped the decade in an interesting way. Throughout the past several years, some iconic shows have come to life and adapted beloved books from years past, finding a way to bring their narratives to a whole new audience. While page-to-screen adaptations don’t always work, there have been several successful adaptations of books to TV shows in the past few years that have proven the formula to be successful. Book adaptations can be tricky to accomplish in the right way.
Due to the level of depth that books can achieve, getting the breadth of a novel on screen in a way that both tells the story at its core and doesn’t cheapen out on what readers love is tough. Thankfully, recent TV adaptations have been taking the readers into consideration far more frequently, making sure that their favorite scenes and characters are making the cut. With many page-to-screen adaptations in production or development, the phenomenon is sure to continue as the decade goes on. Thus far in the 2020s, though, the page-to-screen boom has been fruitful as shows have debuted.
10
The Summer I Turned Pretty
2022
Prime Video’s global phenomenon, The Summer I Turned Pretty, has brought Jenny Han’s novel series to life in a fresh, exciting way. Based on Han’s trilogy about Isabel “Belly” Conklin, played in the Prime Video series by Lola Tung, the story of her post-awkward years at Cousins beach with her family friends Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) that turns from brother-vs-brother love triangle to poignant love story has been a smash success. The show’s final season aired in 2025, but a Prime Video movie ending the series will be coming to the platform in the near future.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
The Summer I Turned Pretty |
2009 |
|
It’s Not Summer Without You |
2010 |
|
We’ll Always Have Summer |
2011 |
- Release Date
-
2022 – 2025-00-00
- Network
-
Prime Video
- Directors
-
Erica Dunton, Jesse Peretz, Jeff Chan
-
Lola Tung
Isabel ‘Belly’ Conklin
-
Christopher Briney
Conrad Fisher
9
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
2026
A recent adaptation of a recent novel, Margo’s Got Money Troubles hit the air in April of 2026 and made the bestselling novel even more popular. Starring Elle Fanning as the titular Margo Millet, the surprising story of Margo’s Got Money Troubles unfolds on screen with a massively talented cast including Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman bringing the story to life. Taking its keen attention to emotional details and thorough characterization from author Rufi Thorpe’s work, the series was able to gain massive critical praise for its authentic storytelling over the course of its eight-episode season on Apple TV.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
Margo’s Got Money Troubles |
2024 |
- Release Date
-
2026 – 2026-00-00
- Network
-
Apple TV
- Showrunner
-
David E. Kelley
- Directors
-
Dearbhla Walsh
- Writers
-
Rufi Thorpe
8
3 Body Problem
2024
A Netflix series that adapts Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, 3 Body Problem debuted in 2024 and brought the first novel in the series to life with a fascinating, modern touch. Created by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss in partnership with Alexander Woo, the show’s first season adapts the story of a group of scientists who encounter an alien civilization, which creates a huge threat to humanity. Overflowing with rich sci-fi storytelling and authentic characterization, the Netflix show’s second and third seasons will adapt the rest of Cixin’s series with a beautiful touch.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
The Three-Body Problem |
2008 |
|
The Dark Forest |
2008 |
|
Death’s End |
2010 |
7
Lessons In Chemistry
2023
An Apple TV series starring Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry adapts the work of Bonnie Garmus just a year after its publication. Larson plays Elizabeth Zott, whose dreams of becoming a scientist are put on hold because of 1960’s societal views of women in the workplace. Elizabeth finds herself pregnant and alone after falling in love with a fellow scientist, but her ability to spin her skills into something life-changing propels her forward. The series captures the novel in a thorough way, with Larson’s performance bringing Zott to life in an unexpected, authentic way through each phase of her life.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
Lessons in Chemistry |
2022 |
- Release Date
-
2023 – 2023-00-00
- Directors
-
Sarah Adina Smith
6
Pachinko
2022
Pachinko debuted on Apple TV in 2022, adapting the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee that documents the lives of a Korean family as they immigrate to Japan under significant strain. Following a multi-generational family as they leave their home in search of a better life, Pachinko’s TV adaptation uses its multiple timelines to its advantage. Creating a rich tapestry of stories for its viewers, the series brings Lee’s work to life and amplifies it, creating a global feel to the story by diversifying some of the family’s end locations through the years. Pachinko tells an intricate, intimate story.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
Pachinko |
2017 |
5
Daisy Jones & The Six
2023
A limited series based on the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six premiered in 2023 and took Prime Video by storm. Starring Riley Keough as the titular Daisy Jones, the series follows the highs and lows of a fictional band in the 1970s as they formed, took on the world, and disbanded at the peak of their success. While Daisy Jones & The Six uses a similar visual style as Reid’s novel, adapting a series from a novel that uses found media is tricky. Thankfully, the series offers a rich, complicated story that complements the novel.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
Daisy Jones & The Six |
2019 |
- Release Date
-
2023 – 2023-00-00
- Network
-
Amazon Prime Video
- Directors
-
Scott Neustadter
- Writers
-
Scott Neustadter
4
The Wheel Of Time
2021
Prime Video’s The Wheel Of Time, which adapts elements from Robert Jordan’s novel series, creates a rich tapestry for its characters to live within, but does a fantastic job of bringing a show to life rather than simply explicitly adapting the source material. Mixing and reordering storylines from the first four books of Jordan’s series, The Wheel Of Time takes a remix approach by allowing the events of the novels to happen out of chronological order for more of an impact. Starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, the series takes a fascinating approach to bringing the books to life.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
The Eye of the World |
1990 |
|
The Great Hunt |
1990 |
|
The Dragon Reborn |
1991 |
|
The Shadow Rising |
1992 |
- Release Date
-
2021 – 2025-00-00
- Network
-
Prime Video
- Showrunner
-
Rafe Judkins
- Directors
-
Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip
- Writers
-
Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna
3
Normal People
2020
Adapted from the Sally Rooney novel of the same name, Normal People aired on Hulu in 2020, devastating its audience episode by episode. Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, the series was praised for its ability to tell such a nuanced story on screen. Translating the source material beautifully, Hulu’s Normal People took the main character’s chemistry and let it speak for itself on screen. One of the best page-to-screen adaptations of the modern era, the series uses Rooney’s work to create something intense, intimate, and emotionally rich throughout the short, limited series run.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
Normal People |
2018 |
- Release Date
-
2020 – 2019
- Showrunner
-
Alice Birch
- Directors
-
Lenny Abrahamson
- Writers
-
Alice Birch
2
The Queen’s Gambit
2020
A Netflix series based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, The Queen’s Gambit brought the world of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) to life. The series follows the novel fairly traditionally, focusing on an American chess prodigy as she rises to the top of the game while dealing with a dependency on drugs and alcohol that developed during her younger years. Released in October 2020, The Queen’s Gambit quickly became Netflix’s most-watched miniseries of all time, and has received massive critical acclaim. The series adapts Tevis’ novel into a heartbreaking yet stunning thematically beautiful streaming series.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
The Queen’s Gambit |
1983 |
- Release Date
-
2020 – 2020-00-00
- Showrunner
-
Scott Frank
- Directors
-
Scott Frank
- Writers
-
Scott Frank
1
Heated Rivalry
2025
One of the biggest shows of 2025, Heated Rivalry adapts stories from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series. While the main story of the series follows fictional hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as their relationship builds over the course of their careers, the series pulls in elements of Reid’s 2018 novel Game Changer with its Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.) story, as well as 2019’s Heated Rivalry. Nuanced and layered, the series captured lightning in a bottle. The highly-anticipated second season of Heated Rivalry will adapt 2022’s The Long Game.
|
Books Adapted |
Release Year |
|---|---|
|
Game Changer |
2018 |
|
Heated Rivalry |
2019 |
|
The Long Game |
2022 |
- Release Date
-
November 28, 2025
- Network
-
Crave
- Directors
-
Jacob Tierney
Cast
-
Connor Storrie
Ilya Rozanov
-
Hudson Williams
Shane Hollander
