Book adaptations and mini-series

A match made in heaven

Tiny Beautiful Things: Star

As a child of the 1990s and early 2000s, there were two big, impactful book adaptations for me: Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. I remember the hype, the anticipation, the crowded movie theaters, and most of all, the heated discussions with other very picky young teenagers following each movie’s release. We could always find many relevant aspects of those books that were left out of the movies. "How could they do this?” an angry 12-year-old me would ask rhetorically.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that a movie adaptation doesn't have to be exactly like the book to be enjoyable. There are adaptations that are even better than the book itself, precisely because they took the book's essence and made something more of it. From the top of my head, I can think of the movie Into the Wild and the TV show Sex in the City, which do not come from poor books, but their screen adaptations added soul, charisma, and much more to those stories (and an excellent soundtrack for Into the Wild).

What young me didn't understand is that, in contrast to books, movies are much more time-constrained. It is impossible to cover all the small details in a 2-3 hour movie. The solution found at the time was to make extended versions of some adaptations, such as The Lord of the Rings.

That's where miniseries and streaming platforms enter the picture. They have excelled at making extremely successful book adaptations. Not only is the quality of production and actors starring in them similar to movies, but there is also more time to explore the story, the characters, and the settings. We can stay longer in each world and absorb the small details, just like in a book.

From paper to screen

There are hundreds of famous book adaptations: Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, Outlander, The Handmaid's Tale, and many more. Despite the fact that longer shows like those can be quite entertaining and satisfying—if they do a good job at adapting and pushing beyond the original text—I would argue that a one-season miniseries is the most effective way to present most books' stories.

One season of a miniseries (6–10 episodes) based on a single book is the perfect combination. It is almost a recipe for great television. It is the right medium for those stories. Miniseries are concise, have a clear beginning and end, and still give us enough time to explore.

Sometimes, the second and especially third seasons of a show can drag the story out, make the characters make weird decisions, and even ruin a series. It's far preferable to tell an individual, concise story about the adapted book over the course of a season, rather than elongating with a follow-up season to cash in on the IP without purpose or relevance.

Of course, if the adaptation covers a series of books like Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire, a single season is not even close to enough. It wouldn't make sense. I'm only talking about adapting a single book.

And also, here, I'm only talking about TV shows that are book adaptations. There have been many discussions in the past couple of years about how ruthless streaming platforms have become with original shows that don't reach the numbers they want and how stupid this decision is. Seinfeld is usually given as an example of a TV show that was almost canceled (Jerry Seinfeld had no previous experience on television) and is now one of the most famous television shows and worth millions of dollars because they were given a second and third season to try.

Streaming platforms canceling perfectly acceptable shows that could turn into their upcoming biggest hits if only given a chance is pretty unwise business. It is a problem even for consumers, who are becoming wary of getting too invested in upcoming productions that can end or simply disappear from catalogs. And this creates a chain reaction in which people don't jump on shows if they are not highly recommended, making it even harder for some shows to have exceptional first weeks of streaming.

But coming back to book adaptations, I truly believe that a book adaptation with a well-rounded season is a match made in heaven. It's nearly impossible to get it wrong.

Resse Witherspoon has even made this her business. She finds books that resonate with her and produces TV shows through her production company, Hello Sunshine. Her latest, Tiny Beautiful Things, was released on Disney+/Star a week ago. But she is also famous for bringing to the screen other bestselling books with three-word titles: Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere.

Other great examples of book adaptations turned into marvelous mini-series are Sharp Objects, Watchmen, Normal People, Alias Grace, Fleishman Is in Trouble, The Queen’s Gambit, Mindhunter, Maid, and Pachinko. There are many more out there. Are there any you would recommend?

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Normal People by Sally Rooney

Normal People follows the complex relationship between Marianne and Connell, two young people from a small town in Ireland. As they navigate their way through high school and college, they struggle to understand their feelings for each other and the impact their relationship has on their lives. Through Rooney's nuanced and insightful writing, Normal People explores themes of love, class, and identity in a way that feels both fresh and timeless.

Into the Wild (2007)

Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild tells the story of a young man who is disenchanted with life. After graduating from university, he gives all his money away, leaves his family behind, and tries to live on his own, traveling across the US. Based on a true story, the movie brings life to Christopher McCandless ("Alexander Supertramp") and lets us question what is important in life together with him.

Tiny Beautiful Things

Based on Cheryl Strayed's book of the same name, the show follows the journey of an advice columnist who goes by the name of Sugar. She provides advice to people who write to her about their personal struggles, while she herself is a mess. This was my week's watch, and honestly, it's ok. It has some beautiful scenes (I cried a few times), and it's interesting enough, but it's far from being my favorite 2023 show.