The last few months have been busy ones for book-inspired TV show releases, with A Series of Unfortunate Events, Big Little Lies, and the recent release of Thirteen Reasons Why garnering a lot of positive attention in the book community. And while we’ll always maintain that the book is better, there’s plenty more to be excited for.
Make sure to keep an eye out for these upcoming book-to-TV adaptations!
1. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
On April 26, “The Handmaid’s Tale” becomes available on Hulu! Offred (Elisabeth Moss) lives in a dystopian future as a Handmaid, one of the few young fertile women assigned to wealthy homes to bear children for those families. One misstep can lead to death, so though she can remember a better time, it’s all Offred can do to survive within the rules of Gilead. The show has already reached critical acclaim, with comments on its relevance to current times. Alexis Bledel, who plays Ofglen in the show, told The Hollywood Reporter, “Margaret Atwood’s writing is relevant no matter what time we’re in or what’s going on in the world. Certainly now, obviously, I’m proud to be on a show that will no doubt spur conversations about women’s issues that need to be had and are being had.”
2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
https://twitter.com/RickyWhittleIG/status/856672894600048640
Not to be outdone, American Gods premieres on Starz on April 30. Neil Gaiman himself is on the team of executive producers, so fans can be reassured about the series holding true to the book’s messages and feel. Brian Fuller and Michael Green are the show’s writers and showrunners, and David Slade directed the pilot and additional episodes. Fans have already displayed approval for the show’s diverse cast, with Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily Browning, Pablo Shreiber, Yetide Badaki, and Bruce Langley bringing in the main roles. The series follows Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) after his release from prison, where he’s offered a job by the mysterious Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane). There’s less than a week until the show’s release date, but there’s plenty to hold you over in the way of teasers.
Not to mention that we’re in love with the casts’ twitter accounts!
https://twitter.com/TheOrlandoJones/status/856238237148262401
3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Netflix series “Anne” comes out May 12th, based off of L.M. Montgomery’s book Anne of Green Gables. This eight-episode series is set on Prince Edward Island in the late 1890s, and tells the story of Anne Shirley (Amybeth McNulty), an orphaned girl with an abusive childhood. Anne is mistakenly sent to live with aging brother and sister Matthew (R.H. Thomson) and Marilla Cuthbert (Geraldine James). Showrunners Moira Walley-Becket (Breaking Bad, Flesh and Bone) and Miranda de Pencier (Thanks for Sharing, Beginners) both double as executive producers, with Susan Murdoch joining the production team.
4. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
This project doesn’t have a release date yet, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t hyped. Sharp Objects started filming March 6, and is set for an eight-episode run on HBO. It’s being developed by Marti Noxon (Unreal) and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club). The plot centers around Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a reporter sent to cover the murders of two pre-teen girls in her hometown. Along with Adams, the series will star Patricia Clarkson, Eliza Scanlen, Elizabeth Perkins, and Madison Davenport.
5. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
On November 26, Anne Rice posted on Facebook that “A television series of the highest quality is now my dream for Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius and the entire tribe.” She owns the theatrical rights to this adaptation of The Vampire Chronicles and is writing a pilot script with her son, Christopher Rice, to cover The Vampire Lestat. This is the second book in the series, but acts as a prequel novel, providing the origin story of Prince Lestat de Lioncourt. The series isn’t set to come out until 2018 at the earliest, but with the series in Anne Rice’s hands, we know fans won’t be disappointed. “This is far too transgressive for network,” Anne Rice said in a live Q&A on Facebook. “We want to be able to do these themes with complete freedom.”
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Kira Snyder (The 100) is writing an adaptation of Throne of Glass set to premiere on Hulu. There isn’t much information available about this project yet, but we know the pilot episode will be directed by Anna Foerster (Underworld: Blood Wars), and Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper are serving as executive producers. The show will be called Queen of Shadows, after the fourth book in Sarah J. Maas’s series. Celaena Sardothien, Ardarlan’s Assassin, is pulled from the dangerous prison mines of Endovier and brought before the Crown Prince of Adarlan. He gives her a choice: to serve out the remainder of her sentence, or fight against cutthroats and thieves to become the King’s Champion, and ultimately earn her freedom.
7. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
On April 10, this tweet showed up on Maggie Stiefvater’s twitter account:
https://twitter.com/mstiefvater/status/851439714351460352?lang=en
Maybe she wasn’t ready for the reveal, but we sure were! We don’t know much about the series yet, but we do know Universal Cable Productions is taking charge. The showrunner is Andrew Miller (The Secret Circle), and the pilot will be directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight). Maggie Stiefvater has described this series as being about Welsh Kings, fast cars, and friendship, but we’d describe it as the story of four private-school boys joining with a psychic’s daughter to uncover the secret history of Henrietta, a small town in Virginia with the luck (misfortune?) to be located directly on a powerful ley line.
