Television adaptions taking over an authors industry

With the success seen by novels brought to the TV-screen in the form of tightly scripted, star-studded limited series, we have been seeing a new trend emerge. Distinguishing themselves from films and longer TV-series, limited series and miniseries have proven themselves to be a suitable format for adapting bestselling novels.

The Handmaid’s Tale, Big Little Lies and American Gods are just three on a list of series that have been embraced by viewers and critics alike in the last year. The former two each brought home five awards at this year’s Primetime Emmy’s, including wins in the categories Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series.

The concept of turning a literary work into a TV-program is not novel; many popular shows have in fact originated as books — Gossip Girl, Bones and the worldwide phenomenon Game of Thrones are just a few examples. Even so, a new movement has emerged with streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon releasing original series irrespective of national television network schedules.

Streaming services and the TV binge-watching trend bring about a number of new benefits that is changing the landscape of TV-production. There’s additional creative freedom when developing a show for a company such as Netflix, in comparison to a program that is developed for broadcast networks. The pressures of maintaining traction throughout a traditional 22-episode arc do not constrain miniseries or limited series. Furthermore, it is no longer the exception to have episode running times that near the one-hour mark. As pointed out by Melissa Rosenberg, screenwriter for series such as Dexter and Jessica Jones, there is also no need to wait for feedback and ratings after the pilot airs when working with Netflix.

These days, it appears that a book series is more likely to be renewed for a second season than a second film. The Golden Compass, The Mortal Instruments, and I am Number Four are all book-to-screen projects that were abandoned due to underperformance at the box-office in the last decade. In contrast, Netflix had up until this summer steadily been renewing its original series. Several limited series have been renewed for a second season, even when there is no book sequel to base it on. 13 Reasons Why and Big Little Lies are two such titles. In the case of the latter, author Liane Moriarty has expressed interest in scripting a new storyline for Season 2.

There are additional benefits for choosing a limited series over film as the format of a book adaption. A rather obvious point is that there exists more time to develop in-depth characters, storylines and themes. This is particularly valuable for plot lines that rely heavily on pacing, or novels that are packed with multiple characters. All the Game of Thrones characters would be fighting to get a word in edge wise, even in a three hour-long film. What’s more, Bruce Miller’s adaption of The Handmaid’s Tale allowed for detailed background narratives to be constructed for supporting characters that remained largely unknown in the novel.

It remains to be seen what will ensue as these series begin production of their second seasons. Will they be able to hold the audiences’ interests and keep ahead of the steadily increasing competition? Will they succeed in developing relevant storylines that continue past the events of the novels that they are based on?

In the meantime, if you are looking for another literary TV-adaption to binge on, here are three to put on your watch-list.

Alias Grace

Following the successful adaption of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, CBC and Netflix brings another of Atwood’s stories to the TV-screen in a joint production. In this historical fiction drama, Grace Marks, played by Sarah Gadon, stands accused of murder and is serving a life sentence. Grace nevertheless claims to have no memory of committing the crime. The narrative follows Dr. Simon Jordan, an expert on mental illness, as he becomes personally involved with the case and attempts to uncover the truth about Grace. Is she a coldblooded femme fatale not to be trusted? Or, is she an innocent woman, falsely accused of vicious crimes?

As of November 3rd, you can stream Alias Grace on Netflix.

Mindhunter

Based on the true crime novel Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas, the TV-series of the same name follows FBI agents Holden Ford, played by Jonathan Groff, and Bill Tench, played by Holt McCallany, as they, along with a psychologist, interview serial killers in an attempt to understand how their minds work. In doing so, they hope to solve on-going cases. The series is set in the late 1970s, in the early days of criminal profiling at the FBI.

Mindhunter debuted on Netflix on October 13th.

Sharp Objects

Two of Gillian Flynn’s novels, Gone Girl and Dark Places, have already been adapted to the screen. Next up: Flynn’s debut novel Sharp Objects. The novel features journalist Camille Preaker, a lead role snapped up by Amy Adams in the TV-adaption, as she reluctantly returns to her hometown to cover the murder of a young girl. Having recently been released from hospitalization due to self-harm, Camille is in a less than perfect position to re-visit the complicated relationship with her mother and half-sister. The TV-series is being developed by Entertainment One, with Flynn on-board as screenwriter and Jean-Marc as director. In the roles you can also expect to see Patricia Clarkson and Chris Messina.

You’ll have to wait a little longer for this one, as the expected release is June 2018.

Edited by Cheyenne Abrams.

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