While book-to-screen adaptations are not new, they’ve become more popular on streaming services.
Some of these series are billed as easily bingeable and quick miniseries based on one novel, while others last several seasons and are based on an entire book series.
However, sometimes these limited series drag on too long. If there is only one source material book, it’s often better to complete the story in one season to continuously renew it and drag it out for no reason.
Some creators saw how well their show did in the ratings or the awards shows and assumed it was a bona fide hit, but then the quality decreased in the subsequent seasons.
When The Plot Wraps Up, Don’t Do Another Season
Our biggest gripe is that so many of these book-to-screen adaptations were meant to be limited series, and the plots were meant to wrap up, but they kept going.
Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, and 13 Reasons Why are all prime examples.
While Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers balanced some drama and humor, 13 Reasons Why delved into the emotional topic of teenage suicide.
13 Reasons Why Season 1 beautifully portrays the intricacies of high school, teen bullying, and suicide. Katherine Langford shone in her role as Hannah.
While it was graphic, it honored Jay Aaher’s novel. It served a purpose. The subsequent seasons did not.
The crimes became more violent, providing shock value rather than serious storytelling — the later seasons barely connected to Hannah’s arc, except for the trial related to her death.
While the subsequent seasons addressed real-world issues, they deviated so significantly from the book and Hannah’s story that it no longer felt like the same show.
Some Authors’ Books Are Repeat Offenders
Some authors’ books are repeat offenders. Liane Moriarty has had book-to-screen adaptations on multiple streaming services, and only Peacock’s Apples Never Fall remained a limited series.
While there are always more questions after a television series ends, Apples Never Fall covered most of the novel.
Sure, we would have liked an update on how Joy integrated herself into the family or if Savannah ever appeared again, but not enough for another season.
That idea had already failed when HBO ordered an additional season of Big Little Lies, following the first season’s rousing success.
The first season ended fairly cleanly with Perry’s murder being shown, but instead of Bonnie’s confession, the women covered for her.
This left the door open for Perry’s mom, Mary Louise, played by Meryl Streep, to appear in Big Little Lies Season 2 and lead the charge in solving his murder.
She was the best part of the second season, but it lacked the intricate relationships and complex drama that the first season had to entice viewers.
Moriarty wrote a short novella to help with the script, explaining the delay between seasons, but ending it with the first season may have been better.
While there hasn’t been an official announcement for Big Little Lies Season 3, the cast and creator, David E. Kelley, have been pushing for it, making us wonder why.
It’s not as if these actresses aren’t in other book-to-screen adaptations. Reese Witherspoon is in The Morning Show, Shailene Woodley was just in Three Women, and Nicole Kidman stars in many, including Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers.
Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers excelled in the beginning. The adaptation took the book’s best parts, making them more dramatic, but adding camp.
In the book, the guests were forbidden to speak for four days, which wouldn’t have worked on television. Nine Perfect Strangers Season 1 made their interactions entertaining, especially when they microdosed on magic mushrooms.
The season ended with the police learning about Masha and Ben and Jessica taking over Tranquillum House. The story was complete, but Hulu renewed it, turning it into an anthology series with nine new guests.
However, this time, there was no new novella, and EP Bruna Papandrea created new scenarios. While the cast and storyline arcs have been interesting, they weren’t needed.
It would have been better to close Masha’s storyline about Tatiana in Nine Perfect Strangers Season 1.
Should Book-to-Movie Adaptations Follow the Same Rules?
Movies are harder to debate because some movies seem more open-ended and could have a sequel.
In 2023, Prime Video’s Red, White, and Royal Blue was a massive success, mainly because of the onscreen chemistry between Prince Henry ( Nicholas Galitzine) and Alex Claremont Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez).
The streamer ordered a sequel so fans could learn what was next after the two finally went public with their relationship.
While author Casey McQuiston only wrote one Red, White, and Royal Blue novel, she was involved in creating the screenplay to ensure the characters were true to form.
These instances seem trickier because there wasn’t accurate source material, but the author is at least involved.
I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t say I wasn’t excited for this one either.
Over to you, TV Fanatics. Where do you draw the line between limited series and movies when there is only one book of source material?
Agree? Disagree? Have a theory?
Let us know in the comments, or share this article with someone who will want to argue about it with you. That’s what makes it fun.
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