5 stellar TV series based on award-winning novels
Max's 'The Sympathizer' is not the only successful adaptation of prestige fiction
Turning novels into TV shows is a practice as old as the visual medium itself. But it is relatively rare for filmmakers to tackle award-winning or short-listed works of literature, which makes Max's adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's 2015 novel "The Sympathizer" a gamble. As opposed to more plot-driven genre writing, prestigious literature depends on dynamic prose and careful characterizations that can often be difficult to translate to the screen. But when great novels meet great television, the results are memorable. These are five of the best TV literary adaptations of the last five years.
'Normal People' (2020)
Hulu's take on Irish novelist Sally Rooney's literary sensation turned not one but both of its leads into stars. Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Marianne, a disaffected young woman who falls in and out of love with Connell (Paul Mescal), whose house her mother used to clean, over the course of several years following the Great Recession. In Rooney's novel, Connell is popular and charming, whereas Marianne is an outcast, a dynamic that gets somewhat lost in the show's casting of these two supremely attractive actors. Released early in the pandemic, the 12-episode adaptation was almost universally praised. "Normal People" is a "triumph in every way," said The Guardian's Lucy Mangan.
'Foundation' (2021)
Isaac Asimov's Hugo Award-winning trilogy, which spans thousands of years, was long regarded as unfilmable until Apple TV+ came along. The series follows Harry Seldon (Jared Harris), a mathematician whose "Psychohistory" predicts the eventual fall of an interplanetary empire. Exiled by Emperor Cleon XII (a magnificent Lee Pace) to the remote planet of Terminus, Seldon plans to establish a Foundation dedicated to shortening the coming dark age with his disciples, including Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell). Some critics were left cold, but the show's "world building is always impressive with its grandeur that's both practical and also created with IMAX-worthy special effects," said Roger Ebert's Nick Allen in a review of season 1. Season 2 aired in 2023.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Station Eleven' (2021)
HBO Max began filming its take on Emily St. John Mandel's 2014 novel, a finalist for the National Book Award, but had to take a long pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The series follows Kirsten, played as a child by Matilda Lawler, who ends up in the care of the directionless Jeevan (Himesh Patel) the night that a deadly flu pandemic begins wiping out most of humanity. 20 years in the future, MacKenzie Davis plays grown-up Kirsten, who has joined a troupe of Shakespearean actors who tour the post-apocalyptic ruins of the Upper Midwest and who are menaced by radicals inspired by a graphic novel from which the book takes its name. Despite the untimely subject matter, "Station Eleven" is "an uplifting reaffirmation of the value of life and human connection," said Vulture's Jen Chaney.
'Fleishman Is In Trouble' (2022)
Divorced Manhattan doctor Toby Fleishman (Jesse Eisenberg) suddenly finds himself caring for his two children full-time after his ex-wife Rachel (Claire Danes) vanishes. Toby's inept navigation of the dating scene and efforts to find Rachel are narrated in voice-over by his best friend Libby (Lizzy Caplan), whose life is unsettled by Toby's newfound freedom. The gut-punch episode where Rachel's disappearance is finally explained is well-worth the slow burn. FX's meditation on early-middle-age ennui was based on Taffy Brodesser-Akner's National Book Award-longlisted 2019 novel of the same name. The show is "sharp, fierce, and funny," said Annie Berk for The AV Club. It is a "series about understanding instead of indicting in a way that's poignant and probing at once," said Daniel Fienberg for The Hollywood Reporter.
'Pachinko' (2022)
Min Jin Lee's novel was a National Book Award finalist in 2017, and in theory, quite an undertaking. The action traverses more than a century, from 1883 to 1989, and follows a Korean family that migrates to Japan. The series shaves some years from the novel's narrative, beginning in 1915 in Japanese-occupied Korea, where we meet Yangjin (Jeong In-ji ), asking a shaman to lift the curse from her family after her three previous children died. The soon-born child becomes Sunja (Youh Yuh-jung), the show's protagonist. The era-spanning drama is rendered lushly by directors Kogonada and Justin Chon. Pachinko is "so good" that it "makes the competition look obvious, overwrought, unworthy," said Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.
-
5 highly educational cartoons about student protests
Cartoons Artists take on apolitical camping, the National Guard, and more
By The Week US Published
-
French schools and the scourge of teenage violence
Talking Point Gabriel Attal announces 'bold' intervention to tackle rise in violent incidents
By The Week UK Published
-
On the trail of India’s wild lions at Sasan Gir National Park
The Week Recommends The sanctuary is a 'roaring' conservation success
By The Week UK Published
-
Recipe: almond marmalade cake
The Week Recommends This syrupy cake can be toasted for brunch
By The Week UK Published
-
Our growing taste for bubble tea
The Week Recommends The trend for boba-based beverages shows no sign of ending
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
7 magnificent hotels to visit before the summer crowds descend
The Week Recommends Have beach time in the Dominican Republic or a spa day in Saint-Tropez
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Shardlake: a 'tightly plotted, gorgeously atmospheric piece of television'
The Week Recommends Arthur Hughes captivates in this 'eminently watchable' Tudor murder mystery
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
8 movie musicals that prove the screen can share the stage
The Week Recommends The singing and dancing, bigger than life itself
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
2024 Mother's Day Gift Guide
The Week Recommends A present for every mom
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
6 singular places for solo travel
The Week Recommends Go your own way
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Why is Bluey such a cultural phenomenon?
In the Spotlight Kids are obsessed — but parents get just as much out of the show, if not more
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published