21 Books That Are Being Adapted For the Small Screen in 2019
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Some of the biggest, buzziest shows of the last few years have been book adaptations, and it doesn't seem like the trend is slowing down anytime soon. Like it's done with Game of Thrones and Big Little Lies, HBO has a few TV shows based on books in the works (and some of which have already premiered), while Starz and Netflix — which have adapted Outlander and 13 Reasons Why, respectively — are also adding more books-to-TV shows to their line-ups. Take a glance at all the shows that have come out already this year, as well as a handful of titles that we're still waiting on!
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The Passage
- What it's about: The sci-fi series loosely follows the events in Justin Cronin's novel of the same name, which tracks the evolution of a virus that essentially turns its victims into vampires, and the one young girl who could be the key to saving everyone. Mark-Paul Gosselaar stars as the federal agent tasked with tracking her down (and who later decides to protect her, instead), while talented young actress Saniyya Sidney (Fast Color) portrays Amy.
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Roswell, New Mexico
- What it's about: Yep, this is a reboot of the late '90s sci-fi romance series that aired on the WB back in the day, but both iterations of the story were based on the Roswell High book series by Melinda Metz. This time around, the CW's telling of the story follows a biomedical researcher and the daughter of undocumented immigrants (played by Jeanine Mason) who discovers that her former crush (played by Nathan Parsons) is secretly an alien who has kept his abilities hidden while working as a Roswell police officer.
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Deadly Class
- What it's about: The SYFY show is based on Rick Remender's bestselling graphic novel series of the same name, which follows a teenager (Benjamin Wadsworth) who finds himself recruited into King's Dominion, a high school that functions as a training ground for the world's deadliest assassins (beats calculus, no?). To All the Boys I've Loved Before's Lana Condor stars as fellow trainee Saya Kuroki, along with Liam James, Benedict Wong, and Siobhan Williams.
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The ABC Murders
- What it's about: John Malkovich takes on the role of Agatha Christie's famed detective Hercule Poirot, who finds himself trying to catch a killer who bases their murders on the ABC Railway Guide in 1933, and has a habit of sending threatening (and cryptic) letters. Malkovich is joined on screen by Rupert Grint, Tara Fitzgerald, Shirley Henderson, and Andrew Buchan.
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The Umbrella Academy
- What it's about: Netflix adapted The Umbrella Academy from the graphic novels created by My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, introducing us to a wicked and wild new world. In it, on the same day in October 1989, 43 women around the globe wake up and miraculously (and inexplicably) deliver babies, despite having shown no symptoms of pregnancy prior to that. Seven of those children are adopted by eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who intends to use their superhuman abilities to save the world by forming the Umbrella Academy. Though the family/team fractures in their teenage years, they end up drawn back together again amid tragedy decades later.
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The Perfectionists
- What it's about: The legacy of Pretty Little Liars lives on in The Perfectionists, which takes us to a quaint community in the Pacific Northwest (Beacon Heights) that is rocked by an unthinkable act: murder. PLL characters Mona Vanderwaal and Alison DiLaurentis appear in the show, as well as a trio of new faces who fans of Sara Shepard's original book series will fall in love with.
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A Discovery of Witches
- What it's about: The first book in Deborah Harkness's bestselling All Souls trilogy, A Discovery of Witches, came to AMC this year, and the show is just as epic and romantic as its source material. If you haven't read the novels, the story takes place in a world where demons, vampires, and witches are all hiding in plain sight. When young Oxford student Diana (Hacksaw Ridge's Teresa Palmer) accidentally unlocks an important, enchanted manuscript in the school's library, she discovers she's not only a descendant of the Salem witches, but her magical lineage comes with a variety of dangers. One of the risks? Entering into a forbidden romance with a ridiculously handsome, centuries-old vampire named Matthew (The Crown's Matthew Goode). The new couple's love sparks a war between the supernatural species, and nothing in their lives will ever be the same.
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Gentleman Jack
- What it's about: If you're a fan of Angela Steidele's 2018 biography, Gentleman Jack: A Biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist, then chances are you should watch the HBO series about Anne, who was an LGBTQ+ trailblazer and is often described as the "first modern lesbian." Vanity Fair actress Suranne Jones stars.
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Catch-22
- What it's about: This Hulu miniseries plunks us right into the World War II trenches, where pilots are desperately trying to be relieved from duty. They request mental evaluations, hoping the army psychiatrist will declare them insane . . . but the catch is, if you have enough mental faculties to request an evaluation in the first place, you are, by default, sane enough to fly a plane. George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, Christopher Abbott, Hugh Laurie, and more star in the adaptation of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel.
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The Name of the Rose
- What it's about: Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose was adapted for the small screen by SundanceTV this year, with John Turturro playing enlightened friar Guglielmo da Baskerville. With the help of his apprentice, the Franciscan monk travels to an abbey in the Alps in 1327 to get to the bottom of several mysterious murders, without raising the suspicions of a powerful Inquisitor.
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Good Omens
- What it's about: As Armageddon swiftly approaches following the birth of the antichrist, an angel (Michael Sheen) and a demon (David Tennant) find themselves face to face as they try to decide the fate of the world before time runs out. The book the Amazon series is based on was a collaboration between English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
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NOS4A2
- What it's about: If the (frustratingly spelled) title of this AMC series has you confused, the show is pronounced "Nosferatu," and follows one Charlie Manx (American Horror Story's Zachary Quinto), who is described as "a seductive immortal who feeds off the souls of children." Fortunately, the area of New England where he's been hunting has a defender in the form of Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings), a young woman who discovers she has the supernatural ability to find lost things. The creepy series is based on Joe Hill's 2013 bestselling novel of the same name.
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Tales of the City
- What it's about: Netflix's limited series is inspired by the books of the same name by American writer Armistead Maupin, who set his novels in San Francisco. That's where we meet Mary Ann (Laura Linney), who returns to the California city to reunite with her daughter Shawna (Ellen Page) and ex-husband Brian (Paul Gross), 20 years after she left them to pursue her career. In Netflix's description of the series, Mary Ann is "fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture-perfect Connecticut life created" and finds herself "quickly drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis), her chosen family, and a new generation of queer young residents living at 28 Barbary Lane."
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Trinkets
- What it's about: Three high school girls from vastly different backgrounds realize they're a lot more alike than they thought after crossing paths at a Shoplifters Anonymous meeting in this Netflix dramedy based on Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith's coming-of-age novel.
- When it premieres: June 14
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The Rook
- What it's about: Starz has adapted The Rook, an addictive new sci-fi series which tells the story of Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up next to London's Millennium Bridge in the pouring rain with zero memories about her life or identity. Oh, and she's also surrounded by a bunch of dead bodies. Soon she discovers she's a high ranking official in the Checquy, the UK's secret service for people with paranormal abilities, unspooling an intense, complicated web of mystery.
- When it premieres: June 30
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The Boys
- What it's about: Amazon's gritty superhero series based on Garth Ennis' graphic novels takes place in a universe where the most famous superheroes on the planet, nicknamed "The Seven," also happen to be corrupt assh*les. That's where the titular "boys," aka a group of vigilantes, come in. The group embraces "their blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty" in an effort to take the superheroes down and stop them from abusing their powers rather than using them for good. Karl Urban, Jennifer Esposito, Chace Crawford, Erin Moriarty, Jack Quaid, and Elisabeth Shue all star.
- When it premieres: July 26
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Looking For Alaska
- What it's about: Like John Green's wildly popular young adult novel, the eight-episode Hulu series will follow Miles "Pudge" Halter, a bored teen who is forever searching for a great adventure and finds it when he starts attending Culver Creek Boarding School. He meets and falls head over heels for his mysterious neighbor, Alaska Young, who steals his heart and leads him into a world of crazy and tragedy. Netflix's Sierra Burgess is a Loser star Kristine Froseth will play Alaska, alongside Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete) as Miles.
- When it premieres: Oct. 18
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Watchmen
- What it's about: The HBO series, inspired by Alan Moore's 1986 postmodern comic book of the same name, is helmed by Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof and stars Regina King, Tom Mison, and other talented actors. In this take of the story, which has previously been adapted in a 2009 film, the story is set in a world where superheroes are treated as outlaws rather than comrades.
- When it premieres: October 2019
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His Dark Materials
- What it's about: In news that would've thrilled your junior high self, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials book series is coming to TV courtesy of a joint venture between the BBC and HBO. Pullman's first young adult fantasy novel in the series, The Golden Compass, will serve as inspiration for season one, with season two presumably focusing on the events in the second book, The Subtle Knife. If all goes well, the third season will follow the third novel, The Amber Spyglass. If you haven't been lucky enough to read the books, they track the adventures of young Lyra Belacqua (Logan's Dafne Keen), who lives in a parallel universe where human souls take the form of animal companions called "daemons." When children start to be kidnapped — including Lyra's best friend Rodger — Lyra takes it upon herself to find them. James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda will also star.
- When it premieres: Fall 2019
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The Witcher
- What it's about: After leading films like Justice League and Mission Impossible: Fallout, Henry Cavill has signed on to Netflix's TV adaptation of The Witcher. The series is based on Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy novels, which also spawned an insanely popular video game of the same name. Both versions of the story follow Geralt of Rivia, a sorcerer, outcast, and cold-blooded killer who's tasked with ridding the world of monsters. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich — who's produced everything from The Defenders to Parenthood — will serve as showrunner.
- When it premieres: TBD 2019
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The Underground Railroad
- What it's about: Colson Whitehead's 2016 novel The Underground Railroad has been picked up for a TV adaptation by director Barry Jenkins. Like the book, the series sees the concept of the Underground Railroad transformed into a literal train system, with conductors and engineers running the secret service to help slaves escape on underground tracks. The story will center on Cora, a slave from Georgia, as she attempts a perilous journey to potential freedom.
- When it premieres: TBD 2019