This year's best TV shows based on books

Streaming platforms are increasingly turning to bestselling literature to inspire their productions. Here’s a selection of this year’s must-see adaptations.

Photo: Netflix

Premiering on December 11, this series is based on one of the most acclaimed works by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.

Photo: Netflix

'One Hundred Years of Solitude' tells the saga of seven generations of the Buendía family in the quiet town of Macondo. The TV adaptation is directed by Laura Mora and Alex García López, with Gabriel García Márquez’s sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, as producers.

Photo: Netflix

'Dune: Prophecy is inspired by the book Sisterhood of Dune, part of Frank Herbert’s iconic saga. It’s a prequel to the film 'Dune,' set 10,000 years before the events of the movie.

Photo: Max

Based on the 'Remembrance of Earth’s Past' trilogy by Chinese author Liu Cixin, this series delves into a decision made by an astrophysicist in the 1960s that reverberates through time and space, forcing scientists to confront humanity's greatest threat.

Photo: Netflix

Adapted from the crime novel of the same name by American author Harlan Coben, 'Fool Me Once' follows former soldier Maya Stern, who spots her supposedly murdered husband on her daughter's nanny cam weeks after his funeral.

Photo: Netflix

This series draws from Patricia Highsmith’s novels about the infamous Tom Ripley, including The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), Ripley Under Ground (1970), Ripley’s Game (1974), The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980), and Ripley Under Water (1991).

Photo: Netflix

Based on the bestselling novel by Carl Hiaasen, this series centers on a disgraced ex-cop turned health inspector who will stop at nothing to reclaim his old position.

Photo: Apple TV+

This series is adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen. It follows a double agent working simultaneously for the CIA and the North Vietnamese government at the end of the Vietnam War.

Photo: Max

Spanning just six episodes, this series is based on the book by American author Janice Y. K. Lee. It explores the intertwined lives of three American women living in Hong Kong after a family tragedy.

Photo: Amazon Prime Video

This adaptation of David Nicholls' beloved novel captures the on-again, off-again romance between Emma and Dexter, spanning decades of love, heartbreak, and missed opportunities.

Photo: Netflix

Based on Holly Jackson’s popular book, this series follows Pip, a young woman determined to uncover the truth behind the alleged murder of popular schoolgirl Andie Bell.

Photo: Netflix

Inspired by Blake Crouch’s novel, 'Dark Matter' tells the story of an astrophysicist who seems to have the perfect life, yet harbors a groundbreaking study on dark matter. One day, he’s kidnapped by an alternate version of himself and thrust into a parallel reality.

Photo: Apple TV+

This series, adapted from Trent Dalton’s bestselling novel, focuses on Eli Bell’s coming-of-age journey as he navigates his troubled family life and the criminal underworld.

Photo: Netflix

Inspired by the book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, this show follows twins Simon and Jared, along with their sister Mallory, as they move with their parents into their ancestral home and discover a secret world filled with magical creatures.

Photo: Prime

Loosely based on The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński, this satirical series stars Kate Winslet as Chancellor Elena Vernham. Set in a fictional European nation, she strives to expand her powers even as her country crumbles around her.

Photo: Max

The fourth and final season of this show based on the Neapolitan Novels by the pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante, which the New York Times called the best books of the century. The last season is shocking, following friends Elena and Lila in their later years.

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