TV Shows Based on Best-Selling Books: From ‘Big Little Lies’ to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Credit: Jose Haro/Peacock

TV Shows Based on Best-Selling Books: From ‘Big Little Lies’ to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Perfect for miniseries or multiple seasons! Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies and You are among the best-selling books that made their way to the small screen in the form of TV adaptations. Reese Witherspoon is at the center of many of the most successful TV shows based on books, thanks to her passion for bringing fresh stories to a new medium while also shining a light on writers with something unique to say. “It’s nice to highlight authors who don’t have a track record of selling a lot of books,” the actress told Vanity Fair of her book club in her April 2020 cover story. “To watch what happens to them is extraordinary, and really emotional for us.” The Oscar winner is responsible for optioning Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies and Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere for television. She not only stars in the projects but also executive produces. “I always knew from the time I was 7 that I wanted to be storyteller or an actor or a singer,” Witherspoon recalled. “Or a writer. I always wanted to be a writer. I think that’s why I’m in awe of writers because I’ve tried to sit down and do it. I have ideas for stories all the time. I could never figure out how things ended. I always have ideas about how things begin but I never know how they end.” Of course, adaptations must balance creating their own material and staying true to the source. One such example is You, which strays from Caroline Kepnes’ novels. “It’s a show about love and obsession and where the line is between the two of those — and the character of Joe will always look outside himself for this thing that completes him,” showrunner Sera Gamble said on Us Weekly’s “Watch With Us” podcast in January 2020. “He has the perplexity to see a girl and think that she’s The One. I don’t see any signs of stopping that, but we never want to make a season that feels like it’s trying to replicate the one before.” Scroll through to explore TV shows based on best-selling books:

Credit: Jose Haro/Peacock

TV Shows Based on Best-Selling Books: From ‘Big Little Lies’ to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Perfect for miniseries or multiple seasons! Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies and You are among the best-selling books that made their way to the small screen in the form of TV adaptations. Reese Witherspoon is at the center of many of the most successful TV shows based on books, thanks to her passion for bringing fresh stories to a new medium while also shining a light on writers with something unique to say. “It’s nice to highlight authors who don’t have a track record of selling a lot of books,” the actress told Vanity Fair of her book club in her April 2020 cover story. “To watch what happens to them is extraordinary, and really emotional for us.” The Oscar winner is responsible for optioning Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies and Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere for television. She not only stars in the projects but also executive produces. “I always knew from the time I was 7 that I wanted to be storyteller or an actor or a singer,” Witherspoon recalled. “Or a writer. I always wanted to be a writer. I think that’s why I’m in awe of writers because I’ve tried to sit down and do it. I have ideas for stories all the time. I could never figure out how things ended. I always have ideas about how things begin but I never know how they end.” Of course, adaptations must balance creating their own material and staying true to the source. One such example is You, which strays from Caroline Kepnes’ novels. “It’s a show about love and obsession and where the line is between the two of those — and the character of Joe will always look outside himself for this thing that completes him,” showrunner Sera Gamble said on Us Weekly’s “Watch With Us” podcast in January 2020. “He has the perplexity to see a girl and think that she’s The One. I don’t see any signs of stopping that, but we never want to make a season that feels like it’s trying to replicate the one before.” Scroll through to explore TV shows based on best-selling books:

Credit: Dan Power/Netflix

'The Night Agent'

Based on the novel The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk, the Netflix drama series dropped in March 2023. The thriller — starring Gabriel Basso, Hong Chau and Sarah Desjardins — follows an FBI agent (Basso) as he attempts to uncover a conspiracy about a Russian mole at the highest level of the U.S. government. 

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

'Shadow and Bone'

The Netflix series, which premiered in April 2021, is based on Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology. The fantasy drama follows Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) as she learns to cope with her rare magical abilities while fighting the evil Kirigan's (Ben Barnes) attempts to remake the world in his image. 

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon Studios

'Daisy Jones & the Six'

Taylor Jenkins Reid's best-selling novel comes to life in the Amazon Prime series led by Riley Keough (Daisy Jones) and Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne). The TV adaptation, available in March 2023, explores the rise and fall of one of the greatest rock bands of the '70s. Suki Waterhouse, Camila Morrone, Josh Whitehouse, Nabiyah Be, Will Harrison and Sebastian Chacon also star.

Credit: Youtube

'Lockwood & Co.'

The Netflix series, which premiered in January 2023, is based on Jonathan Stroud's book series of the same name. The adaptation follows three friends who face various mysteries while hunting ghosts in London, England. 

Credit: Jose Haro/Peacock

'Vampire Academy'

The Peacock series, which premiered in September 2022, is based on Richelle Mead's book series that follows the adventures of dhampir Rose Hathaway and her vampire best friend Lissa while they are at the St Vladimir's Academy.

Credit: Peter Taylor/Prime Video

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’

The Prime Video series, which premiered in June 2022, is based on Jenny Han’s trilogy of novels. Much like the beloved YA books, the series focuses on teenager Belly (Lola Tung) as she spends the summer alongside her longtime crush Conrad and his younger brother, Jeremiah, balancing her feelings and the debutante social season.

Credit: Netflix

'Heartstopper'

Based on the beloved series of graphic novels by Alice Oseman, the Netflix show chronicles two teen boys whose unlikely friendship begins to blossom into something more as they deal with the ups and downs of high school.

Credit: Richard Ducree/Netflix

'Sweet Magnolias'

The Netflix series, which premiered in May 2020, is based on Sherryl Woods’ book series of the same name about three lifelong best friends navigating adulthood, romance, careers and raising families. JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott and Heather Headley star in the series, which was renewed for season 3 in May 2022.

Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix

'Bridgerton'

The hit Netflix show is based on the book series by Julia Quinn which follows each Bridgerton sibling in their own separate novel.

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'Red Queen'

Six years after Victoria Aveyard’s young adult fantasy novel debuted in 2015, Peacock landed the series for development. Elizabeth Banks is set to play a major role in the potential show, as well as direct.

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

'Firefly Lane'

The coming-of-age series, debuting on Netflix in February 2021, is based on the best-selling 2008 book of the same name written by Kristin Hannah. Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke star.

Credit: Hulu

'Little Fires Everywhere'

Witherspoon (Elena Richardson) and Kerry Washington (Mia Warren) struggle with issues of race and class in the Hulu limited series, inspired by Ng’s 2017 novel. The show premiered in March 2020.

Credit: Jennifer Clasen/HBO

'Big Little Lies'

Witherspoon (Madeline Mackenzie), Nicole Kidman (Celeste Wright), Laura Dern (Renata Klein), Shailene Woodley (Jane Chapman) and Zoë Kravitz (Bonnie Carlson) star as women brought together by a murder mystery and their children’s Monterey elementary school. Though the show, based on Moriarty’s 2014 book, was supposed to be a miniseries, HBO picked up the Emmy winner — which aired from 2017 to 2019 — for season 2.

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'Pretty Little Liars'

Troian Bellisario (Spencer Hastings), Ashley Benson (Hanna Marin), Lucy Hale (Aria Montgomery) and Shay Mitchell (Emily Fields) portrayed a group of teens haunted by a texting bully after the disappearance of their friend. Sara Shepard’s series of books, which launched in 2006, inspired the Freeform show to run for seven seasons, from 2010 to 2017.

Credit: STARZ

'Outlander'

The time-traveling Starz drama follows Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall) and Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser) as their love story spans centuries. Diana Gabaldon’s novel series debuted in 1991, while the show premiered in 2014.

Credit: Helen Sloane/HBO

'Game of Thrones'

The HBO hit had a major fan base long before it hit the small screen in 2011 due to George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series, which launched in 1996. Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) are among the cast members who finished out the show in 2019.

Credit: David Moir/Netflix

'13 Reasons Why'

The controversial Netflix series premiered in 2017 and immediately drew backlash for its depiction of suicide. Initially pitched as a miniseries based on Jay Asher’s 2007 novel, the show will conclude with four seasons and stars Katherine Langford (Hannah Baker) and Dylan Minnette (Clay Jensen).

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'The Handmaid’s Tale'

The Hulu series is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel about a dystopian future that involves the widespread oppression of women. The drama debuted in 2017 and stars Elisabeth Moss (June).

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'Gossip Girl'

Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen), Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf), Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey), Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass) and Chace Crawford (Nate Archibald) starred as a group of teens whose every move was documented by an anonymous blogger in the CW series, which ran for six seasons from 2007 to 2012. Cecily von Ziegesar wrote the book series, which launched in 2002.

Credit: Netflix / Eike Schroter

'A Series of Unfortunate Events'

Lemony Snicket’s children’s book series, which began in 1999, gave way to the Netflix series — in which Neil Patrick Harris played Count Olaf. The show ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2019.

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'You'

Badgley (Joe Goldberg) portrays the murderous stalker made famous by Kepnes’ 2014 novel. The show premiered on Lifetime in 2018 before making the move to Netflix for subsequent seasons.