Television programs are more appreciated today than they have ever been before. The rise of at-home streaming has provided numerous platforms for stories of all kinds to set forth nuanced, long-term narratives that keep audiences tuning in week after week. Many of the productions that have been popular across these platforms have been adaptations of literary series,includingHis Dark Materialson HBO andNetflix’sShadow and Bone,and fans are excited to seePercy Jacksonon Disney+.
Update Aug 17, 2025: Fans of the page and the screen will be pleased to know this article has been updated with even more book series that would make for great television shows.
Making the jump from page to screen has always been a difficult process, but the episodic nature of television is ideal for bringing these stories to life, especially in the case of long-running book series. With the massive popularity of streaming and the increased production quality of modern television shows, it is a great time for literary adaptations. Here are some of our picks for book series that haven’t yet been brought to our screens but we think would make terrific TV shows.
15Agent Pendergast Series
Beginning in 1995, theAgent Pendergast Series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is an enormous mystery series with 22 titles and counting. The series follows the various cases investigated by FBI Special Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast, a charming and enigmatic figure with an inclination toward extraordinary mysteries.
Each entry of the series features a layered and compelling plot surrounding deeply interesting cases, and Pendergast himself is an absolute delight on the page. Between the exciting mysteries, compelling protagonist, and incredible cast of memorable characters, the Agent Pendergast book series would make incredible television. While there was a series in the works at Paramount, theFacebookpage for the show reported its cancelation, leaving this excellent mystery series without an adaptation for now.
14The InterWorld Series
Neil Gaiman is a masterof creating stories and characters that audiences absolutely adore, and his collaboration with Michael Reaves is no exception. Centered around a protagonist with the ability to walk between alternate realities, theInterWorldseries is a great piece of multiversal fiction that would be right at home in the current storytelling climate.
Related:Upcoming Book to Screen Adaptations We’re Excited to See
Both authors bring their best to this series that features a lot of the hallmarks one would expect from a story that takes place across multiple different realities, and the genre walks the line between fantasy and soft sci-fi. Add in a cast of colorful characters, antagonists that are bent on domination, and plot twists that shock and satisfy, and the result is an audience pleasing story that would make brilliant television.
13The Kingkiller Chronicle
In a story that might be familiar toGame of Thronesfans,The Kingkiller Chronicletrilogy by Patrick Rothfuss has now gone over a decade without its concluding book. However, that doesn’t mean in any way that the currently existing story wouldn’t make outstanding television. This series has a unique approach to classical heroic fantasy, with a framing device that looks back on the action long after it has already concluded.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, an avid fan of Rothfuss' work, has described the series as a “code that has yet to be cracked” toEntertainment Weekly, stating that the book cannot be simply adapted into one movie. That being said, the epic tale of Kvothe would make excellent television that could even become the next great name in fantasy fiction. The world is imaginative, the characters entertaining and memorable — which are all things that define great fantasy fiction in any medium.
12The Matched Series
TheMatchedSeries by Ally Condie is a YA dystopian future series. Protagonist Cassia lives in a society where everything is decided for you, from your career and future partner to the exact date you’ll die. Cassia’s faith in her society’s rules is shaken due to a mishap with her matches, throwing her entire worldview into turmoil.
Whilst this may sound like your average YA series, Matched does a fantastic job at slowly building tension as you find out more about the world in which it’s set. Cassia doesn’t start the novel unhappy with the control over her life, and despite some very restrictive rules being revealed as the series goes on, the book doesn’t shy away from showing the reader why people would see the benefits in such a system existing. The slow progression of the series lends itself brilliantly to a TV format, creating thrilling cliffhangers and plenty of time for audiences to consider their own thoughts about such a society.
11Codex Alera
Written by the author ofThe Dresden Files, theCodex Alerais a sprawling and lengthy fantasy series set in a world of wizards, assassins, kings, and spirits. The twist here is that the series focuses on a protagonist that is notable for their lack of magical ability as they navigate plots and events that affect the world as a whole, granting an element of challenge and stakes that is compelling.
This is a genre-savvy take on the fantasy genre, and fans ofThe Dresden Fileswill already be familiar with Butcher’s approach to storytelling and ability to create great characters that audiences are quick to connect with.Codex Aleratakes an interesting concept and applies it in a way that would translate beautifully to an episodic format on the screen. With so many volumes in the long-running series, an adaptation would have enough fuel to continue on for many, many seasons as well.
10The Solitaire Series
Author of the hugely popularHeartstopperseries, Alice Oseman, also hasThe Solitaire Series. Set around the goings-on ofHeartstopper, this series tells otherwise untold parts of Charlie, Tori, and Nick’s lives. The series provides a much deeper insight into Charlie’s sister Tori, a character who is already a fan-favorite and who definitely deserves her own stories.
The SolitaireSeriestells the tales of growing up, mental health struggles, and relationships. They’re essential reading for anybody looking to learn more about the characters inHeartstopper, so would make a fantastic spin-off series for fans to watch, too. Given the shows would already be cast and clearly have an audience, this is a series Netflix needs to work on.
9Net Force
TheNet Forceseries, created by Tom Clancy and written by Steve Perry and Larry Segriff, is an enormous collection of novels centered around an FBI cybercrime unit. While the very first novel of the series has been adapted into a made-for-TV film starring Scott Bakula, much of the source material was changed, and there is still an enormous amount of content that a TV series could explore.
The focus on cybercrime is particularly appropriate for today’s climate, with the ideas of encroaching technology being especially prevalent in other series. By focusing on an FBI unit that deals with cybercrime specifically, a hypothetical TV series of these novels could play out in a very similar way toCSI: Cyber,but with the structure and stakes that made the novels such a long-running and widely enjoyed series.
8The Bloodsworn Series
The Bloodsworn seriesby John Gwynne follows several protagonists as they navigate the Norse mythology-inspired world in which they live. After the gods have driven themselves to extinction, the world has changed. The setting lends to plenty of action-packed fights and some rather unpleasant deaths but also manages to carve out some genuinely heartwarming moments to keep readers invested and rooting for specific characters.
Given that the book follows the stories of multiple protagonists, potential TV adaptations could explore the possibility of dedicating specific episodes, or even seasons, to one character in particular. Popularized by smash-hits likeGame of Thrones, everybody loves a good mythical creature and magical world, and a world like the one John Gwynne has been building acrossThe Shadow of the GodsandThe Hunger of the Godsso far would no doubt gain success for these reasons.
7The Lunar Chronicles
The Lunar Chroniclesby Marissa Meyer is a series of YA books retelling classic childhood fairytales. The futuristic sci-fi series follows each protagonist as they overcome personal and earth-wide struggles as they work together to rebel against the evil Queen.
Related:22 Movies That Have Very Little to do With the Book They’re Based On
Cinder is a cyborg living under the rule of her evil stepmother, Scarlet is a spaceship pilot on a search for her missing grandmother, Cress is a hacker who has been imprisoned against her will, and Winter, the stepdaughter of the evil Queen, is adamant not to use her powers after seeing what her stepmother has done with her own. The engaging series would surely find an audience, given the success of similar franchises likeOnce Upon a TimeandDescendants, and could quickly become a family favorite.
6The Black Company
Glen Cook’s dark fantasy series applies the tone and typical tropes one would find in a war drama to the fantasy setting, resulting in the sort of grim and morally gray vision that has made programs likeGame of Thronesso successful.The Black Companyseries of novels features a lot of the set pieces one would expect from a fantasy setting but viewed through the lens of a simple mercenary company rather than the halls of the palaces and castles themselves.
With characters and themes that are morally gray at best, this series would be a great vehicle for a fantasy show that makes the audience question the classical fantasy ideas of good and evil. Far from knights, princes, and wizards, the characters in the series are some of the most human found in fantasy literature and would be a perfect fit for TV and a good foil for morehigh fantasy seriessuch asTheRings of Power.
