Book and TV Adaptations

The Popularity of Book to TV Adaptations

Over the past few years, the number of books that have been adapted into TV shows has skyrocketed. From Game of Thrones to The Handmaids Tale, many of these adaptations have been immensely popular.

The reason for the huge popularity of these adaptations may be thanks to big screen production budgets now being also used for small screen adaptations. TV shows also have the added bonus of being able to explore the subject matter in more depth.

Unlike movie adaptations of books, the show writers don’t have to try to jam all of the content into a two-hour sitting or even eliminate some of the book’s content in order to keep it to a certain running time.

They can delve deeper into the book’s contents, and explore all avenues of the story. Sometimes there isn’t even enough content, and the show will continue past or outwith of the book’s storyline and can even add in new characters.

For example, Game of Thrones has been so wildly successful that they have ventured past the content of the seventh book and created new arcs in existing stories. When George R.R. Martin finally releases the last book in the series, it may be a totally different story now to the one on your TV screen.

Another immensely popular book adaptation thanks to this new format for creating TV shows is Outlander. Premiering in the summer of 2014, Outlander made a huge impact. The original book series by Diana Gabaldon has enjoyed a huge increase in sales since the popular TV show began.

 A lot of books, once they are made into a TV show, will have increased book sales, as well as social media posts and conversations about the book and its TV adaptation. Knowledge of the book rises as people become aware of it, and it also means that many people will read the book who wouldn’t usually enjoy reading a book.

 As part of this blog post, we will go into the best book to TV adaptations that are currently or have recently been on your TV screens. All of these books can be found on the Kingdom Book site, in order for you to sink your teeth into your next TV and book pairing obsession.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander is a book series based on Jacobite risings in 18^th century Scotland and WWII nurses. It pulls the two together using time-travel as a form of historical connections, as the main heroine is a WWII nurse who is transported back to 1743 in Scotland.

It’s become immensely popular as a TV series in both the UK and the US, and so book sales of the series have increased along with viewings of the series. Many are awaiting its fourth season, which is set to air at the beginning of November this year.

Staying true to its Scottish roots, much of the series is filmed at beautiful Scottish countryside locations, and at the Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld, Scotland.

You can find the Outlander series and a guide to its locations here.

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

The seven epic fantasy books from George R. R. Martin were created into an immensely popular television series in 2011. Since then, it has inspired millions of people to delve deeper into the fantasy genre and the characters have been a popular choice for cosplay.

As mentioned before, the TV series has now surpassed the books, with talks about feature-length films and prequels to extend its magical stories further. So many people have become invested in the characters, and it gained a reputation for killing any characters its viewers became too attached to.

 After watching the series, many avid viewers have gone on to read the book series. Therefore, the book series has enjoyed a resurgence in sales in recent times thanks to this.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

 Margaret Atwood’s most famous work, released back in 1985, has had a revival of popularity since the Hulu adaptation of the novel premiered back in April of 2017. Its dystopian depiction of a government ruling over women’s bodies and minds isn’t too far from the truth today, and that may be a major factor in its success.

 The recent second season went past the original book, but with Atwood herself as a producer, we can rest assured that the TV series will stay true to the author’s vision. It was also the streaming service Hulu’s biggest original release and has given them the much-needed reputation to be able to create other TV shows themselves.

Overall, book to TV series adaptations are hugely successful nowadays, and the rise of their popularity can be in part due to social media, as well as many of the original authors working alongside the producers in order to create an authentic end product.

 Let us know down below what your favourite book to TV adaptation is and why. In the future, we may be able to stock more of these on our online bookstore, in order to satisfy your TV and book cravings!