Film adaptations are great, but sometimes nothing can do a book justice quite like a full-blown TV series. It provides all the visual possibilities of a movie along with the added benefits of a long runtime and a chapter-style, episodic structure. (The Victorians basically consumed Dickens novels like 19th-century TV dramas, after all.)
Shows inspired by books span genres, from legal series like The Lincoln Lawyer to thrillers like You, fantasies like The Witcher, and period romances like Bridgerton, to name a few. And while audiences are watching around the world, these adaptations can also spark renewed interest in their source material, with books returning to bestseller lists years or sometimes even decades after they originally hit shelves.
We’ve rounded up a list of Netflix series that are based on books — classic and modern, fiction and nonfiction, happy and scary, funny and sad. Add these titles to your queue to find your newest bookish favorite.
Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones) and Alexander Woo (True Blood), and based on the best-selling novels by Cixin Liu, this epic drama has an unstoppable pop-culture pedigree. Spanning decades and continents, the eight-episode 3 Body Problem imagines what happens when a young scientist makes a bold decision in 1960s China that will have major global implications over the ensuing decades. In the present day, a group of brilliant physicists, baffled by recent anomalies in their research, team up with a hardened investigator (Benedict Wong) to reckon with the consequences.
The Queen of Crime published this twisty mystery in 1929, and it's just as puzzling today. When Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce) attends a party at the lavish country estate she and her mother rent out for extra income, fellow guest Gerry Wade (Corey Mylchreest) gives Bundle reason to believe they may have a romantic connection. That is, until the next morning, when seven alarm clocks go off in Gerry’s room without ceasing. When Bundle investigates, she finds Gerry dead in his bed. Convinced he must have been murdered, Bundle sets out to find answers, even if the investigating officer, Superintendent Battle (Martin Freeman), finds her involvement meddlesome.
Here’s a how-to that could come in handy. Created by Poppy Cogan and based on Holly Jackson’s 2019 young adult mystery novel of the same name, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder sees a young detective take on a shocking case. Emma Myers stars as Pip Fitz-Amobi, a teenager in a small English town who is still haunted by the disappearance of another girl years prior — and consumed by the conviction that the authorities got the wrong guy. When she investigates the case herself, Pip uncovers truths that many would prefer were left buried. Once you’ve solved Season 1, don’t despair: Season 2 — based on the second novel in Jackson’s series, Good Girl, Bad Blood — is currently in the works.
Inspired by Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine: One Boy’s Journey Through Boot Camp to Manhood, this eight-episode series is set in the tough, unpredictable world of the 1990s US Marine Corps — when being gay in the military was still illegal. Closeted Cameron Cope (Heizer) and his best friend Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), the son of a decorated Marine, join a diverse group of recruits. Together they navigate the intense environment and grueling training of boot camp, where their physical endurance is put to the test — along with the truest version of themselves.
When it premiered on Christmas Day in 2020 — a tough year, you might recall — Bridgerton was an immediate smash, proving to be exactly the kind of sexy escape viewers wanted in the darkest days of the pandemic. Based on Julia Quinn’s series of period romance novels and produced by Shonda Rhimes, the gorgeous Regency-set series (which dabbles thrillingly in anachronism) revolves around the Bridgerton family, with each season putting the spotlight on the love story of one of the siblings. Season 4 focused on the second-eldest son, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), who is enraptured by a nameless young woman he meets at a masquerade ball, Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), who is in fact a maid and an unsuitable match. But love always wins in Mayfair, and Seasons 5 and 6 have already been announced.
History often makes for the most thought-provoking stories, and this limited series based on Candice Millard’s 2011 nonfiction book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President proves the point. Michael Shannon stars as James Garfield, the underdog congressman who would become the 20th US president in 1881. Despite his reluctant and improbable rise through the ranks of politics, Garfield emerges as the sort of leader who inspires the masses. Unfortunately one fanatical admirer, Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), takes this inspiration to an extreme, cutting Garfield’s presidency tragically short. Betty Gilpin, Nick Offerman, Bradley Whitford, and Shea Whigham also portray historical figures of the day.
Get ready to swoon for Forever — or at least for the first eight episodes. Created by Girlfriends mastermind Mara Brock Akil, this 2025 limited series tenderly portrays the timeless tale of first love told in Judy Blume’s (oft banned) 1975 novel through a thoughtful, modern lens. Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. star in the romantic teen drama as Keisha and Justin, two childhood friends who meet again as teenagers, their lives having diverged significantly. Even while struggling under the pressures of athletic competition, college admissions, and ambitious parents, Keisha and Justin forge a powerful bond that may or may not be able to sustain past high school, but is sure to change them both forever.
Get spooked with these creepy tales from Mike Flanagan, who adapted Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House for the show and Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw for its follow-up, The Haunting of Bly Manor. Though each series tells a completely independent story, the two are linked by eerie vibes — and, of course, the premise of a haunting. Flanagan succeeded that pair of eerie tales with an adaptation of Christopher Pike’s The Midnight Club, which follows a group of hospice patients who like to tell each other scary stories late at night, as well as the Gothic horror series The Fall of the House of Usher, inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe.
An unreliable narrator makes for a good mystery, but in this adaptation of Alice Feeney’s 2020 psychological thriller, there are two. Jack (Jon Bernthal) and Anna (Tessa Thompson) are an estranged married couple brought back together by a murder in their small town. Jack is the detective leading the investigation, and Anna is the TV reporter sent to cover it. Each is connected to the victim in a way they’d rather keep secret. Competing to solve the case, they uncover clues that lead them to suspect the other may be the killer.
A modern Italian classic gets a sumptuous small-screen rendering in Richard Warlow’s 2025 limited series, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s 1958 novel of the same name. Popularly regarded as one of the greatest works of Italian literature of all time, The Leopard dramatizes a critical moment in the nation’s history, depicting the tumultuous Risorgimento — under which movement the various city-states, kingdoms, and republics of the Italian peninsula unified in 1861 — through the experience of one aristocratic family. Kim Rossi Stuart stars in the six-part period drama as Don Fabrizio Corbera, a Sicilian prince whose life is upended and world reshaped forever by the relentless wave of change consuming the land.
Super producer David E. Kelley logged a busy spring of 2022, when Anatomy of a Scandal and The Lincoln Lawyer were released within a month of each other. The latter show, adapted from Michael Connelly’s books about fictional defense lawyer Mickey Haller (Season 1 was based on The Brass Verdict, the second novel to feature the character), stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as the LA lawyer who works primarily out of the back of his car (a Lincoln). Seasons 1-3 are streaming now, and the series is gearing up for Season 4. Buckle up!
French thriller Lupin is faithful to its source material more in spirit than in letter, but therein lies its brilliance. Novelist Maurice Leblanc first wrote about the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin in the early 1900s, and he appeared in dozens of Leblanc’s novels. The TV series created by George Kay and François Uzan transposes the character to the present day in the form of Assane Diop (Omar Sy), a thief who reads Leblanc’s novels and models himself after Lupin in his quest to avenge his father.
If spy thrillers call to you, pick up for The Night Agent. Created by The Shield mastermind Shawn Ryan, the suspenseful series is based on Matthew Quirk’s 2019 novel of the same name, in which FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) is assigned the tedious task of manning a phone that almost never rings. When he finally has to answer it, however, his whole life changes. The one phone call plunges him into a tangled conspiracy that hinges on a single traitor somewhere at the highest levels of government — and it could be anyone. Already renewed for Season 3, you can watch the first two pulse-pounding installments now.
In 2024, more than 50 years after its 1967 release, One Hundred Years of Solitude was finally adapted for television. Portraying the intricate history of seven generations of the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo, Gabriel García Márquez’s magical realist masterpiece was a daunting challenge for the screen, its narrative complexity and innate poetry defying many conventions of the medium. Directed by Alex García López and Laura Mora and starring Diego Vásquez as Buendía patriarch and Macondo founder José Arcadio, the ambitious series was filmed in García Márquez’s native Colombia (in Spanish), and with the support of the author’s family. Part 1 is streaming now, with Part 2 coming in August 2026.
A popular manga gets the live-action treatment with ONE PIECE, developed by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda from Eiichiro Oda’s series of the same name. The lively adventure tale follows a group of friends, led by pirate Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), who seek a storied treasure. Relying on their wits, their unique skills, and each other, the lovable crew journeys across a dynamic and imaginative world in search of their prize — but they aren’t the only ones after it.
Picture this: a gorgeous young couple, an immaculate wedding weekend. Spectacular wealth, an opulent home, an elegant family, a murder. Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling 2018 novel provided the source material for this 2024 miniseries, developed by Jenna Lamia and directed by Susanne Bier. Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber star as the ice-queen matriarch and charming patriarch of the Winbury family, one of the wealthiest in Nantucket, whose son (Billy Howle) is marrying an outsider (Eve Hewson). When a dead body appears on the beach just as the festivities are beginning, suspicion mounts, and the bride starts to see cracks in her future in-laws’ flawless façade.
Sales of chess sets skyrocketed (really!) following the release of this mini-series written and directed by Scott Frank, based on Walter Tevis’ novel, about a chess prodigy in the 1960s. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as Beth Harmon, a young woman who learns the game from the janitor at her orphanage. She competes her way to the highest level of the chess world while battling her own demons, including addiction. The Queen’s Gambit won 11 Emmys, including outstanding limited or anthology series and outstanding period costumes — Beth’s got as much style as she has strategy.
Shot in moody black-and-white, Steven Zaillian’s psychological thriller Ripley is a stylish take on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 crime classic The Talented Mr. Ripley. The 2024 limited series stars Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, a petty grifter in early ’60s New York who stumbles into a plum job when he’s hired to track down a wealthy businessman’s wayward son, Dickie (Johnny Flynn), who is overseas, and convince him to come home. Upon getting a taste of Dickie’s luxurious lifestyle in Italy, however, Ripley realizes he wants more out of the job than he was promised — and he can use his considerable talents to get it.
In this two-season dramedy, only the fabulous survive. Michelle Buteau and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel created Survival of the Thickest as a fictionalized adaptation of Buteau’s 2020 book of the same name, a collection of candid autobiographical essays exploring romance, friendship, success, dreams, marriage, and so much more. The show stars Buteau herself as Mavis Beaumont, a talented New York stylist working on building her career and rebuilding her love life after a devastating breakup. Leaning on her best friends and her impeccable taste, Mavis strives to become her best, most unapologetic self amid the chaos.
A series adapted from a novel and filled to the brim with literary references makes for a real book reader’s kind of watch. A well-liked college English professor (Rachel Weisz) faces middle age and the mounting repercussions of her husband’s unsavory past. Suddenly untethered, she forms a seductive obsession with a young, married, and charismatic new colleague, Vladimir (Leo Woodall). As her imagination roams to darker and darker places, she’ll discover how far she is willing to go to bring her scandalous fantasies to life. Based on the acclaimed novel by Julia May Jonas.
Readers, cinephiles, and gamers will unite in enjoying this action-packed fantasy series. The Witcher, adapted from the novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski, stars Henry Cavill in Seasons 1-3, and Liam Hemsworth in Season 4, as the monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia. The fantasy series follows the white-haired, supernaturally capable hero as he fulfills his destiny — though he’s personally skeptical of the concept — in the dark, magical land of the Continent. The Witcher universe has also expanded over the years: there have been two animated movies, Nightmare of the Wolf and Sirens of the Deep, as well as a live-action prequel series, Blood Origin.
For an addictive thriller that will carry you through five seasons’ worth of juicy drama, all you need is You. Based on Caroline Kepnes’ book series, the subversive 2018 show (the fifth and final season of which dropped in 2025) from creators Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble dares you to follow a monstrously flawed protagonist — a stalker and serial killer who views his own disturbing behavior merely as evidence of his romantic spirit. Penn Badgley stars as the now-infamous Joe Goldberg, a New York bookstore manager who develops an obsessive infatuation with a grad student and pursues her with alarming persistence. And that’s just Season 1!
Additional reporting by Phillipe Thao and Ananda Dillon.
