New & upcoming book adaptations to watch

“The book is better.” While most of us will agree with this statement, it doesn’t mean we don’t like to watch the latest adaptations of books. It seems like a new book adaptation is popping up every week and it can be hard to keep up with all the latest releases. This year alone we will get more than 40 adaptations!

DVD cover Gregory Peck Over the years there have been countless adaptations, with some regarded as good and others as...well, not good. Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird is widely considered an excellent adaptation of Harper Lee’s work. The 1962 film was nominated for multiple awards and won a good chunk including an Academy Award for best Adapted Screenplay.

Beloved children’s series, Percy Jackson, did not have the same luck with Chris Columbus’s 2010 film adaptation. Percy Jackson & The Lighting Thief holds a 5.9/10 IMDb score and 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even worse, author Rick Riordan stated he was not a fan of the film adaptations. Luckily for Riordan the 2023 TV adaptation of his series has attracted more positive reviews with a 7/10 IMDb score and 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not an academy award but still some bragging rights!

I prefer adapting book series into TV shows rather than movies. Condensing an entire book into a two-hour film often leads to rushed storytelling and the removal of important scenes. With longer books especially, it feels unnecessary to rush the plot. A TV series provides more time to explore the source material and set a better pace. A series format simply offers more room to do the story justice.

Of course, we all have our preferences and standards on what makes a good adaptation. Below are upcoming and recently released adaptations you might want to add to your to be watched list.

Upcoming 2025 & 2026 adaptations