Sometimes books make great movies, but other times they’re adapted into incredible miniseries. These four miniseries are evidence of that. Stream them now if you haven’t already.
The Queen’s Gambit
The Queen’s Gambit was released at the perfect time – October 2020. In case you forgot, that was the first fall of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the timing caused the show’s release on Netflix to be massively successful. The show is also really good. Like, really good.
Viewers called for a second season to follow Beth Harmon’s life as a chess prodigy, and while the numbers would’ve warranted another season from any other show, the series was adapted from a book of the same name by Walter Tevis, so a first season was all we got.
The Queen’s Gambit is streaming now on Netflix.
Big Little Lies
Netflix could’ve taken a page out of HBO’s book and given The Queen’s Gambit another season. That’s what the network did with Big Little Lies, after all. The incredibly successful show – which was originally intended to be a miniseries – was given a second season despite being adapted from the book of the same name by Liane Moriarty and following the same plot.
The second season, of course, was not based on what had already been written by Moriarty, and fans of the show who read the book first were a little disappointed.
Big Little Lies is streaming now on Max.
Sharp Objects
Coming out just the following year on the same network, Sharp Objects was compared to Big Little Lies by many, though most viewers and readers found it to be much darker. Adapted from the book of the same name by Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects stayed a miniseries, and it was nominated for several Emmy awards. If you’re into murder, mystery, and the like, you’ll like it.
Sharp Objects is streaming now on Max.
Little Fires Everywhere
Streaming services are continually battling to see who can create the best miniseries, and many of them are looking to acclaimed novels to do the trick. Little Fires Everywhere, adapted from the book of the same name by Celeste Ng, aired on Hulu amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and while it’s perhaps been overshadowed by other miniseries since, it was certainly one of Hulu’s best at the time.
Little Fires Everywhere is streaming now on Hulu.
Each of these books is available to listen to wherever you get your audiobooks.
