TV Shows based on Books
by donaldsgordon | created - 2 months ago | updated - 2 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.
Stars: Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey
Votes: 2,285,808
2. The Expanse (2015–2022)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
The disappearance of rich-girl-turned-political-activist links the lives of Ceres detective, accidental ship captain and U.N. politician. Amidst political tension between Earth, Mars and the Belt, they unravel the greatest conspiracy.
Stars: Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Votes: 172,401
3. Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019)
TV-MA | 59 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Convicted of a decade-old crime of transporting drug money, ordinarily law-abiding Piper Chapman is sentenced to 18 months behind bars and quickly discovers the realities of life-changing prison time.
Stars: Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning, Emma Myles
Votes: 320,247
4. Legend of the Seeker (2008–2010)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After the mysterious murder of his father, a son's search for answers begins a momentous fight against tyranny.
Stars: Craig Horner, Bridget Regan, Bruce Spence, Craig Parker
Votes: 36,291
5. Outlander (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Claire Beauchamp Randall, a nurse in World War II, mysteriously goes back in time to Scotland in 1743. There, she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.
Stars: Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin
Votes: 179,141
6. Shogun (1980)
TV-MA | 109 min | Adventure, Drama, History
An English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in the complex political games in feudal Japan.
Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada, Furankî Sakai
Votes: 15,691
7. Anne with an E (2017–2019)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Family
The adventures of a young orphan girl living in the late 19th century. Follow Anne as she learns to navigate her new life on Prince Edward Island, in this new take on L.M. Montgomery's classic novels.
Stars: Amybeth McNulty, Geraldine James, R.H. Thomson, Andrea Arruti
Votes: 66,456
8. Anne of Green Gables (1985)
TV-G | 100 min | Drama, Family
An orphan girl, sent to an elderly brother and sister by mistake, charms her new home and community with her fiery spirit and imagination.
Stars: Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, Patricia Hamilton
Votes: 22,662
9. Roots (1977)
TV-14 | 74 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
Stars: LeVar Burton, Robert Reed, John Amos, Louis Gossett Jr.
Votes: 18,886
10. Anne of Avonlea (1987)
TV-G | 58 min | Drama, Family, Romance
Anne Shirley accepts a teaching position at a girls boarding school in a town dominated by a rich and belligerant family determined to make her life miserable.
Stars: Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Marilyn Lightstone, Schuyler Grant
Votes: 10,194
11. Hamlet (2009 TV Movie)
PG | 180 min | Drama
The RSC puts a modern spin on Shakespeare's Hamlet in this filmed-for-television version of their stage production. The Prince of Denmark seeks vengeance after his father is murdered and his mother marries the murderer.
Director: Gregory Doran | Stars: David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie, Oliver Ford Davies
Votes: 3,799
12. Mike Hammer (1958–1959)
30 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The adventures of Mickey Spillane's tough-talking, brawling, skirt-chasing private detective Mike Hammer, who's always ready to use his fists on a "mug" or his charm on a "skirt" to get the case solved.
Stars: Darren McGavin, Bart Burns, Vito Scotti, Johnny Seven
Votes: 301
13. M*A*S*H (1972–1983)
TV-PG | 25 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The staff of an Army hospital in the Korean War find that laughter is the best way to deal with their situation.
Stars: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr
Votes: 63,825
14. Jack Ryan (2018–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Up-and-coming CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, is thrust into dangerous field assignments.
Stars: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Abbie Cornish
Votes: 175,645
15. The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In a dystopian America dominated by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, a young woman discovers a mysterious film that may hold the key to toppling the totalitarian regimes.
Stars: Alexa Davalos, Luke Kleintank, Rufus Sewell, Rupert Evans
Votes: 111,025
16. Flashforward (2009–2010)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A special task force in the FBI investigates after every person on Earth simultaneously blacks out and awakens with a short vision of their future.
Stars: Courtney B. Vance, Joseph Fiennes, Jack Davenport, Zachary Knighton
Votes: 62,105
17. Roswell (1999–2002)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
The lives of three young alien/human hybrids with extraordinary gifts in Roswell.
Stars: Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl, Majandra Delfino
Votes: 30,714
18. Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while also investigating the disappearance of their best friend.
Stars: Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell
Votes: 178,408
19. The Secret Circle (2011–2012)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
16 year old Cassie Blake moves to Chance Harbor, Washington to live with her grandmother after her mother mysteriously dies. She discovers she's a witch along with 5 other teens.
Stars: Britt Robertson, Thomas Dekker, Phoebe Tonkin, Shelley Hennig
Votes: 48,815
20. Children of Dune (2003)
Unrated | 89 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
The twins of Paul "Muad'dib" Atreides become embroiled in the political landscape of Arrakis ("Dune") and the rest of the universe.
Stars: Alec Newman, Daniela Amavia, James McAvoy, Jessica Brooks
Votes: 15,173
21. The Girl's Guide to Depravity (2012–2013)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
Sick of getting screwed, Sam and Lizzie decide to take their dating life into their own hands, following the rules they find in "The Girl's Guide to Depravity". Not just your average single... See full summary »
Stars: Rebecca Blumhagen, Joe Komara, Jesse Liebman, Sally Golan
Votes: 839
22. ER (1994–2009)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Romance
The doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their patients.
Stars: Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle
Votes: 67,768
23. The Thorn Birds (1983)
Unrated | 122 min | Drama, Romance
In the arid 1920s Australian Outback, a Catholic priest and the beautiful niece of a vast sheep station owner stand powerless before God's will, tormented by desire. How far are they willing to go in the name of love?
Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward, Christopher Plummer, Bryan Brown
Votes: 10,199
24. Roots (2016)
TV-MA | 388 min | Drama, War
An adaptation of Alex Haley's "Roots." Chronicles the history of an African man and his descendants sold into slavery in America.
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 8,471
25. Shogun (1980 TV Movie)
159 min | Adventure, Drama, History
An English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.
Director: Jerry London | Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada, Furankî Sakai
Votes: 5,060
26. Roots: The Next Generations (1979)
120 min | Biography, Drama, History
The dramatization of Alex Haley's family line from post Civil War America to the writer's search for his roots.
Stars: Debbi Morgan, Dorian Harewood, Paul Koslo, Stan Shaw
Votes: 2,786
27. Anne of Green Gables (1979)
24 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Based on the books by Lucy Maud Montgomery, this 50 episode series tells the story of Anne Shirley, a young orphan living in 19th century Canada.
Stars: Eiko Yamada, Fumie Kitahara, Michio Hazama, Ryûji Saikachi
Votes: 2,092
28. The Importance of Being Earnest (2011 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy
In 1890s London rakish Algy runs into friend Jack who's in town to propose to Algy's cousin Gwendolen. Algy discovers Jack has a brother 'Ernest' and a ward called Cecily. While Jack deals ... See full summary »
Directors: Brian Bedford, David Stern | Stars: Brian Bedford, Amanda Leigh Cobb, Santino Fontana, David Furr
Votes: 45
29. The 100 (2014–2020)
TV-14 | 43 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Set 97 years after a nuclear war destroyed civilization, when a spaceship housing humanity's lone survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth, hoping to repopulate the planet.
Stars: Eliza Taylor, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos, Isaiah Washington
Votes: 276,243
30. Foundation (2021– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A complex saga of humans scattered on planets throughout the galaxy all living under the rule of the Galactic Empire.
Stars: Jared Harris, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Terrence Mann
Votes: 96,338
31. Noble House (1988)
TV-14 | 355 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Ian Struan Dunross is chairman of Struan and Company, the oldest and largest trading company between Britain and East Asia.
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Deborah Raffin, Ben Masters, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 1,653
32. King Lear (2008 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 156 min | Drama
Sir Ian McKellen gives a tour-de-force performance as Shakespeare's tragic monarch, in this special television adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company production of one of the playwright's most enduring and haunting works.
Director: Trevor Nunn | Stars: Ian McKellen, William Gaunt, Philip Winchester, Ben Meyjes
Votes: 662
33. Alice Through the Looking Glass (1973 TV Movie)
G | 74 min | Fantasy, Family
Join Alice on her journey through the mirror in BBC's fanciful adaptation of Lewis Caroll's classic novel. In an alternate world, just on the other side of the mirror's reflection, Alice ... See full summary »
Director: James MacTaggart | Stars: Sarah Sutton, Brenda Bruce, Richard Pearson, Judy Parfitt
Votes: 97
34. The Man Who Fell to Earth (2022)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
An alien arrives on earth with a mission: to learn to become human and find the one woman who can help save his species. Together they discover that in order to save his world, they must first save ours.
Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, Annelle Olaleye, Clarke Peters
Votes: 10,379
35. Romeo & Juliet (2021 TV Movie)
95 min | Drama, Romance
Adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy set in modern-day Italy where two young lovers strive to transcend a violent world where Catholic and secular values clash.
Director: Simon Godwin | Stars: Fisayo Akinade, Jessie Buckley, Ella Dacres, Deborah Findlay
Votes: 699
36. Alice in Wonderland (II) (1985)
TV-PG | 94 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Alice is in Looking Glass Land, where she meets many creatures and attempts to avoid the Jabberwocky (Tom McLoughlin), a monster that appears due to her being afraid.
Stars: Natalie Gregory, Sheila Allen, Red Buttons, Anthony Newley
Votes: 3,344
37. The Lost World (1999–2002)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The adventures of a band of explorers stranded in a mysterious land inhabited by dinosaurs and other dangers.
Stars: Peter McCauley, Rachel Blakely, Jennifer O'Dell, William Snow
Votes: 4,486
38. Logan's Run (1977–1978)
TV-G | 60 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic society where reaching the age of 30 is a death sentence, a rebellious law enforcement agent goes on the run in search of Sanctuary.
Stars: Gregory Harrison, Heather Menzies-Urich, Donald Moffat, Randy Powell
Votes: 3,035
39. 11.22.63 (2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Jake Epping, a teacher, gets a chance to travel back in time to avert the death of John F. Kennedy. However, history's aversion to alteration and his love for the era and a woman endanger him.
Stars: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Chris Cooper
Votes: 99,364
40. The Carrie Diaries (2013–2014)
TV-14 | 42 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Carrie Bradshaw is in her junior year of high school in the early 1980s. She asks her first questions about love, sex, friendship and family while navigating the worlds of high school and Manhattan.
Stars: AnnaSophia Robb, Austin Butler, Ellen Wong, Katie Findlay
Votes: 28,963
41. Brave New World (2020)
TV-MA | 418 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In a utopia whose perfection hinges upon control of monogamy and privacy, members of the collective begin to question the rules, putting their regimented society on a collision course with forbidden love and revolution.
Stars: Alden Ehrenreich, Jessica Brown Findlay, Harry Lloyd, Nina Sosanya
Votes: 17,060
42. Alice in Wonderland (1986)
120 min | Fantasy
One of the most well-known stories begins one golden summer afternoon. Alice is sitting on a riverbank with her sister when a fully-dressed, talking rabbit runs past her. She follows the ... See full summary »
Stars: Kate Dorning, Jonathan Cecil, David Leonard, Alison Neil
Votes: 93
43. Dune (2000)
Not Rated | 265 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
A three-part miniseries on politics, betrayal, lust, greed and the coming of a Messiah. Based on Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel.
Stars: William Hurt, Alec Newman, Giancarlo Giannini, Uwe Ochsenknecht
Votes: 24,899
44. Gidget (1965–1966)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy
Gidget is a bright, winsome fifteen-and-a-half year old California teenager.
Stars: Sally Field, Don Porter, Lynette Winter, Pete Duel
Votes: 1,795
45. Alice in Wonderland (1966 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 72 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A girl named Alice falls down a rabbit-hole and wanders into the strange Wonderland.
Director: Jonathan Miller | Stars: Anne-Marie Mallik, Freda Dowie, Jo Maxwell Muller, Wilfrid Brambell
Votes: 978
46. Beach Girls (2005)
251 min | Drama, Romance
Three teenage girls take a vow of eternal friendship during the summer of 1985 in the beachside community of Hubbard's Point. Years later, after one of the women has passed away, her ... See full summary »
Stars: Rob Lowe, Julia Ormond, Chelsea Hobbs, Chris Carmack
Votes: 276
47. A Clear and Present Danger (1970 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama
The son of a U.S. Senator takes on the cause of clean air when a friend dies of emphysema.
Director: James Goldstone | Stars: Hal Holbrook, E.G. Marshall, Joseph Campanella, Jack Albertson
Votes: 97
48. Alice in Wonderland (I) (1985)
100 min | Family, Fantasy
Anglia Television's 5 episode adaption of Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland was inspired and based upon an early production put on by the famous Da Silva Puppets group at the Norwich Puppet Theatre.
Stars: Giselle Andrews, Robert Peters, Kesser Andrews, Kate Tooley
Votes: 40
49. The Lost World (2001)
TV-14 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
An expedition leaves for the Amazon to prove the existence of dinosaurs.
Stars: Bob Hoskins, James Fox, Tom Ward, Matthew Rhys
Votes: 3,381
50. Brave New World (1980 TV Movie)
180 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A man who grew up in a primitive society educating himself by reading Shakespeare is allowed to join the futuristic society where his parents are from. However, he cannot adapt to their repressive ways.
Director: Burt Brinckerhoff | Stars: Julie Cobb, Bud Cort, Keir Dullea, Ron O'Neal
Votes: 1,149
51. The Martian Chronicles (1980)
360 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
In the 21st century, Earth begins the colonization of Mars. However, things do not go as planned, at first due to the hostile Martian natives and later because of the self-destructive Earthmen.
Stars: Rock Hudson, Gayle Hunnicutt, Bernie Casey, Christopher Connelly
Votes: 2,512
52. Anne of Green Gables (2016 TV Movie)
TV-G | 90 min | Drama, Family
A retelling of L.M. Montgomery's story of Anne Shirley, an orphan who is accidentally sent to a couple looking to adopt a boy instead
Director: John Kent Harrison | Stars: Ella Ballentine, Martin Sheen, Sara Botsford, Julia Lalonde
Votes: 1,624
53. Alice in Wonderland (1999 TV Movie)
PG | 150 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Alice falls down a rabbit hole, and finds herself in Wonderland, a fantasy land of strange characters and ideas.
Director: Nick Willing | Stars: Tina Majorino, Whoopi Goldberg, Robbie Coltrane, Ben Kingsley
Votes: 8,864
54. King Lear (2018 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 115 min | Drama
An aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Jim Broadbent, Jim Carter, Tobias Menzies, Emily Watson
Votes: 4,305
55. The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996 TV Movie)
178 min | Drama, Romance
At the height of WWII and ten years after their union in Matlock Island, Father Ralph reunites with Meggie who faces a deep crisis. Now, he must make up his mind, as the burden of choice is insufferable. Will he risk it all for love?
Director: Kevin James Dobson | Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Amanda Donohoe, Paul Bertram, Julia Blake
Votes: 1,056
56. Alice in Wonderland (1983 TV Movie)
81 min | Fantasy
A young girl named Alice falls down a rabbit-hole and finds herself in Wonderland, a fantasy land of strange characters and ideas.
Directors: John Clark Donahue, John Driver | Stars: Annie Enneking, Solveig Olsen, Wendy Lehr, Jason McLean
Votes: 91
57. Altered Carbon (2018–2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Set in a future where consciousness is digitized and stored, a prisoner returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom.
Stars: Chris Conner, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Dichen Lachman, Will Yun Lee
Votes: 188,801
58. The Flying Nun (1967–1970)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The misadventures of a nun who can fly and her convent and neighbours.
Stars: Sally Field, Marge Redmond, Madeleine Sherwood, Alejandro Rey
Votes: 2,800
59. Minority Report (2015)
TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Crime, Drama
10 years after the end of Precrime in Washington DC one of the three PreCogs attempts to lead a normal life while still suffering from visions of the future. Will they be able to hold it together or mentally breakdown and give up?
Stars: Meagan Good, Stark Sands, Nick Zano, Daniel London
Votes: 10,605
60. King Solomon's Mines (2004)
TV-PG | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
An adventurous quest for a treasure hidden in King Solomon's mines, based on H. Rider Haggard's timeless tale.
Stars: Patrick Swayze, Alison Doody, Roy Marsden, John Standing
Votes: 3,967
61. Alice in Wonderland (1955 TV Movie)
74 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
A young girl named Alice falls down a rabbit-hole and finds herself in Wonderland, a fantasy land of strange characters and ideas.
Director: George Schaefer | Stars: Gillian Barber, Martyn Green, Bobby Clark, J. Pat O'Malley
Votes: 62
62. Earthsea (2004–2005)
45 min | Fantasy, Drama, Adventure
A reckless young man is destined to become the greatest sorcerer the mystical land of Earthsea has ever known.
Stars: Shawn Ashmore, Kristin Kreuk, Isabella Rossellini, Sebastian Roché
Votes: 6,469
63. Haven (2010–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Many in the coastal town of Haven, Maine have a dormant curse or "trouble" that could trigger at any time for any reason. FBI agent Audrey Parker, the sheriff and the town's black sheep must deal with the troubles' deadly effects.
Stars: Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour, Richard Donat
Votes: 41,354
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