The best (and worst) TV shows adapted from novels

Based on: “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin

As easy as it is to discount the show based on how it ended, one can’t deny how big of a deal “Game of Thrones” was —  and how big of a deal it was that it told a story past Martin’s published series, whether you like it or not.

Based on: “666 Park Avenue” by Gabriella Pierce

While “666 Park Avenue” definitely fits a “Best” designation based on other metrics — "Best" show where Whoopi Goldberg transforms into a bunch of pigeons, for example — in terms of a “good TV show” or an “impressive TV show” or anything like that, that’s not quite the case. You should still watch it though because of the whole Whoopi/pigeons thing, for starters.

Based on: “Roswell High” by Melinda Metz

“Roswell, NW” (2019-present, one season) is still too new to be on the list, and honestly, the jury's still out on that one. But the original "Roswell" is beloved for a reason (even though it fell to forced product placement and some questionable storytelling choices after the first season).

Based on: “Animorphs” by K.A. Applegate

Sorry to this nostalgia, but Nickelodeon was never going to have a true-to-the-story adaptation of “Animorphs.” So it was for the best that it pulled the plug before it got any further than it did. (Sure, “Roswell” being a “Best’ is nostalgia too, but consider the lasting legacy of both shows and the careers of the entire “Roswell” cast compared to that of “Animorphs”.)

Based on: “Red Dragon” by Thomas Harris

NBC was never a good fit for “Hannibal,” yet somehow it was able to last on the Peacock network for three seasons. Seriously, NBC seemed to have accidentally aired an arthouse horror series that would’ve been much better suited for cable; even creator and showrunner Bryan Fuller went on the record as saying, of the show, “We are not making television. We are making a pretentious art film from the '80s.” And it was truly beautiful — an unexpected twist on the world Thomas Harris created.

Based on: “The Strain” by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

A rare misstep for Guillermo del Toro, "The Strain" was an underwhelming mess, from the writing to the characters. The otherwise talented cast didn't have much to work with, except for a terrible wig, in Corey Stoll's case. While it made sense to want to go the opposite direction of "Twilight" and pretty vampires, "The Strain" did that without also adding quality to the equation.

Based on: “The Vampire Diaries” by L.J. Smith

The CW's "The Vampire Diaries" is essentially a completely different animal than the book series from which it spawned...and it was for the best. "The Vampire Diaries" (save for a couple of seasons, admittedly) was great and had a lot more going for it than the original books did. That's really the goal — not necessarily to be a faithful adaptation of the source material but to leave an indelible mark as its own separate story.

Based on: “Dracula” by Bram Stoker

You know what people like in their “Dracula” stories? According to NBC’s “Dracula,” a lot of talk about electricity. That’s it. Not even the vampire stuff — electricity. The future of electricity. That was what most of the show was about. That and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers’ terrible American accent — as he was posing as an American entrepreneur, as Dracula does (?) for some reason.

Based on: “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” by Charlaine Harris

"True Blood" definitely left that indelible mark, as mentioned with "The Vampire Diaries." But "True Blood" was also...not good in the traditional sense. There's a fine line between camp and bad, and "True Blood" managed to blur that line every single second of its existence.

Based on: “Gossip Girl” by Cecily von Ziegesar

Sure, "Gossip Girl" tanked it pretty hard at the end, BUT its pop cultural relevancy and legacy can't be discounted. It really was "a nasty piece of work." For that it's no question it deserves "Best" status.

Based on: “Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard

"Pretty Little Liars" was one of the most insane television shows to have ever existed. It will be missed. It will also be impossible to ever determine if it's "good" or "bad" because it kind of transcended such distinctions.

Based on: “The Carrie Diaries” by Candace Bushnell

Unlike the other teen dramas on this list, there is absolutely no caveat when it comes to "The Carrie Diaries" being a "Best." Who could've ever imagined that a "Sex and the City" prequel series would end up being one of those rare CW shows (especially at the time it aired) that fully captured the spirit of peak earnest WB teen dramas? Also, who would've imagined in 2013 that it would be easy to find Carrie Bradshaw likable?

NOTE: “Sex and the City” (1998-2004, six seasons) is not on this list, as it came from a collection of essays from Bushnell.

Based on: “Lipstick Jungle” by Candace Bushnell

No, this wasn't "Cashmere Mafia." (That one actually lasted only one season, while this one just seemed like it lasted only one season.) But neither was as good as "30 Rock"-creation "Gals on the Town:"

"One of them has to be Asian / Can they be good at their jobs?"

Based on: “The Leftovers” by Tom Perrotta

"The Leftovers" was never a rating success, but critically (and to its cult following), it was a home run. (The power of Carrie Coon.) It also helped showrunner Damon Lindelof recoop post-"Lost," at least in the eyes of people who were anti-Damon Lindelof after "Lost" ended.

Based on: “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay

So here’s the deal: Even at its best, “Dexter” was always just a procedural with strong language and nudity. Proof? The fact that after its second season, it was replayed on CBS, simply edited for strong language and nudity. And after its most well-received season, it continued to crap the bed for the rest of the series, only getting worse with each season. (None of this is an insult to Michael C. Hall. In fact, he was the one truly insulted by all of this.) The show still managed to be better than the book series though.

Based on: “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman

"The Magicians" is up there with "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" and "Legacies" as one of the most fun (but still weighty) shows on television today. Sex, magic, musical numbers, pop culture references, heartbreaking, character-defining moments. "The Magicians" has it all.

Based on: “Under the Dome” by Stephen King

"Under the Dome's" existence let to articles like "Under the Dome: television's latest great hate-watch" and "The 22 Dumbest Things Under the Dome Has Done." Even Stephen King slammed the show, saying it "started off smart" (debatable) but "got dumb."

Based on: “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

Unfortunately "The Handmaid's Tale" is kind of a right place, right time kind of a show, isn't it?

Based on: “Flashforward” by Robert J. Sawyer

You may not have known this, but one of the most notable wannabe ”Lost,” event shows, “Flashforward,” was actually based on a book. What you probably do know, though, is this moment.

Based on: “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket

Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" righted all of the wrongs that the Nickelodeon movie — in all of its Jim Carrey scenery-chewing and choice to put the story of three books in one movie — committed. Once again, hooray for TV!

Based on: the Tarzan series by Edward Rice Burroughs

The WB had a lot of lasting, memorable television shows, but it also had a lot of one-and-doners. Some of these were great. The others were “The WB’s Tarzan” in 2003, “Vikings’” Travis Fimmel was fresh out of his modeling career, and oh, how it showed. And it was also all anyone talked about when talking about him as "Tarzan." Not any sort of acting ability, though, even the best actor couldn’t have saved this modern-day retelling of the Tarzan story. Somehow, the show was co-created by "Supernatural" creator Eric Kripke, who went on to call the show "a piece of crap."

Based on: “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon

People seem to love "Outlander." There's just something about an epic love story that literally transcends time, you know?

Based on: “The Firm” by John Grisham

If you think "The Firm" doesn't make sense as a full television series, that's because you're right! This series — starring Josh Lucas as protagonist Mitch McDeere, played by Tom Cruise in the 1993 film adaptation — is set 10 years after the events of Grisham's novel. (You know, so not actually the story of "The Firm" that people know.) And what, you believe it? Mitch ends up at the center of another conspiracy. Whoops! Just watch "Damages" instead.

Based on: “Zoo” by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

You might have heard CBS' "Zoo" was bad, and that's definitely, probably correct. But there is a contingent of intelligent individuals who are ride or die for CBS' "Zoo," so maybe it was actually good. It's impossible to know.

Based on: “You” by Caroline Kepnes

"You" is one of pop culture's latest obsessions, so it must be doing something right. (It is. It's doing a lot of things right, which unfortunately leads to a lot of conversations about how people need to stop lusting after a homicidal stalker.)

Based on: the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Just to be clear: “Sherlock” (2010-present, four seasons) classifies itself as a miniseries, which makes it ineligible for this list. But the Jonny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu-led "Elementary" was a full-on TV series, so it gets this distinction. As far as procedurals go (especially on CBS), "Elementary" was always in the upper echelon when it was on the air. Telling interesting stories about addiction, co-dependence and revenge, and giving the world Natalie Dormer as Moriarty, "Elementary" was intriguing.

Based on: “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” by Carrie Gerlach

You might remember "Emily's Reasons Why Not" as the Heather Graham-led show that was so bad it was canceled after one episode. Well, apparently it was based on a novel... which means it wins this entire list.