7 series that have strayed far from the book original
There may be spoilers ahead!
"The Magicians"
Adventure, drama, fantasy | 3.95 out of 5 on MyShows | 5 seasons | 2015—2020
Quentin Coldwater enrolls at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy and learns that magic is real, but it's also rarely safe. Together with other students, he learns complex and dangerous spells, facing the consequences of magical mistakes. In parallel, the heroes discover Fillory — the world from children's books, which turns out to be much darker than expected. Magic gradually gets out of control, and the decisions of the heroes begin to affect not only their lives, but also the very structure of the world.
What changed compared to the source material: in Lev Grossman's books, much of the events centered on the period of study and growing up of the heroes, while the show takes the story beyond Brakebills more quickly and actively changes the structure of the plot over the seasons. In the show, the characters attend Brakebills University and encounter the dark side of magic much earlier. Season two shifts the focus to Fillory and the crisis in the kingdom. From there, the series builds its own arcs: such as the plot of "magic is dead" and the search for the seven keys, and then the consequences of the return of magic when it becomes too much and out of control.
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"The End of the F***ing World"
Comedy, adventure, drama | 4.1 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2017—2019
James thinks he is a psychopath and decides to run away from home, choosing Alyssa as his companion. Alyssa, tired of family and control, easily agrees to the escape. Their trip quickly turns into a chain of dangerous and strange events. The further they go, the more the line between play, violence, and true affection becomes blurred.
What changed compared to the source material: in the comic, the story is more radical and darker, including details about the murder and the more direct trajectory of James' fall. In the series, James kills a man when he threatens Alyssa, and the first season finale is left behind a "black screen" with no clear answer as to what happened to him. The second season goes completely outside the scope of the source material: James survives, gets a mild punishment, Alyssa tries to "live a normal life" and even prepares to get married, but runs away at the last moment.
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"The Night Manager"
Drama, spy, thriller | 4.11 out of 5 on MyShows | 1 season | 2016—...
Jonathan Pine works as a night receptionist at a high-end hotel and accidentally finds himself close to dirt on a major arms dealer. British intelligence suggests he infiltrate Richard Roper's entourage. Pine gets a new identity and gradually enters into the confidence of the criminal. With each series, the risk of exposure becomes higher and higher, and the boundaries between the task and personal feelings are blurred.
What changed compared to the source material: the series softens and makes more ambiguous the ending of John le Carré's novel. The show also changes the nature of the denouement: instead of being arrested, Roper is actually "picked up" by angry customers, and this seems like a direct allusion to an outlaw payback. Another shift — the tone: the series relies on visual intrigue and ambiguity of relationships even where Le Carré's all spelled out tougher and more straightforward.
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"The Handmaid's Tale"
Drama, fantasy | 4.26 out of 5 on MyShows | 6 seasons | 2017—2025
After religious fanatics seize power, the United States is turned into the Republic of Gilead. Women lose their rights and even their names, and the fertile ones are forced to bear children for the ruling elite. Offred tries to survive in a system of total control by keeping her memory of her past life intact. Any mistake could cost her her freedom or her life.
What changed compared to the source material: the first season essentially reaches the final point of the novel — Offred is taken away in a van, and she doesn't know if it's salvation or arrest. The series then goes beyond the book and unfolds new events: Offred's escape with Nick's help, the maids' revolt, terrorist attacks, disease, and the effects of radiation. Later, new centers of power and new figures like Commander Lawrence are added, as well as a plot to take the children to Canada.
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"Big Little Lies"
Comedy, drama, detective | 4.45 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2017—2019
In Monterey, California, several mothers find themselves connected to a murder that occurred at a school fundraiser. As the police try to reconstruct the chain of events, past conflicts slowly come to light. Violence, fear, and little lies lurk behind the appearance of well-being. Each of the women knows more than they are ready to say.
What changed compared to the source material: the key difference is that in the first season finale, the women agree to give the police one version: as if everything happened by accident and no one is to blame. In the book, after Perry's death and disclosure of the causes of the conflict, the story closes. Because of the success of the series received a continuation: for the second season, the author of the novel Liane Moriarty came up with a new plot material, and the show unfolds the consequences of Perry's death: guilt, pressure from the investigation, and a new figure — Perry's mother, who comes to town and begins to ask uncomfortable questions.
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"The Leftovers"
Drama, sci-fi, thriller | 3.93 out of 5 on MyShows | 3 seasons | 2014—2017
After the sudden disappearance of millions of people, the world struggles to get back to normal. Kevin Garvey becomes the head of the town and tries to keep order. His family and those around him choose different ways to cope with the loss, from cults to denial of what is happening. There are fewer answers than questions.
What changed compared to the source material: Tom Perrotta's novel only covers the events of the first season. Further the series goes completely into the author's interpretation, adding new locations, philosophical lines and mystical elements. The second and third seasons deepen the theme of faith, meaning of life, and alternate realities that are not in the book.
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"Game of Thrones"
Adventure, drama, fantasy | 4.66 out of 5 on MyShows | 8 seasons | 2011—2019
In Westeros, several noble houses fight for power over the Iron Throne. Political intrigue intertwines with wars and ancient threats beyond the Wall. The fates of the heroes are constantly changing, and mistakes are rarely forgiven, even by their friends. Gradually, magic and legends begin to play an increasingly important role.
What changed compared to the source material: after the fourth season, the series overtook George R. R. Martin's books. The fifth chapter partially adhered to the draft notes of the next book in the series "A song of Ice and Fire". The final storylines — Daenerys' fate, Bran's election, Jon Snow's banishment — were invented by the writers. This led to an abrupt change of pace and led to strong criticism of the finale from viewers.
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I only watched the End of the *** th world and IE, great TV series, although there are disadvantages... huge disadvantages 😅
The hundred and the Flight Attendant left them even more. Slow horses - the first two seem to be more or less consistent, I haven't read further.
But we'll see what happens in the new Harry Potter...
Well, it would be strange not to mention The Witcher, where only the names and locations of the books remained.
@Who_Sherlocked: the greatest merit of the book Dexter is a great, fitting ending)) Something that the series has already failed to do twice.
In second place, that Brian survived)
I think they tried VERY hard to spoil (make) prayamo not according to books..
But the book is quite decent.
I don't even want to talk about "Games". Darkness is not the final season.
Unfortunately, we will never know.
And then there was the Emerald City TV series, and that's where the plot is straight to the plot. Based on the title of the work, the names of the hero are the same..
We will, of course, pretend that
the elephantNo one notices the Witcher in the back room, and I'll also remind you about the Pines, where the second season not only deviated from the plot of the books (although the first one turned onto a country lane), but stopped intersecting with him altogether, which caused ratings to collapse into hell, and the series had to be closed.And someone wrote about the Walkers above - it really came out very "motivated", even with regard to the main characters.
@Aniana: yes, the Walkers were badly hacked up, right down to the whole filler arches and the murder of characters who are alive until the very end (Karl did not die in the comic and he is shown to adults in the finale)
Everyone has already remembered the Witcher. Another Pratchett Sentinel is from the same opera in terms of mocking the plot. The good omens are better, although they added a lot of shit in the second season.
From detective stories: Sarah Phelps's film adaptations of Agatha Christie (White Horse Villa, Trial of Innocence, Alphabetical Murders). They openly ignored the primary sources there. The Dublin murders are from her. They are also questionable, as is the film adaptation of Tana French's books.
One of us is lying - similarly, we didn't get into the cast + the plot of the book was distorted.
The Bridgertons is a good series, but it has moved away from the original books a lot, especially in the second season
Marquez's fans are lucky, then. Like Harlan Coben's Netflix still does a good job of screening. But it's hard for me to judge, I haven't read his books.