From Reading to Screening: TV Series that Nailed the Adaptation

Turning a book into a TV series is a delicate balancing act—too faithful and it can feel static; too loose and it risks alienating fans. But some adaptations strike a rare balance, capturing the essence of the original text while reimagining it for episodic storytelling. Among the most accomplished of these are Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the BBC/Hulu collaboration Normal People, and the BBC’s Sherlock. Despite their differences in tone, era, and genre, each of these adaptations succeeds by staying emotionally true to their source while embracing the strengths of the television format.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale ends where the Hulu series only begins. Showrunner Bruce Miller made the daring choice to expand Atwood’s world, turning a brief dystopian novel into a multi-season narrative. This kind of extension usually dilutes the source material, but here, it deepens it. Elisabeth Moss’s portrayal of June adds layers of agency and defiance that resonate with modern audiences, especially as real-world events parallel the story’s themes of authoritarianism and bodily autonomy. By staying emotionally true to Atwood’s vision while imagining life beyond the book, the series evolves the narrative for a new era.

Sally Rooney’s Normal People is a subtle novel—much of its power lies in what’s unsaid. Translating such interiority to screen is difficult, but the adaptation by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald captures its essence through restrained direction, atmospheric sound design, and most crucially, powerful performances. Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones embody Connell and Marianne so completely that long silences become emotionally charged. By staying close to Rooney’s minimalism and trusting the emotional weight of small moments, Normal People becomes a study in how intimacy and nuance can flourish in visual form.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories have been adapted countless times, but few interpretations have felt as fresh and vital as the BBC’s Sherlock, created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. By transporting Holmes and Watson into 21st-century London, the series reinvents rather than replicates, using modern technology, urban landscapes, and stylized visual storytelling to bring the detective’s genius to life. Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Holmes is simultaneously faithful and new—intellectually arrogant, emotionally distant, but unmistakably brilliant. Martin Freeman’s Watson adds emotional grounding and subtle humor, creating a duo with real chemistry and depth. What makes Sherlock stand out is its unapologetic cleverness and stylization. It uses rapid editing, text-on-screen, and intricate plotting to mimic Holmes’ thought process—a device that feels literary in its conceptual daring, but cinematic in execution. It’s a love letter to Conan Doyle’s stories that doesn’t fear rewriting them for a new age.

These three series succeed not just because they respect their source material, but because they understand how to reframe it for television. Whether expanding a dystopia, visualizing unspoken emotion, or modernizing a Victorian detective, each adaptation makes the most of what TV does best: develop characters over time, build immersive worlds, and let stories unfold with both patience and power. In a golden age of adaptation, these series prove that the best ones don’t just echo the book—they translate its soul.