There are so many network and streaming options these days that it’s easy to get overwhelmed with content. How we decide on or manage our subscriptions depends entirely on sorts of shows and movies that speak to our niche interests. Lucky for book readers, the networks producing prestigious adaptations of beloved source material make it easier to narrow down our choices. And 2020 is going to be a fire year for book-to-TV adaptations, with multi-episode spins on solid classics and bestsellers and more.
Here are 10 books getting the small-screen treatment this year that we cannot wait to watch—and that’ll help us navigate what services are best suited to our needs.
Hulu
High Fidelity
If you’re a Nick Hornby fan, now’s the time to sign up for Hulu if you haven’t already. This new take on his 1995 novel of the same name drops on Valentine’s Day, which couldn’t be more appropriate. The series follows Rob (Zoë Kravitz), a record store owner scorned by a string of failed relationships. It’s a gender and race-bent reimagining of the story, and the second adaptation after the 2000 John Cusack classic. If you’re a record-collecting pop culture lover, this one is right up your alley.
Where to watch: Hulu
Premiere date: February 14
Little Fires Everywhere
Another Hulu miniseries inspired by a hit book, Little Fires Everywhere is the latest Reese Witherspoon television effort. Based on the novel by Celeste Ng, it follows the picture-perfect suburban Richardson family, whose lives are upended when a single mother and daughter enter the scene. Witherspoon stars with Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson, and Rosemarie DeWitt.
Where to watch: Hulu
Premiere date: March 18
HBO
The Undoing
We love ourselves a good HBO book adaptation starring a fierce red head (Sharp Objects, anyone?) so we’ve definitely got our eyes on this one. It’s based on the novel You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and centers on Nicole Kidman’s Grace Fraser, a successful therapist embroiled in a public scandal when her husband Jonathan (Hugh Grant) disappears. Kidman teamed up with her Big Little Lies producer and TV veteran David E. Kelley for the project, so The Undoing has all the right ingredients to be something special.
Where to watch: HBO
Premiere date: TBD Spring
Normal People
Irish writer Sally Rooney burst onto the scene with two impressive, sparse, and gutting novels: Conversations With Friends and Normal People. The latter gets the Hulu miniseries treatment this spring, and tells the simple but potent story of Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones), two teens who find a common ground that blossoms into first love. Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson helmed the series with Hettie Macdonald, who’s known for writing the standout Doctor Who episode “Blink.”
Where to watch: Hulu
Premiere date: TBD Spring
Netflix
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Mike Flanagan is a big name in horror and for good reason: He’s the guy behind genre faves like Oculus, Hush, Gerald’s Game, and the recent Doctor Sleep. He also directed every episode of the Netflix hit The Haunting of Hill House, a modern retelling of Shirley Jackson’s classic novel. This fall, he delivers a second season of The Haunting, with a new setting. Bly Manor adapts Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw, and brings back many of Hill House‘s main players: Victoria Pedretti, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and more.
Where to watch: Netflix
Premiere date: Fall TBD
The Good Lord Bird
James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird won the National Book Award in 2013, gaining favorable comparisons to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Later this year, producers Ethan Hawke and Jason Blum bring it to Showtime for a miniseries adaptation starring Hawke, Daveed Diggs, Wyatt Russell, and Joshua Caleb Johnson-Lionel. It tells the story of a slave boy named Onion who joins a crew of abolitionist soldiers and participates in a raid that kickstarts the American Civil War.
Where to watch: Showtime
Premiere date: TBD
HBO
Lovecraft Country
When you hear the names Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams, you pay attention. Throw in “Lovecraft” and “HBO,” and we’re at full alert. This project, based on the novel by Matt Ruff, is produced by Peele and Abrams, and has a plot description that sounds like catnip for them both: “Atticus Black joins up with his friend Letitia and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father. This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.” Yeah, sold.
Where to watch: HBO
Premiere date: TBD
Americanah
Lupita Nyong’o is set to star in this adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling book, about a beautiful young woman named Ifemelu who raised in Nigeria and who falls in love with her classmate Obinze (Zackary Momoh). They flee their military-ruled country for the West, with Ifemelu landing in America and Obinze in London. From separate locations, they deal with a new way of live, and must contend with and navigate race relations for the first time. Set to premiere on HBO Max later this year, Americanah also stars Corey Hawkins and Uzo Aduba, and is co-produced by Nyong’o and Danai Gurira.
Where to watch: HBO
Premiere date: TBD
Doubleday
The Stand
This much-anticipated adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel of the same name should finally drop this year, thanks to CBS All Access. Directed by Josh Boone, it tells the epic story of an apocalyptic America after a deadly plague wipes out most of the population. The fate of mankind rests on a small group of survivors, who have a psychic connection to a mysterious woman named Mother Abigail. They must also face the fearsome villain Randall Flagg, one of King’s most prominent—and prolific—bad guys. The 10-episode series stars James Marsden, Amber Heard, Whoopi Goldberg, Greg Kinnear, Alexander Skarsgård, and Marilyn Manson. King executive produced the series and co-wrote the finale with his son, writer Owen King.
Where to watch: CBS All Access
Premiere date: TBD
Bridgerton
Based on Julia Quinn’s bestselling Bridgerton novels, this Netflix period drama is produced by Shonda Rhimes and Chris Van Dusen, and boasts Julie Andrews as the series narrator. It follows the romantic entanglements of the eight Bridgerton siblings, a smart-mouthed bunch who rile society and inspire a lot of fun and drama. Sounds like perfect material for Shonda Rhimes, who knows how to have a good time with a big cast. The series will debut on Netflix later this year.
Where to watch: Netflix
Premiere date: TBD
Featured Image: Hulu
