Things Can't Get Much Worse For Book Adaptations

Book adaptations continue to dominate television, but things really seem to be falling apart. The Witcher is a prime recent example. The show had so much potential, and book fans were eager to see it brought to the screen. Unfortunately, extreme changes were made to the canon story in season 2, and The Witcher hasn't been able to recover. Now, viewers are unlikely to give the show's final season a chance. This isn't what it was always like.

In the 2000s and 2010s, movies were the preferred medium for book adaptations. Franchises like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Twilight had audiences lining up outside theaters for hours. Naturally, this meant profit by the bucketload. Production companies began to search for ways to expand. TV book adaptations have always been around, but the success of projects like Game of Thrones really made it the preferred medium for adapting novels. Shows had so much more time than movies to dive into the nitty-gritty. Unfortunately, this hasn't worked out as well as anyone would have hoped.

TV Book Adaptations Continue To Suffer For All The Same Reasons

TV show book adaptations come with a natural promise. The idea is that the complexities of a story, which could traditionally only be found in a book, could finally be brought to the screen with lengthy seasons full of episodes. Without the limitations of a two- or three-hour film, we expect book faithfulness to no longer be an issue. Unfortunately, screenwriters continue to forge their own paths, and many TV adaptations are unrecognizable from the source.

We can only conclude that book faithfulness isn't a priority for most showrunners. The longer format of television seems only to increase their temptation to add their own flair and make their mark. It's frustrating, naturally, and the public's outlook on TV adaptations seems to plummet with every new adaptation.

After being continuously let down, book fans have slowly transformed into a persistently angry mob. We've become jaded and untrusting, to the point that new projects (or new seasons of The Witcher) are hardly given a chance. This rage is contagious, and even those who aren't familiar with the source (though they may not admit it) become equally as furious and critical of book adaptations. Even changes that were necessary to bring the story to the screen are enough to polarize the audience.

There's Something We All Can Do To Improve Book Adaptations

It's a dark age for book adaptations, but there's a little fault to share. Of course, the primary blame lies with those in the industry who use a book series' name to lure fans in for their own profit, only to present an unrecognizable story. Any fandom knows when they are being cheated and taken advantage of, and it's never going to end well. The sooner showrunners realize this, the better.

Then there is our role as consumers. It's important that we recognize the difference between the manipulation described above and the necessary changes genuinely made to enhance an on-screen story. The more we sensationalize even the smallest changes, the less likely it is that any TV adaptation will be given a chance. The good news is, things can't get much worse. Perhaps, after The Witcher, some good-faith effort on both sides of these issues could yield truly exceptional TV book adaptations down the road.