From True Blood to Wolf Hall, these are the greatest TV shows ever to be adapted from fiction.

Faithful or revisionist, modernised or period-set, these are the shows that future TV adaptations could learn from.

As Jonathan Strange would say: a magician might, though a screenwriter never could!

A collage including the cast of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Last Kingdom, Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Shogun and more

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And also like the novel, its a timely, touching exploration of humanitys relationship to art.

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A lesson in what can be conjured from the page onto the screen.

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Exciting, funny, filled with action and heart, this series took Cornwells characters and made them indelible.

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The success of Apple TV+ spy thrillerSlow Horsesisnt just down to Oldman, of course.

All of it adds up to an unmissable British TV drama, and an adaptation par excellence.

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There is also a host of novellas and short stories to work through as well.

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Sir Alec Guinness gives as excellent a performance as the Circus intelligence officer George Smiley in both.

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Those eight Dexter books, which were published between 2004 and 2015, truly go to some strange places.

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When it comes to literary TV adaptations, this version of Evelyn Waughs story simply cant be missed out.

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But the project that hews closest to Harris gothic vision might just be the NBC seriesHannibal.

This Bryan Fuller-created show is decadent, bloody, and bleak.

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Of course the thing about that second miniseries is that its no longer so mini.

FXsShoguntook the TV world by storm in 2024.

Now the story is expected to continue in future seasons.

One of those books even catches up with the descendants of Lord Toranaga.

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It set a standard for grown-up drama led by despicable yetextremelywatchable characters.

WithoutHouse of Cards, would TVs golden age antihero have even existed?

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Dark, confrontational, unsettling and with iconic imagery, this is the adaptation every novel deserves.

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With a cast led by Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, this Emmys-magnet show is an undeniable television classic.

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It all made for an incredible (and incredibly depressing) season of television.

Thankfully Perrotta, series co-creator Damon Lindelof, and the rest ofThe Leftoversteam werent content to stop there.

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