Books Becoming Television Shows in 2022 - Part One

Recent years have seen viewers increasingly prefer watching media at home instead of venturing out to cinemas. This has resulted in more streaming services investing in their content. The result has been that more popular novels are being adapted for streaming services in the form of shows instead of films. Below is a small selection of some of the most popular novels viewers will be able to watch on the small screen in 2022.

Anatomy of a Scandal

by Sarah Vaughan

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan is the story of a woman with a seemingly perfect life.; Sophie Whitehouse is married to a handsome successful husband, lives in a lovely house, and is the mother of two adorable children. However, her perfect world comes crashing down when her husband, James, comes clean to her about his affair. Sophie is even more devastated to find that James also stands accused of a terrible crime and must figure out if the man she thought she knew is guilty or an innocent victim of a toxic agenda. Anatomy of a Scand is receiving a six-episode drama miniseries on Netflix starring Sienna Miller as Sophie and Rupert Friend as James.

Bad Monkey

by Carl Hiaasen

Bad Monkey is the first book in the Andrew Yancy series by Carl Hiaasen. Andrew Yancy was once a detective but has been demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida. Yancy is desperate to be rescued from the “roach patrol” and sees his opportunity to do so when a tourist finds a severed arm while fishing. Yancy is determined to prove to the sheriff that the arm is the result of murder, but standing between him and success is the type of wildly unpredictable events that are typical for a Carl Hiaasen novel. Bad Monkey is set to be released on Apple TV+ in 2022 with Vince Vaughn stepping into the role of Andrew Yancy.

Conversations With Friends

by Sally Rooney

Conversations With Friends is the debut novel by Sally Rooney and was released in 2017. The novel chronicles the complicated relationship between the narrator, Frances, her best friend Bobbi, and a married couple, Melissa and Nick. Frances and Bobbi meet Melissas, who is a well-known photographer, at a local poetry performance, and are gradually drawn into her world. However, what starts out as amusing flirting between Frances and Nick soon develops into something more. A successful adaptation of Rooney’s second novel, Normal People, was already released on HULU and is being followed by Conversations With Friends on the same streaming service. It is set for release in 2022 with Alison Oliver starring as Frances and Joe Alwyn as Nick.

Daisy Jones & The Six

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid is the oral history of a fictional seventies band of the same name. Daisy is a Los Angeles native living a life of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll while coming of age in the late sixties. It is the music that matters most to her, though, and by the time she is twenty she begins to get noticed for her voice. At the same time a band, called The Six, is garnering attention. However, when their lead singer Billy Dunne discovers his girlfriend is pregnant on the eve of his first tour with the band he goes a little wild on the road. The novel chronicles how Daisy and Billy cross paths and their band goes on to become one of the most legendary in the world before splitting up at the height of success. The Amazon Prime Video streaming television miniseries of the same name is set to release in 2022 with ten episodes that are presented in a documentary style. Riley Keough is playing the role of Daisy Jones while Sam Clafin stars as Billy Dunne.

The Essex Serpent

by Sarah Perry

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry is the story of Cora Seaborne, who is left widowed after the death of her husband. Eager to put her unhappy marriage behind her, Cora moves to Essex accompanied by her eleven-year-old son and his nanny. However, they find that Essex is in the grips of terror as people believe a fearsome creature is once again roaming the marches after a 300-year absence. When a young man is mysteriously killed, Cora is determined to discover the true nature of what is happening and teams up with a parish vicar named William Ransome to do so. In the process Cora and William find themselves drawn together in an intense relationship that will change them both. The television series of the same name is scheduled for release on Apple TV+ and stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston in the lead roles of Cora and Will.

Fire & Blood

by George R. R. Martin

Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin is set hundreds of years before the events that took place in A Game of Thrones. It features the full tapestry of Targaryen history and offers a closer look at the only family of dragonlords who were able to survive the Doom of Valyria. Fire & Blood features the tale of Aegon the Conqueror who created the Iron Throne and recounts the history of the Targaryens who followed him as they fought to hold that iconic seat. The book is receiving an HBO adaptation, called House of the Dragon, that will serve as a prequel to their popular Game of Thrones series. The first season, consisting of ten episodes, is scheduled to premiere in August of 2022. The cast of the series includes Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, and Eve Best.