Find the novels, comics, memoirs and other sources behind movies and TV series, including cases where a shared book title does not mean an adaptation.
Short answers to whether a film or series comes from a novel, comic, memoir, true story or an original script, plus what to read first. Some answers are no: pages say so when a show is an original screenplay or a case of two works sharing a title.
For print editions, the movie tie-in versus novelization guide
uses the author, publisher description and ISBN to distinguish an original-novel reissue from an adaptation into novel form.
Before choosing the source text, the Hobbit graphic-novel and illustrated-book comparison
distinguishes David Wenzel’s abridged graphic adaptation from a full-text illustrated edition using publisher records.
The Hobbit graphic novel adapts the text; an illustrated prose edition may retain the full novel. Compare two publisher-verified ISBNs without judging by the cover.
No. The Serpent is not based on a single novel or an officially credited source book. The miniseries dramatizes the real crimes associated with Charles Sobhraj and was developed for television by writers Richard Warlow and Toby Finlay.
Yes. Child 44 is based on the novel Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. The book introduces Soviet security officer Leo Demidov and the murder case that forces him to question the state he once served without hesitation.
No. Sound of Freedom is not based on a novel, memoir, or nonfiction book. It is a standalone dramatized film inspired by anti-trafficking work associated with Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad, not an adaptation of a single author's book.
Yes. Netflix's Death Note is based on Death Note, a completed 12-volume Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.
Yes. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on “The Hedge Knight,” a novella by George R. R. Martin. It is the first story in his Tales of Dunk and Egg sequence and is collected with two later novellas in the book A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
No. We Are Lady Parts is not based on a book. It is an original TV series created by Nida Manzoor, built around an all-female Muslim punk band. There is no source novel, memoir, or book series behind it.
No. Unforgotten is not based on a book. It was created for television by Chris Lang as an original British crime drama, so there is no source novel, memoir, or book series behind it.
Yes. If you're asking what book the Sharp Objects miniseries is based on, the answer is simple: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. It is a standalone psychological thriller, so there is no series order to sort out before you start.
Yes. Lone Survivor is based on the nonfiction memoir Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. It is a standalone book, and the film adapts Luttrell's firsthand account of the mission and what followed.
Yes. If you're asking what book The Color Purple movie is based on, the answer is simple: it comes from Alice Walker's The Color Purple. It is a standalone novel, so there is no series order to worry about.
Yes. The Mr. Mercedes limited series is based on Stephen King's novel Mr. Mercedes, the first book in the Bill Hodges trilogy. If you are trying to figure out whether there is a book behind the show, there is, and the novel comes first.
No. White Lines is not based on a book. It is an original Netflix limited series created for television by Álex Pina, so there is no novel, memoir, or source text you need to read before starting the show.
Yes. Strike is not a one-off adaptation built around a single mystery. It comes from an ongoing book series centered on private detective Cormoran Strike and his work with Robin Ellacott. That matters because the show depends on more than the solved case at the center of each story. The characters change over time, their working relationship deepens, and later books assume you already know the foundation.
Yes. Berserk (2016) is based on Kentaro Miura's Berserk manga. If you were wondering whether the anime has a book source behind it, the answer is yes: the manga is the original version of the story, and the 2016 series is a screen adaptation of it.
Yes. The Rings of Power is Tolkien-based television, but it is not a straight adaptation of one novel. The show borrows names, places, history, and legend from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, then reshapes them into a story built for episodic TV.
Yes. Nine Perfect Strangers is based on Liane Moriarty's standalone novel of the same name, so the story comes from a single book rather than a longer series.
No. The show is not adapted from a novel. The title sends a lot of people down the book rabbit hole, because Jasper DeWitt also wrote a separate novel called The Patient, but the series is its own story.
Yes. Stephen King's The Stand is the source behind The Stand series. It is a standalone novel, so there is no extra reading order to untangle. If you want the fullest version of the story, start with the book; if you want the quickest way in, the series does that job.
Yes. Stanley Kubrick's The Shining comes from Stephen King's novel The Shining. If you were wondering whether the movie started as a book, the answer is yes, and you do not need any earlier stories to make sense of it.
The Idhun Chronicles adapts La Resistencia, the first Memorias de Idhún book. See the trilogy order and why the later books continue beyond the Netflix series.
No. If you're trying to match Tehran season 1 with a book, there isn't one to line up. The series was created as an original television espionage drama, so you can go straight to the show without hunting for a novel first.
Apple's Foundation adapts Isaac Asimov's novel series. See the source-to-screen connection, where to start reading, and what not to expect from a direct retelling.
Yes. If you know the movie first, the source may surprise you: Stand by Me comes from Stephen King's The Body, a standalone novella collected in Different Seasons. So the short answer is yes, but the story behind the film is leaner and more intimate than many readers expect.
Yes. The film comes from John Godey's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. If you are trying to place the adaptation, that is the novel that started it.
No. Is Friends from College based on a book? No. It was created as an original television comedy by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller, so there is no novel, memoir, or book series behind it. If you came here hoping to find a source text to read first, you can skip that step and go straight to the show.
Yes. The TV series draws from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, a standalone novel that first reached readers in serialized installments. There is no larger book series behind it, and you do not need any companion novel to follow the story.
Yes. Roberto Saviano's ZeroZeroZero did not begin as an original TV concept. The series grows out of his nonfiction book of the same name, which looks at the global cocaine trade as a system rather than a single crime story. That source matters, because it explains why the show feels larger, grimmer, and more international than a typical thriller.
Yes. The TV version keeps the central conflict and the emotional shape of the story, but the book is where the details stack up more gradually. That matters if you like stories where tension comes from small decisions, shifting loyalties, and the way people justify themselves.
Yes. The Turn of the Screw is based on Henry James's standalone novella The Turn of the Screw. That is the original book. It is not part of a series, and screen versions usually draw from that same short Gothic story rather than from a larger franchise.
Yes. The Netflix series The Stranger comes from Harlan Coben's standalone thriller novel of the same name. That matters because you do not need a series timeline or a stack of earlier books to follow along. It is a self-contained mystery built around secrets, family pressure, and the kind of reveal that changes how you look at every character.
Yes. Sweet Tooth did not start as a prose book. Jeff Lemire created it as an original comic book series, and the TV show adapts that comic. If you were looking for a separate novel behind the story, there is not one.
Yes. The Boys TV series is based on The Boys comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The key point is that the source is a serialized comic run, not a single novel, so the show adapts the material rather than copying it beat for beat.
Yes. Netflix's Wednesday starts with Charles Addams's original Addams Family cartoons, but it is not a straight adaptation of any one comic run or book. The series uses the characters as a launch point and builds a new story around Wednesday herself.
Yes. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is based on Dr. Seuss's standalone picture book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. If you want the original story before any movie or holiday special, start with the book.
Yes. The original television version of Gossip Girl was built from Cecily von Ziegesar's novel series. The books came first, and the show turned that world into a glossy teen drama for TV. This answer is about the original series that made the title famous.
Yes. If you're trying to place The Expanse, start here: the TV series begins with Leviathan Wakes, the first novel in The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey, the pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. The adaptation is not a one-book story. It opens a much larger sci-fi arc, which is why the show covers only part of the full run.
Yes. If you only want the basic plot, the movie is enough to orient you. If you want the version readers keep talking about, the book is the place to start.
Yes. Fahrenheit 451 comes from Ray Bradbury's novel of the same name. It did not begin as an original screenplay or a later tie-in. The book is the source, and the adaptations build from its central idea: a future where books are banned and firemen burn them.
Yes. Christine is a straight adaptation answer: it comes from Stephen King's standalone novel Christine. The film is built from the same central story, so this is not one of those cases where a movie only borrows a name and makes the rest up from scratch. If you came here wondering whether the original story exists, it does.
Yes. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story of the same name. It is a short story, not a novel, which is why the film has so much room to expand the material.
Yes. The movie The Notebook is based on The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. If you were looking for the original story behind the film, that is the book to start with.
Yes. Gone Girl began as Gillian Flynn's novel before it became a film. It is a standalone psychological thriller, so there is no reading order to manage and no sequel trail to sort through. If you are deciding between the book and the movie, the book gives you the fuller story, while the film gives you a faster way into the same central mystery.
Yes. Clear and Present Danger is based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name, and that novel is part of the Jack Ryan series. The film is not an original screenplay with a borrowed title; it adapts an existing thriller world and streamlines it for the screen.
No. Black Sails is not a direct adaptation of a book. It is an original TV series that uses Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson as a literary starting point and then builds a much bigger pirate story around it.
Yes. Normal People is not a franchise mystery or a loose adaptation built from scattered ideas. It comes directly from Sally Rooney's novel of the same name, and the screen version is a limited series shaped around that single story. If you wanted to know whether there is a book behind it, there is, and it is the only source you need.
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