Books are a reliablege part of Hollywood today. As a longtime bookseller, Amazon knows this better than most, and Prime Video has churned out a number of excellent small-screen adaptations of novels over the last decade
Some of these shows are based on long-running novel series, providing TV producers with loads of material to choose from. A few are adaptations of standalone novels, transforming the books into beautiful, self-contained miniseries. The shows on this list offer something for everyone — from science fiction to fantasy to crime and romance. None of these shows have become quite as popular as the book-to-TV juggernaut “Game of Thrones,” but they’re all worth checking out. Whether you’re an avid reader or just looking for something with a good story, this list has some great options. These are the 10 best Prime Video shows based on books, ranked. Feel free to drop your own rankings in the comments below.
10. Daisy Jones and the Six
Based on the book of the same name by Taylor Jenkins Reid, “Daisy Jones and the Six” is a ’70s rock star fantasy that’s a whole lotta fun. Loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks counts herself as a fan), the series follows the creation of a popular rock band in Los Angeles. Riley Keough (Elvis Presley’s granddaughter) plays Daisy Jones, the band’s ethereal, moody lead singer. Her love interest is Billy (Sam Claflin), who has a girlfriend when they meet, but it’s clear they’re destined to be together.
Though the show often traffics in clichés, excellent performances keep it from feeling cheesy or paint-by-numbers. One of the best actors working today, Keough perfectly encapsulates Daisy’s brand of sharpness and vulnerability, while Claflin has the right sort of rugged charm. The two leads both sing all the songs — which are very catchy, by the way — and the actors learned to play their instruments to maintain an air of authenticity. The faux documentary framing device doesn’t really work, but all of the scenes of the band performing together outweigh any structural flaws.
Reid writes broadly accessible books ready to be enjoyed by readers of all types, so it’s no surprise “Daisy Jones and the Six” is such a crowd-pleaser. Two of her other books, “Atmosphere” and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” are in the process of being adapted for the screen as well, and have a good chance of being hits.
9. Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power
According to some reports, Amazon set aside $1 billion for “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which would probably make it the most expensive show ever made. Thankfully, the streamer actually did something worthwhile with that money, creating a gorgeously rendered iteration of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved world. Set long before the events of Peter Jackson’s films, we’re introduced to a younger Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), an Elven warrior hoping to avenge her brother’s death in a war that may not be over yet. A series of other characters, including Harfoots, dwarves, and humans, populate this fantastical world.
The show’s creators spared no expense with the visuals, which are beautifully done and don’t rely too heavily on CGI. The cast, which is mostly comprised of little-known actors, do great work, and their non-celebrity status helps this world feel more lived-in. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have built off Jackson’s work while imagining something new within Tolkien’s creations. “The Rings of Power” is both slow-paced and sprawling, which may be a problem for viewers not used to spending their weekends watching the extended editions of the “Lord of the Rings” films. There are some moments of fan service that aren’t strictly necessary, but we’re hopeful that the series will have the time to keep building on the lore it’s already established.
8. My Lady Jane
Though “My Lady Jane” was sadly canceled at Prime Video after its first season, we adored the eight episodes we got to see. This wonderfully fantastical romance show is based on a 2016 book by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. It offers up an alternate history of Lady Jane Grey, the poor young woman who was Queen of England for nine days in the 16th century before being beheaded. In this version of the story, she’s played brilliantly by Emily Bader, and she gets to live longer than nine days.
Jane is forced to marry Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel), a notorious player, and must navigate complex politics as a wife and newly crowned queen. But there’s also a fantasy element not present in the history books. Jane’s new husband is an Ethian, which means he can shape-shift between human and animal forms. With a conflict between the Ethians and the non-shape-shifting humans brewing, Jane’s marriage complicates things.
Like Hulu’s “The Great” with a hint of “Pushing Daisies” whimsy (and a similar voiceover), “My Lady Jane” is funny, sexy, and outrageous. Though the fantasy elements are a bit of a surprise, they work to liven up the story. Bader and Bluemel have great chemistry as an enemies-to-lovers pairing, and the show’s irreverent take on history was enough for George R. R. Martin to sing the show’s praises on his blog.
7. Expats
Based on the novel “The Expatriates” by Janice Y.K. Lee, “Expats” is one of Nicole Kidman’s best TV shows. The underrated Prime Video series sees Kidman playing Margaret, an American woman living in Hong Kong with her husband (Brian Tee) and children. When Margaret’s young son disappears, her seemingly lush life fractures. Margaret’s tragedy also affects two of her fellow expatriates, Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), a Korean-American woman who believes she’s cursed, and Hilary (Sarayu Blue), a businesswoman with marital problems.
Directed by filmmaker Lulu Wang, “Expats” masterfully adapts the novel’s suspenseful, melancholic tone, weaving melodrama together with a nuanced exploration of grief. Kidman gives one of her greatest TV performances as a woman whose world has fallen apart. She isn’t the only one giving a powerful portrayal here, as both Yoo and Blue are up to the task with equally dynamic presences. The subject matter here is fascinating, and the show delves further into class with its penultimate episode, which follows two Filipino housekeepers (Ruby Ruiz and Amelyn Pardenilla) in order to uncover another side of the story. The series is slow-paced yet enthralling, sitting with the predicaments these characters find themselves in without forcing resolutions or dramatic blowouts.
Lee, who was thrilled with how the show turned out, told the New York Times that she thinks of the book and the series “like cousins: definitely related but wholly different beings.”
6. The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. Dick is one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, and adapting his highly philosophical work is no small feat. With “The Man in the High Castle,” Prime Video produced one of the best alternate history shows, based on Dick’s 1962 novel of the same name. Set in the 1960s, the series imagines a disturbing world in which the Axis powers won World War II and now control most of the Allied nations. In the United States, the Nazis control the East, while the West Coast is under Japanese rule.
The show doesn’t initially reveal itself as a science fiction endeavor, but as its characters slowly discover, things are not all as they seem. Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) lives in San Francisco, and has gotten used to living under fascism. When she encounters a video depicting what the world would be like if the Allies won the war, her whole world is turned upside down. As the resistance grows, so do questions about the nature of reality.
The combination of historical and science fiction elements gives the series a unique take on politics, offering a sobering look at fascism’s consequences. The world of Dick’s novel is beautifully realized on the show, with breathtaking production design, evocative costumes, and sharp acting all around. The series takes its time to tell a story, and its complexity builds at the perfect pace, resulting in a gorgeous tale about the importance of hope.
5. The Boys
Based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, “The Boys” takes the gory violence and political commentary of its source material and sharpens the outlandish satire for the small screen. The show takes place in a world where superheroes are real, but they all work for corporations, rather than the people. The series centers on the titular Boys, a CIA-backed group led by the grumpy Billy Butcher (Karl Urban). Their job is to weed out the corrupt heroes among them, including Homelander (Antony Starr), a narcissistic Supe who will do anything for power and attention.
The show is gloriously violent and doesn’t shy away from graphic sex either, but its outrageous, purposefully shocking elements are backed up by smart writing and biting political commentary. Rather than portraying a binary of heroes and villains, “The Boys” features only villains and anti-heroes, generating a morally grey world that holds a mirror up to our own. Indeed, “The Boys” makes it clear that capitalism was the villain all along, and its subversion of superhero tropes is cleverly executed. Add to that some excellent, no-holds-barred acting from cast members like the consistently excellent Antony Starr, and you’ve got a winner.
While the show’s fifth season didn’t always live up to expectations and the series finale was divisive among viewers, “The Boys” still stands as one of Prime Video’s best shows.
4. The Expanse
“The Expanse” tells an epic story that was first explored in a book series of the same name by James S.A. Corey. It ran on Syfy for three seasons before it was canceled, after which Netflix rescued the series from deep space and released three more spellbinding seasons. The underrated sci-fi series opens with a murder mystery, but the story gets even more expansive (no pun intended) as it goes on. Josephus Miller (Thomas Jane) is a detective on the case, while the ice-harvesting crew of the Rocinante gets embroiled in a political conflict. Back on Earth, Shohreh Aghdashloo plays a United Nations deputy maintaining a delicate intergalactic balance.
“The Expanse” features complex space politics and intricate plotting without getting too in the weeds with sci-fi lore. The tensions that animate the series are familiar. The United Nations of Earth is engaged in a cold war with Mars, a militaristic society, while the Belters, who live and work in the undervalued asteroid belt, are struggling to be heard. The show does a beautiful job juggling multiple storylines which seem unrelated to start but eventually coalesce in immensely satisfying ways. Though the crew of the Rocinante represent everyday folks and are the closest thing the show has to heroes, it doesn’t paint characters in black and white, showing us how people in this world live across the political spectrum and the broader solar system. It’s a rewarding watch for sci-fi fans, and its ambitious scope pays off.
3. Bosch
“Bosch” is one of Prime Video’s earliest — and most successful — stabs at a novel series adaptation, and it remains the streamer’s longest-running show. Adapted from a series of Michael Connelly novels, the show stars Titus Welliver as hard-nosed LAPD detective Harry Bosch. Bosch works out of Hollywood, where he’s faced with Los Angeles’ seedy underbelly and is committed to doling out justice to the bad guys. Bosch frequently runs into problems with his superiors, as his old-school methods often involve circumventing the rules for the greater good, but his unshakable moral compass and allies make him a force to be reckoned with.
“Bosch” doesn’t rely on flashy gimmicks or melodrama to engage viewers. Instead, the show tells a classic detective story, with Bosch as the hardboiled investigator wading through a murky, noir-tinged world. (The show’s jazzy score makes this noir connection even clearer.) With Connelly’s novels as with, and each season combines intriguing plots from several books
In addition to each season’s central mystery, “Bosch” is deeply interested in its protagonist’s character development, as he chafes against the constraints of his position and tries to get his personal life in order while dealing with ghosts from his past. There are no bad seasons of this Prime series – including its sequel, “Bosch: Legacy” — and it also spawned the excellent Maggie Q-led spin-off “Ballard.”
2. Reacher
Few shows are as fun to watch as “Reacher,” the Prime Video series based on the novels by Lee Child. Alan Ritchson plays the title character, a hulking hunk of a man who travels the country as a drifter. A former military investigator, Reacher distrusts the government and hates corruption. Wherever he goes, trouble seems to follow, as he’s unable to look away from injustice. In each of the show’s four excellent seasons, Reacher arrives in a new town and finds a problem he feels compelled to fix. He’s joined by a ragtag group of allies — and usually a love interest — who help him stop the bad guys, who don’t stand a chance against his huge muscles and keen intellect.
“Reacher” is not a particularly deep show, but it’s well-written, and Ritchson is impeccably cast in the lead role. Though he’s a reserved man of few words, Reacher somehow has chemistry — or, at the very least, an amusing lack of chemistry — with all the folks he encounters on his journey, and it’s a delight to watch him respond to increasingly bizarre and life-threatening scenarios with the same imposing strength and sense of calm. It’s a hugely satisfying series, and watching Reacher kick butt and take names — while always keeping an eye out for the little guy — never gets old. Beyond Ritchson, the casting is spot-on, as both Reacher’s comrades and enemies add a new flavor to the series with each season.
1. The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” is one of the most critically acclaimed novels in recent memory, winning the Pulitzer Prize and numerous other accolades. It’s only fitting that the book was adapted by the great Barry Jenkins, whose best picture-winning film “Moonlight” came out the same year as Whitehead’s novel.
“The Underground Railroad” is one of the most spellbinding television shows we’ve ever seen. Thuso Mbedu plays Cora, an enslaved woman who escapes bondageailroad with stops all the way to Canada. While fleeing with Caesar (Aaron Pierre), Cora is chased by Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton), a bloodthirsty slave catcher
Though “The Underground Railroad” doesn’t look away from the cruelty of slavery (a horrific scene in the first episode depicts an enslaved man being burned to death), it centers more on hope and the transformative possibilities of freedom than it does on pain. Cora’s journey is one of empowerment, and we’re aligned with her POV via an astonishing performance from Mbedu, who plays Cora with a kind of shell-shocked strength and determination. Jenkins’ work as a director is fantastic, and the show is cinematic in scope, painterly in aesthetic, and episodic in narrative, redefining what the television medium can be. It’s a gorgeously crafted series that brings the novel to life in a way only Jenkins could.
