Hello book lovers, and welcome to the What’s on Netflix book club! Some of Netflix’s most popular Originals in recent years have been literary adaptations: Anne with an E, the Haunting of Hill House, and Sweet Magnolias, to name just a few.
If you’ve already worked your way through Netflix’s extensive library of adaptations, here’s your guide to what’s coming next. Perhaps your favorite book could be coming soon!
Some of these adaptations are much further ahead in their development than others. We’ve tried to include as much detail as we can find for each! While there are plenty more rumored adaptations out there, we have only included ones with a decent amount of news available online.
Behind Her Eyes
Based on: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough.
Coming to Netflix: 2020
Although we don’t have an exact release date yet, you shouldn’t have to wait too long for this one. Here’s a plot synopsis provided by Netflix:
“A single mom becomes entangled in a twisted mind game when she begins an affair with her psychiatrist boss while bonding with his mysterious wife.”
El Desorden Que Dejas / The Mess You Leave Behind
Based on: The Mess You Leave Behind by Carlos Montero
Coming to Netflix: Fall 2020
One of the biggest gripes of many book lovers is when an adaptation is too far removed from the original. However, that probably won’t happen with The Mess You Leave Behind: the novel’s author, Carlos Montero, is actually directing it.
This Spanish-language drama follows a literature teacher, Raquel, who takes a role as a substitute teacher in a small town. However, she soon learns that her predecessor, Elvira, committed suicide. Raquel quickly gets sucked into the mystery of Elvira’s life, and the state in which she left her affairs.
Firefly Lane
Based on: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Coming to Netflix: December 2020
Here’s another adaptation coming to the small screen very soon. The series starts in the 1970s and is a coming-of-age drama that spans three decades. Here’s how Netflix describes the piece:
“Based on the New York Times Bestselling book, Firefly Lane is the sweeping story of two inseparable best friends and their enduring, complicated bond, spanning four tumultuous decades.”
You can check out everything we know about Firefly Lane so far in this article.
Pieces of Her
Based on: Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
Coming to Netflix: Late 2020/early 2021
This eight-part thriller is headed up by Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, In Her Shoes) and Bella Heathcote (50 shades Darker, Pride & Prejudice and Zombies). Collette plays Laura: a speech pathologist and a dedicated mother. However, a deadly incident at their local shopping mall changes Andy’s (Heathcote) perception of her mother forever. In the aftermath of this shattering event, secrets about Laura’s past start to unfold.
All the Light We Cannot See
Based on: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Coming to Netflix: TBC
The adaptation of this Pulitzer prize-winning novel is being handled by Shawn Levy, and his production company 21 Laps (Stranger Things).
All the Light We Cannot See is set during the Second World War. It tells the story of Marie-Laure, a blind French teenager, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France.
Anatomy of a Scandal
Based on: Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughn
Coming to Netflix: Fall 2021
We’ve already covered this one in detail on What’s On Netflix, as we know plenty of you are excited for the upcoming release of Anatomy of a Scandal.
This anthology series is being created by Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley and former House of Cards showrunner Melissa James Gibson. There are some big names set to star in Anatomy of a Scandal, too. Expect to see Sienna Miller (American Sniper and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), and Rupert Friend (Homeland).
The series (and the book) tells the story of two women and one man caught up in a very ugly public scandal. James, a high-ranking Westminster politician stands accused of rape, but his wife Sophie believes he is innocent. Kate is the barrister prosecuting the case and she is convinced James is guilty and must pay for his crime.
Animated Roald Dahl Miniseries
Based on: Assorted Roald Dahl stories
Coming to Netflix: Possibly 2020
If, like us, Roald Dahl books were a staple part of your childhood, it’s time to get excited. There are several animated Roald Dahl tales in the works, including:
- Boy
- The BFG
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
- Esio Trot
- The Giraffe, and the Pelly, and Me
- George’s Marvellous Medicine
- Going Solo
- Henry Sugar
- The Magic Finger
- Matilda
- Rhyme Stew
- The Twits
Check out our full article on the animated Roald Dahl content coming to Netflix here.
Consumed
Based on: Consumed by David Cronenberg
Coming to Netflix: TBC
Better known as a movie director, David Cronenberg is responsible for titles such as A Dangerous Method, A History of Violence, Crash, and Naked Lunch. However, he also authored a horror novel, published in 2014: Consumed.
Cronenberg has since come out of retirement in order to direct the adaption of his own novel. Consumed follows a French couple in their 60s as they travel around the world photographing the most interesting people they can find. World of Reel describes the novel as an “exquisitely detailed, voyeuristic body-horror”.
The Girls On The Bus
Based on: Chasing Hillary by Amy Chozick
Coming to Netflix: Late 2020
This US political drama is aptly timed for a release in Fall/Winter 2020.
Based on the non-fiction book Chasing Hillary, The Girls on The Bus features four female journalists following a parade of flawed presidential candidates in this drama series. It’s being produced by Julie Plec and Greg Berlanti.
Gone For Good
Based on: Gone For Good by Harlan Coben
Coming to Netflix: Late 2020
Here’s another adaptation that’ll be arriving on Netflix very soon (you can already ‘set a reminder’ on Netflix).
Harlan Coben is a prolific crime writer from the US whose work is incredibly popular: both in print and on Netflix. Three of his works have already been adapted into Netflix Original Series: The Woods, The Stranger, and Safe. We predict that whenever Gone For Good lands on Netflix, this one will be incredibly popular, too.
Gone for Good will be adapted in French. Here’s the synopsis provided by Netflix: “Ten years ago, he lost two loved ones. When his fiancée disappears, he must uncover buried secrets — or lose everything.”
The Innocent
Based on: The Innocent by Harlan Coben
Coming to Netflix: TBC
More good news for Harlan Coben fans. An adaptation of his novel, the Innocent, is also in the works for Netflix.
We don’t have much info about this Spanish adaptation just yet, but we predict is will follow the plot of the novel quite faithfully:
“One night, Matt Hunter innocently tried to break up a fight—and ended up a killer. Now, nine years later, he’s an ex-con who takes nothing for granted. His wife, Olivia, is pregnant, and the two of them are closing on their dream house. But all it will take is one shocking, inexplicable call from Olivia’s cell phone to shatter Matt’s life a second time…”
The Irregulars
Based on: The works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Coming to Netflix: 2021
If Enola Holmes has already got you craving another Sherlock fix, you’re in luck: this Sherlock Holmes spinoff is scheduled for release in 2021.
The Baker Street Irregulars is a group of characters appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories. These orphaned children live on the streets around Sherlock Holmes’s residence, occasionally assisting him to solve crimes. In the Irregulars, these kids are under the employment of Dr Watson, helping to save London from supernatural forces.
The Midnight Club
Based on: The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike
Coming to Netflix: TBC
Published in 1994, The Midnight Club is a YA horror novel based at an institutional home for dying teenagers. Late at night, the kids gather around to share scary stories. They make a pact that whoever dies first must visit the others from beyond the grave.
The Midnight Club is being developed by Mike Flannagan: creator of the Haunting of Hill House. Flanagan seems to be pretty stoked to be working on this adaptation, as he took to Twitter to confirm the news, stating: “It’s an honor to introduce a new generation of young horror fans to the world of Christopher Pike.”
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Based on: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Coming to Netfix: TBC
In 2019, Netflix announced that it had acquired the rights to 100 Years of Solitude: the sweeping, classic novel from Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The story covers 100 years of history of the Buendia family, and all the tragedy, romance, and heartbreak that befalls them.
This will be the first adaption of the novel since its publication in the 60s. Garcia Marquez felt that nothing could do justice to the fantastical, magical-realist elements that embellish the plot. However, Netflix must have said something right: Gabriel García Márquez’s sons are serving as executive producers.
Three Wishes
Based on: Three Wishes by Lianne Moriarty
Coming to Netflix: TBC
Created by the author of Big Little Lies, Three Wishes follows three wildly different sisters as their lives intertwine and unfold around their glamorous Manhattan wedding weekend that ends in a shocking tragedy.
We don’t have much info on this one, but based on the success of Big Little Lies, we think it’ll be a hit.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Based on: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Coming to Netflix: TBC
This is very exciting news for fantasy lovers. While we’ve had plenty of Narnia adaptations before, none have been quite like us.
Back in 2018, it was announced that Netflix had acquired the rights to adapt all seven of the Chronicles of Narnia books: some of which have never received an adaptation before.
Check out our full article on Netflix’s adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia for the full details and regular updates.
Is your favorite book coming to Netflix? Heard a rumor you want us to investigate? Let us know in the comments below!
