The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Movies, Ranked

by Amber Dowling, for Metacritic – August 5, 2022

Movies have the ability to deliver punchy stories, top-notch action, and ideas that can linger well after the closing credits roll. TV shows, on the other hand, can take those same pros and extend them over a much longer timeframe. Only on TV can viewers really get into a character and get to know all of their nuances, plus watch them develop and change as the episodes or seasons go on.

Given that, it’s no surprise so many TV shows are based on movies. Here, Metacritic has rounded up the 20 best film-to-TV adaptations as ranked by Metascore. Only live-action TV shows from 1985 and onward are eligible for inclusion.

Note also that we opted to make all Marvel Cinematic Universe shows eligible based on their ties to the film series as a whole even though many of the shows are not a direct adaptation of a single film. Don't like that decision? Here are seven honorable mentions that would have made the top 20 if we excluded MCU shows:

13 of 21 photo by NBC

79 Parenthood (NBC, 1990-91)

adapted from ▣ Parenthood (1989)

(#8) Before the Bravermans brought Ron Howard’s 1989 film to new audiences via the 2010 TV series, there was this earlier 1990 remake of the same name. Like both of the other projects the show revolves around a set of grandparents, their children, and their grandchildren as they go through this journey called life. Ed Begley Jr. and Jayne Atkinson star as the central figures in the 12-episode series, with Thora Birch, David Arquette, and Leonardo DiCaprio rounding out the rest of the cast.

“A rich blend of generations that has more of the juice of life and truth to it in an hour than a thousand formula sitcoms squeezed for everything they've got.” —John Engstrom, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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