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:

15 of 21 photo by NBC/Universal

83 Friday Night Lights (NBC/DirecTV, 2016-11)

adapted from ▣ Friday Night Lights (2004)

(tied at #5) Friday Night Lights began as a beloved 2004 sports film starring Billy Bob Thornton, but two years later this TV series introduced viewers to the small town of Dillon, Texas, where football is life. Not only did the show make household names out of actors including Michael B. Jordan, Connie Britton, Kyle Chandler, and Taylor Kitsch, but it also won three Primetime Emmys and earned multiple other awards and nominations over its five-season run.

“This show delivers the dramatic goods with painstaking authenticity each week, and even when it isn’t trying to make you cry, you can’t help but get emotionally involved in the lives of these instantly recognizable and compelling characters.” —Matt Roush, TV Guide Magazine

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