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:

17 of 21 photo by Warner Media

84 Irma Vep (HBO, 2022)

adapted from ▣ Irma Vep (1997)

(#4) More than 25 years after the success of the 1996 French film Irma Vep comes this eight-episode limited series remake starring Alicia Vikander. In it, she stars as an American actress who comes to France to remake a classic French film. However she quickly finds it difficult to disassociate with her character. The show missed the Emmy nomination window when it debuted in June 2022, but the series has been earning buzz nonetheless thanks to its colorful characters and an unexpected Kristen Stewart cameo.

“I don't think the director nails the social-media age the way '90s-Irma fully witnessed its own pop-culture landscape. But after the first three episodes, I've fallen for this French froth.” —Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly

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