10 TV Shows and Their Inspirations

While there are many high quality television shows that are created from original ideas, there are a handful of series that have been based on literature of all kinds. Some follow the source material with great precision and try to stay true to the events that fans are already familiar with, others take the inspiration and create something similar yet different.

Here is a list of series that have in some way or another opted to the process of creating something from an already existing material.

Special mention: The Newsroom

Though The Newsroom is definitely not taking its stories from an already published book, the creator Aaron Sorkin found his inspiration from actual events taking place around the world. From oil spills to the death of a terrorist, this television show has original characters who’s lives are revolve around events that have actually happened.

10. Sex and the City

The series that had an impact on television with its bold story-telling and life-like plots, Sex and the City‘s characters were originally created by Candace Bushnell in a book with the same name. It is also in ways based on events which have actually happened because real women were telling their stories to the screenwriters: remember the breakup with the post-it, well that did not just happen on the show.

9. Gossip Girl

Just like the book series put an end to the infamous blogger in 2011, Gossip Girl is on its final season and will finally conclude the stories of the Upper East Side teenagers and their, to say at least, complicated lives. Though the characters themselves are fictional, the book series was based on the author’s, Cecily von Ziegesar’s experience in a private school.

 8. Pretty Little Liars

It seems that teenage book series are a great source material because Pretty Little Liars is another television series that has found its main plot from a fiction author Sara Shepard. Both series are unfinished, with two books being released in 2013, the show is said to be loosely following the plot of its inspiration source – so there will be two end-games to entertain the fans.

7. True Blood

Continuing with the theme, True Blood is yet again a series that has based characters on an already existing material, the show originates from a novel series called The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Though the show’s creator and producer Alan Ball has said not to be following the stories in the book completely, it is fascinating to know that upon the popularity of the show, the book series decided to change its name to match the title of the series.

6. The Vampire Diaries

Same thing has happened to another television show about vampires as The Vampire Diaries is being based on a book series with the same name by L. J. Smith. Though the main love triangle is strongly represented in both, the television series changed a lot from the very beginning by creating new characters (Elena’s brother Jeremy did not exist in the books) and story lines.

5. Once Upon a Time

The popular television series is an obvious choice for this list due to its strong connections to the fairy tales and myths we all are costumed to know one way or the other. Characters from Snow White to Prince Charming, from Little Red Riding Hood to the Mad Hatter are all familiar yet they posses new qualities and stories in Once Upon a Time that regularly surprise the viewers.

4. Boardwalk Empire

The award winning show is actually based on a single chapter in a historical book called Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. The chapter tells a story of Enock L. Johnson and therefore the television series follows two mediums at once: the historical book and an actual persona. Though, there is room for fiction in Boardwalk Empire because, for instance, the second wife of the main character is actually the original development of the series.

3. Sherlock

The talented men named Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss created the hit series by being inspired by many of the famous detective stories told by Arthur Conan Doyle. The appeal of Sherlock is the interpretation of the stories into modern time, adding the usage of technology and also blogging into the series, therefore the television show is bringing the rather intriguing detective into the 21st century.

2. The Walking Dead

Telling the rather brutal zombie story does not seem to be the main goal for the television series because it is aiming at telling the story as closely as Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard had created in their comic book series The Walking Dead. Kirkman himself was astonished of the fact how the creators of the series had made the scene where the hero Rick is stuck in a tank on the streets of Atlanta so close to the original.

1. Game of Thrones

There is no doubt that Game of Thrones is adapting the original fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire as truthfully onto the screen as possible. Reason being, the author of the books, George R. R. Martin is also credited as the writer for the show. Making Game of Thrones probably one of the most interesting literary inspirations because it allows the show to create the story the best way possible. For instance, the character Tyrion (portrayed by Peter Dinklage) is exactly like the fans and the author himself imagined him to be.

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