Keep an eye out for our upcoming columns on Along for the Ride, a new movie based on Sarah Dessen’s Kirkus-starred YA romance (premiering on Netflix on May 6), and Firestarter, a film remake based on Stephen King’s bestselling horror thriller (premiering in theaters and on Peacock on May 13). In the meantime, here are four more book-to-screen adaptations to watch in May:
May 13: The Lincoln Lawyer (series premiere, Netflix)
Readers may recall the 2011 film version of Michael Connelly’s series-starting legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer, which starred Matthew McConaughey as Los Angeles defense attorney Mickey Haller. (The lawyer got his nickname because of his reputation for working out of his Lincoln Town Car.) This new show, executive-produced by David E. Kelley, stars Goliath’s Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Haller; its first 10-episode season is based mainly on Connelly’s second series installment, The Brass Verdict. That novel also features Haller’s half-brother, LA cop Harry Bosch, who’s the protagonist of another of Connelly’s series—as well as the Amazon Prime Video TV show Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. It’s unclear if Bosch (or Welliver) appears in the new show, but it does feature a few other intriguing actors, including Scream’s Neve Campbell as Haller’s ex-wife, Maggie McPherson, and Covert Affairs’ Christopher Gorham as Haller’s client Trevor Elliott.
May 13: The Essex Serpent (limited series premiere, Apple TV+)
Kirkus’ starred review of Sarah Perry’s historical novel called it “a work of astonishing breadth and brilliance.” In it, recently widowed Cora Seaborne moves from London to seaside Essex with her son and her lady’s maid in the 1890s. She becomes fascinated by the local legend of the Essex Serpent, which villagers fearfully call the Blackwater Beast. During her investigations, she meets Rev. William Ransome, and as their deep conversations bring them closer, various village mysteries are blamed on the storied creature. This six-episode miniseries features an impressive cast, including Emmy winner Claire Danes as Cora and Loki’s Tom Hiddleston as William, and its director and co-executive producer, Clio Barnard, won accolades for her 2013 film, The Selfish Giant, among other works.
May 15: Conversations With Friends (series premiere, Hulu)
Sally Rooney’s Kirkus-starred second novel, Normal People, was made into a wildly popular 12-part Hulu miniseries in 2020, which made stars of its two young leads, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal. The same week as its premiere, Hulu announced that it was developing another 12-part series based on Rooney’s debut, Conversations With Friends. Like Normal People, it’s concerned with the love affairs of highly intelligent 20-somethings; this time, it’s Frances, an aspiring poet based in Dublin; her ex-lover and artistic collaborator Bobbi; successful writer/photographer Melissa, to whom Bobbi finds herself drawn; and Melissa’s actor spouse, Nick, with whom Frances has an affair. Fans of the Normal People series will appreciate that director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Alice Birch have returned for this new adaptation, which features newcomer Alison Oliver as Frances, American Honey’s Sasha Lane as Bobbi, Girls’ Jemima Kirke as Melissa, and Mary Queen of Scots’ Joe Alwyn as Nick.
May 15: The Time Traveler’s Wife (series premiere, HBO)
Audrey Niffenegger’s bestselling novel tells the story of a highly unusual romantic relationship between artist Clare Abshire and librarian Henry DeTamble, a man who has a condition that makes him randomly and uncontrollably travel through time. Like The Lincoln Lawyer, the book has a notable big-screen adaptation in its past: A 2009 film that starred Rachel McAdams as Clare and Eric Bana as Henry. This new TV series stretches the story out to six episodes and stars Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie as Clare and Sanditon’s Theo James as Henry. Most notably, the series was created by Steven Moffatt, who certainly has some experience with time-hopping tales: He used to be the showrunner for the BBC series Doctor Who.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
