It is day four on the bracket. Yesterday’s voting knocked out several titles I’d believed would push further, though they were not entirely unanticipated to depart. In fact, the results in a number of pairings were razor close: Brideshead Revisited toppled Agatha Christie’s Poirot by a margin of three votes, and MAS*H edged Pride & Prejudice—a finalist candidate in my mind for the final rounds—by five votes. The message is clear: every single vote truly matters, folks!
Another stunner: Game of Thrones has fallen from contention. Roots has proven itself the stronger program, and I’m glad the outcome reflects that, though it’s hard to imagine a franchise with GoT’s global footprint not reaching at least the semifinals—perhaps the last season left a sour taste for many.
And a nod to Wolf Hall. A quiet, intricately crafted look at power and ambition, drawn from one of the towering historical novels ever written, apparently proved too refined for this round of the bracket.
Today we’ll determine the top entry in each quadrant—the coziest corner, the most carnage-filled corner, and everything in between. Here are a few clashes to keep an eye on as voting unfolds:
Brideshead Revisited remains the sole remaining top seed in the Cozy bracket, and I expect it to perform well against M*A*S*H here. Admittedly, the anti-war comedy has drawn more fans among our Lit Hub readership than I anticipated.
In Carnal, Killing Eve faces off against Orange Is the New Black, two crime-themed series. Eve seems to have the advantage, yet the revival of interest around New Black could push this one into a photo finish once again.
Meanwhile in Cerebral, Sherlock goes head-to-head with Shogun in a noiseless showdown—two “sh” titles duking it out to be the top quiet-still-show in this round. I still carry a grudge about the elimination of The Leftovers, so I’m rooting for Shogun.
Things are shaping up for a surprise ending, at least from this modest book blogger’s vantage point. Scroll down to cast your ballot, and I’ll see you at the polls!
–James Folta
[Click image to enlarge and zoom]
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INSTRUCTIONS:
It’s straightforward: for each pairing, select your preferred title. The objective is to identify the finest program, not necessarily the most faithful adaptation—though that criterion might influence your judgment, or perhaps not at all. In short, follow your instinct. We’ll tally the results using the most liberal-arts-major style of mathematics we can muster and reveal the outcomes tomorrow.
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VOTING SCHEDULE:
Round of 64: Voting open Monday, November 9th from 10:00 AM until at 7:00 PM EST (Results are here)
Round of 32: Voting open Tuesday, November 10th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EST (Results are here)
Round of 16: Voting open Wednesday, November 11th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EST (Results here)
➤ Quarterfinals: Voting open now until 7:00 PM EST
Semifinals: Voting open Friday, November 13th from 10:00 AM, until Sunday November 15th at 7:00 PM EST
The Finals: Voting open Monday, November 16th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EST
And the winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 17th!
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HOW TO VOTE:
You’ll find compact voting forms at the bottom of each matchup. Click through and move along, as if you’re flicking between channels on a TV screen.
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MATCHUP:
Roots (4) vs. Slow Horses (2)
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Roots (1977)
A sweeping, distinctly American family saga
Based on: Alex Haley’s Roots (1976)
Subgenres: Classroom Classics • It Did Happen Here • Generational Stories
First aired as one of the most-watched miniseries in U.S. television history, this landmark drama presents America through the lens of slavery and the Civil War with unflinching intensity. ABC nearly pulled the plug after executives bristled at the level of brutality portrayed by familiar white faces. They also insisted on inserting a white captain character who isn’t in the source text. Haley’s novel is renowned for bringing the Middle Passage horrors into popular literature, a nerve the show preserves. Some subtleties from the book don’t translate perfectly to the screen, but Roots remains exceptional, anchored by powerful performances, including an early breakout from LeVar Burton. –JF
Put it on when you want to recall a time when networks aired serious, consequential drama.
See also:
How the TV Adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots Sparked a Cultural Awakening • Nikki Giovanni on Race, Hope, Fatherhood, and Roots
••••••••••vs••••••••••
Slow Horses (2022)
Gary Oldman in a sharp, high-spirited spy satire
Based on: Mick Herron’s Slough House novels (2010–2025)
Subgenres: Losers • Our Peerless Leader • Highbrow Fart Jokes • Elevated Espionage
It is an inspired concept: a handful of MI5 operatives, each having bungled a career in some way, are relegated to Slough House, a bureaucratic purgatory where they perform tedious tasks to avoid being completely cut off. Their unflappable chief is the repulsive yet genius Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who needles, coerces, and manipulates his reluctant team into moments of audacious heroism. The series delivers the kinds of thrills you expect from spy drama, but it also thrives on humor—an effective blend of dry wit, physical gags, and good-natured British eccentricities. And Kristin Scott Thomas consistently delivers a standout performance. –ET
Put it on when you’re great at failing upward.
See also:
Slow Horses, Starring Gary Oldman, is Worth the Slow Burn
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MATCHUP:
Killing Eve (9) vs. Orange Is the New Black (2)
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Killing Eve (2018)
What’s a bit of murder between two willing adults?
Based on: Luke Jennings’s Codename Villanelle (2017)
Subgenres: The Thrill of the Chase • Recreational Murder • Tension
The core of Killing Eve lies in the shared fixation between the assassin Villanelle and her hunter Eve Polastri. Comer’s Villanelle is mercurial and ruthless, which makes her endlessly entertaining; Eve may appear more grounded, yet the two women form a pair of brilliantly matched oddities. The show’s first season benefited from Phoebe Waller-Bridge as head writer, followed by Emerald Fennell in season two; opinions diverged on later installments, especially the ending, but that memorable kitchen scene remains iconic. –OS
Put it on when you want to live vicariously through fantasy rather than sharing an apartment with your cat.
See also:
Serial Killer As Instagram Influencer? On Killing Eve‘s Cool Girl Assassin • The Visible and Invisible Women of Killing Eve • Subverting the Male Gaze in Killing Eve
••••••••••vs••••••••••
Orange Is the New Black (2)
Orange is the New Black (2013)
A series where khaki is the dominant color
Based on: Piper Kerman’s Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison (2010)
Subgenres: Worst Places to See Your Ex • The Prison Industrial Complex is Evil • Cosplay Ideas for Large Groups
Being imprisoned alongside the ex who sent you to prison isn’t merely a cosmic joke; it happened to Piper Kerman in real life, which she chronicled so it could become this series. Orange Is the New Black blended humor, heart, and a candid look at the U.S. prison system, becoming one of the earliest streaming-era sensations. As the focus widened from Piper to a sprawling ensemble, its scale only grew. Everyone watched this show. Your mom. Your coworker. That one notoriously opinionated acquaintance probably had something to say about a major character’s death at the time. –OS
Put it on when you want to laugh, and maybe cry a little, too.
See also:
Kate Mulgrew on the Work of Waiting, in Acting and in Life • Blurring the Lines Between Criminal Justice and Popular Culture
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MATCHUP:
Sherlock (16) vs. Shogun (3)
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Sherlock (2010)
The game is afoot
Based on: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sherlock Holmes stories (1887-1927)
Subgenres: Former Tumblr Teen Bait • They Should Have Kissed • Seeing the Mind Palace
For anyone who spent time in early 2010s online spaces, it was entirely plausible to know everything about Sherlock without ever watching it. This reimagining places Holmes in today’s world and visualizes deductions through overlays, rapid editing, and a washed-out color palette. Even as memes about Benedict Cumberbatch fade, the affection for Sherlock persists, underscoring why, a century after Conan Doyle’s first Holmes tale, the appeal of Holmes and Watson remains strong. –OS
Put it on when you want to feel a notch smarter than you actually are.
See also:
Not My Sherlock • A Literary Feud is Afoot! • The Real Sherlock Holmes: How an Edinburgh Doctor Inspired Doyle’s Detective
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Shogun (2024)
A traveler finds himself stumbling in a land far from home, swords in hand
Based on: James Clavell’s Shogun (1975)
Subgenres: Memed • Subtitles • Epic Battles * Chaotic White Boys • Studying the Blade
When it seemed the era of sprawling prestige history dramas had burned out, Shogun roared back onto the scene. The production is colossal, offering something for every taste: political upheaval, epic battles, and a slyly funny, fish-out-of-water humor. The plot tracks the upheaval following the arrival of Dutch traders into a Japan on the cusp of the Shogunate’s reorganization. It’s hard to find a flaw: Shogun is visually lush, meticulously written, and superbly acted, with standout performances from actors like Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga. The adaptation remains faithful to the 1975 novel, preserving its gritty humanity. In every respect, it surpasses the 1980s adaptation.
So why not a higher seed? There’s a sense that the show adheres a bit too closely to the traditional prestige format, perhaps avoiding riskier experimentation. Still, with two additional seasons on the horizon, there remains ample opportunity for Shogun to push beyond conventional rhythms. –JF
Put it on when you’re craving a reminder of studying abroad.
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MATCHUP:
Brideshead Revisited (1) vs. M*A*S*H (3)
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Brideshead Revisited (1981)
We have always remembered living within the castle walls
Based on: Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited (1945)
Subgenres: Teddy Bears • Stiff Upper Lip • Everything Changed During the War • Drugs, Booze & Generational Privilege • Debating Catholicism
Evelyn Waugh’s keen-eyed humanity has always clashed with his restrained (and later explicit) conservatism. His finest novel, Brideshead Revisited, looks back with nostalgia on aristocratic life while methodically exposing its flaws, exploring the friction between social codes and genuine affection. This eleven-episode miniseries succeeds by remaining faithful and reverent to the source—almost a direct page-to-screen rendering, with many lines lifted straight from Waugh. The friendship that develops over decades before World War II between Charles Ryder and the affluent Lord Sebastian Flyte is convincingly portrayed by Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. The ensemble around them is solid, and the setting’s beauty enhances the mood. Laurence Olivier even appears, and the deliciously odd Aloysius the teddy bear, voiced by Peter Bull, steals a scene as well. It remains a cherished TV classic. –JF
Put it on when you’re wondering whether you should reconnect with an old friend.
See also:
How Campus Novels Reveal the Power—and Danger—of Pure Ideas • Not Far From Brideshead: On the Sad Glitter of Oxford Between the Wars
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M*A*S*H (1972)
Antics inside a war zone
Based on: Richard Hooker’s MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors (1968)
Subgenres: War is Bad • Wisecracking is Fun
The iconic anti-war sitcom *M*A*S*H* redefined what a television comedy could be by interleaving dramatic moments and genuine social commentary with humor. A spin-off of the 1970 film, itself adapted from Hooker’s novel, it ran for eleven seasons and its finale was for a long stretch the most-watched broadcast episode in U.S. history. Set during the Korean War, it drew a parallel to and critiqued American involvement in Vietnam. Today it’s regarded as a classic of television; the affection for M*A*S*H endures more than fifty years after its premiere. –OS
Put it on when you need a history lesson wrapped in personality.
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You did it. See you for the semifinals tomorrow.
Isabela Reyes