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INSTRUCTIONS:

It’s straightforward: for each pairing, choose your favorite. The aim is to identify the best show, not necessarily the most faithful adaptation—though that could influence your thoughts. Or not. Trust your instincts. We’ll tally the results using our best liberal-arts-grade math and reveal the outcomes tomorrow.

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VOTING SCHEDULE:

Round of 64: Open for voting now until tonight at 7:00 PM EST (Results are here)

➤ Round of 32: Open for voting now until 7:00 PM EST

Round of 16: Open Wednesday, November 11th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EST

Round of 8: Open Thursday, November 12th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EST

The Quarter Finals: Voting runs Friday, November 13th from 10:00 AM to Sunday, November 15th at 7:00 PM EST

The Finals: Voting runs 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:

Tiny voting forms appear at the bottom of each matchup. Click through and proceed, as if you were switching channels on your television.

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MATCHUP:

Game of Thrones (1) vs. Sharp Objects (9)

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Game of Thrones (2011)

Emotional manipulation with dragons

Based on: George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels (1996–…)

Subgenres: Everyone Dies • The Endgame of Monoculture • Water-Cooler Material

 

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss reshaped a previously popular saga by bringing to life the swords, dragons, morally intricate figures, and unflinching brutality through lavish production and standout performances. The books’ soap-operatic political plotting and merciless character arcs felt refreshingly new in 2011—you never knew who would die, or where the sex would land—and the show’s popularity was astronomical: Sundays became ritual watch parties among colleagues and friends. Some of the gloss faded when the plot outpaced the books and the finale didn’t land as cleanly, yet the legacy persists. –JF

Watch this when you need a reminder that office politics can be epic.

See also:

How I Built My Own Game of Thrones Iron Throne • The 50 Best Fictional Dragons, Ranked • In Praise of Remixing Shakespeare

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Sharp Objects (2018)

A crime saga about the unglamorous truth of award season’s pity Oscars for Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson

Based on: Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006)

Subgenres: Southern Gothic • Roller-Disco Gothic • Amy Adams Whispering Gothic • Mother-Daughter Dysfunction

 

I devoured Sharp Objects in a single day because I’m unwell, and now my brain wears a different shape. This series is the epitome of mood and ambiance, cultivating creeping dread and stomach-churning suspense. At first glance it follows a journalist on assignment in her hometown to cover a murder, only to be drawn back into the maelstrom of family history and her mother’s destabilizing orbit. Yet underneath, it’s a meditation on wallpaper, dim corners, and suffocating Southern heat—a mother-daughter story refracted through a cracked looking-glass. The show itself is a sharp object. –MC

Put it on when you crave a jump scare courtesy of Sydney Sweeney.

See also:

On the Feminine Urge to Murder • Ethical Dilemmas and Moral Quandaries: Women Finding Their Power in Literature

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MATCHUP:

The Handmaid’s Tale (12) vs. Roots (4)

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The Handmaid’s Tale (2017)

Oppression as a sartorial sport

Based on: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)

Subgenres: Color Coding • It Could Happen Here • The Discourse

 

The inaugural season premiered less than four months into the early days of the Trump era, heightening the sense of a dystopia where women’s subjugation feels all too plausible. It’s a powerful and moving interpretation of Atwood’s beloved novel, aided by a superb ensemble including Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, and Joseph Fiennes.

Subsequent seasons sagged as the plot outpaced the source and the story veered toward torture-porn, but the iconic visuals endure. –ET

Put it on when you’ve just voted against fascism.

See also:

The Handmaid’s Tale Adapts More Than the Novel: Here is America • Margaret Atwood on How She Came to Write The Handmaid’s Tale • Watching The Handmaid’s Tale While Transitioning • What Makes Somebody a Mother? On the New Season of The Handmaid’s Tale

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Roots (1977)

A distinctly American family saga

Based on: Alex Haley’s Roots (1976)

Subgenres: Classroom Classics • It Did Happen Here • Generational Tales

 

One of the most widely watched miniseries in American television history and a foundational dramatization of the nation’s history of slavery and the Civil War. The production almost faltered when executives at ABC balked at the raw brutality depicted, including performances by recognizable white actors; the network demanded the addition of a white captain who isn’t in the source material. Haley’s novel, celebrated for foregrounding the horrors of the Middle Passage, remains true to the book’s core. Some nuanced aspects get compressed on screen, yet Roots remains outstanding, anchored by standout performances, including an early breakout by LeVar Burton. –JF

Put it on when you want a reminder that network TV could still take bold risks.

See also:

How the TV Adaptation of Alex Haley’s Roots Sparked a Cultural Awakening • Nikki Giovanni on Race, Hope, Fatherhood, and Roots

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MATCHUP:

Say Nothing (6) vs. Justified (3)

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Say Nothing (2024)

A retelling of upheaval

Based on: Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing (2018)

Subgenres: Based on a Real Event • Fight for Rights • Political Theater

 

Patrick Radden Keefe’s compelling book introduced readers to the Troubles through a tight circle of determined revolutionaries. Keefe’s project, focusing on the disappearance of civilian Jean McConville in 1972, traced a long era of occupation by a few central players. Josh Zetumer’s adaptation preserves the political fabric while granting space for broader themes to emerge. This viewer appreciated how the series’ structure allowed for larger questions to emerge without losing focus on the core personalities.

Ranging from the devoted portrayal of IRA figure Dolours Price to broader questions of statecraft, paramilitary strategy, and political reconciliation, the show breathes. Watching it, I felt the conflict still very much alive—and unsettled. The nine episodes each begin with a cheeky timestamp noting Gerry Adams’s denial of IRA membership, reminding us that the past isn’t past. –BKA

Put it on when you want to topple the system in a cool cardigan.

See also:

Patrick Radden Keefe on Secrets, Lies, and the Murky Line Between Licit and Illicit

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Justified (2010)

A long-running case for embracing a quick-draw ethos

Based on: Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole” (2001)

Subgenres: Digging Coal Together • Wide Hats • Action-Fueled Vigilantism

 

You might assume that a TV series could be neatly built on a single short story. And you’d be right that it’s challenging—yet the showrunner Graham Yost gave writers bracelets with “WWED” (What Would Elmore Do?)—and the writing reflects that spirit. The performances are superb, the mood a surprising blend of Southern Gothic and Western-meets-crime drama, and the overall vibe is wildly entertaining from start to finish. –ET

Put it on when you wish you could steer events with your own hands.

See also:

The Search for the Funniest Crime Novel Ever Written • 43 of the Most Iconic Short Stories in the English Language • 40 Writer’s Writers Whomst Readers Should Read

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MATCHUP:

The Night Manager (10) vs. Slow Horses (2)

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The Night Manager (2016)

Elegance versus danger in a dealer’s world

Based on: John Le Carré’s The Night Manager (1993)

Subgenres: Hidden Identities • Risky Relationships Between Spies • Globe-Trotting • Messages Through covert Channels

 

Le Carré’s taut novel, his first adventure beyond the Cold War, becomes a brisk, gripping TV ride in this adaptation. The series captures the post-9/11 moment with precision, and the clash between a pressured security apparatus and profit-driven exploitation remains timely. Strip away the charm of Hugh Laurie’s villain and replace it with something crisper, the show still feels immediate.

The ensemble is superb—Hiddleston’s suave presence, Olivia Colman’s pregnant intensity, Tom Hollander’s scheming wit—and the cinematography sings. The second season expands into a more tangled reunion and a Y Tu Mama Tambien-like conceit, which some will skip, but the first season delivers a lean, exhilarating thriller that more than compensates. –JF

Put it on when you’re nostalgic for your childhood spy dreams.

See also:

A Writer For Our Time: Why John le Carré’s Work Remains More Essential Than Ever • Spying is Lying: How David Cornwell Became John Le Carré

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Slow Horses (2022)

Gary Oldman in a vehicle for zingers

Based on: Mick Herron’s Slough House novels (2010–2025)

Subgenres: The Losers • Our Indispensable Leader • Elevated Humor • Daring Espionage

 

Here’s a brilliant premise: a unit of MI5 misfits, each having blown a career in one way or another, are relegated to Slough House to do mundane tasks so they don’t vanish from the map. Their fearless commander is the relentlessly repugnant yet brilliant Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who chides, nags, and manipulates his unmotivated crew into feats of daring. It’s a spy drama that’s exciting in familiar ways, yet it stands apart for its sharp wit and lighter touches. And Kristin Scott Thomas always lands a hit. –ET

Put it on when you’re really good at failing forward.

See also:

Slow Horses, Starring Gary Oldman, is Worth the Slow Burn

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MATCHUP:

Friday Night Lights (1) vs. Killing Eve (9)

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Friday Night Lights (2006)

Football as the pinnacle of seriousness

Based on: H. G. Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream (1990)

Subgenres: Realistic Emotions • Multiple Adaptations • Tear-Inducing Pep Talks • Appealing Cast

 

Friday Night Lights counts many fans who care little for football, a testament to the show’s quality and mass appeal. Yet the series uses football, high school life, and Texas as a stage for character focus, with the people at the center driving the drama. Some plots drift toward soap-operatic turns—the second season was shortened by the 2007 writers’ strike and became a bit tangled—but the acting remains unbeatable. The show also earns praise for its cinematic experimentation: music choices and camera work often subvert expectations, and the cast’s improvisational energy lends an improvisational immediacy that’s rare on prestige TV. –JF

Put it on when you need a halftime pep talk to lift a rough day.

See also:

On the Truth and Lies of Friday Night Football

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Killing Eve (2018)

A little assassinating between two consenting players

Based on: Luke Jennings’s Codename Villanelle (2017)

Subgenres: The Chase Thrill • Lethal Romance • Suspense

 

The core spark of Killing Eve is the mutual fixation between assassin Villanelle and her hunter, Eve Polastri. Comer’s Villanelle is mercurial and ruthless, which makes her wildly entertaining, while Eve appears steadier on the surface; together they are a perfect, offbeat odd couple. Phoebe Waller-Bridge led the writing for season one, with Emerald Fennell taking over in season two; fans remained divided about later seasons, especially the ending, but that’s fine. The iconic kitchen scene remains. –OS

Put it on when you want to live vicariously through fiction rather than staying in 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

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MATCHUP:

Heated Rivalry (5) vs. Interview with the Vampire (12)

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Heated Rivalry (2025)

The acclaimed hockey romance that sparked countless fanfictions

Based on: Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series (2018–present)

Subgenres: Canadian Charm • Ice-Cold Romance • SPORT • Sizzling Yearning

 

No one saw this steamy hockey drama coming. Initially developed for Crave, it premiered simultaneously on HBO Max and quickly became a hit—likely a raise-worthy moment for whoever picked it up. The show centers on two rival players who fall into love over many seasons, buoyed by the charisma and chemistry of its leads, paired with confident writing and an unexpectedly hopeful core. It’s a gay fantasia, buoyant and funny, with genuine warmth and considerable heat. –ET

Put it on when you’re alone and in the mood for fireworks.

See also:

How Heated Rivalry Reimagines a Sports Romance • Why Heated Rivalry Perfectly Captures the Romance Novel Tropes

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Interview with the Vampire (2022)

Even Anne Rice couldn’t argue with the afterlife’s freedom to adapt

Based on: Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1991)

Subgenres: Toxic Yaoi • Tom Cruise-Wishes • Does This Count as Romantasy?

 

All of my queerest and most devoted friends are obsessed with Interview with the Vampire, which is how you know it’s superb. The show follows the book’s plot, but since Anne Rice has passed on and can’t sue, the two central immortals (Louis and Lestat) finally get to be openly gay. This gives the series its extra zing: the chance to explore hate sex and mind games as they fall in love. It’s a bold adaptation that asks: did we push these characters too far the first time around? Can we dial the crazy up to eleven? –MC

Put it on when you want to see handsome men in high-waisted pants.

See also:

Leigh Bardugo on 50 Years of Interview with the Vampire and the Immortality of Anne Rice’s Lestat

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MATCHUP:

Outlander (6) vs. Normal People (3)

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Outlander (2014)

Romance through the ages

Based on: Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series (1991-2021)

Subgenres: Anachronistic Charm • Breathtaking Scenery • Don’t Mess With Stone Circle Magic

 

This series lives as an elevated soap opera with real depth: shifting loyalties, political maneuvering, and interpersonal entanglements sit beside lush locations and a charismatic cast. The story stretches across more than a hundred episodes—through time, relationships, and major historical events—without losing sight of what keeps viewers turning pages. Showrunner Ronald D. Moore, a veteran of Battlestar Galactica and other ambitious TV, knows how to balance high concept with character-driven drama. We debated placing it in a cozier corner, but Outlander reveals itself as more intricate than it might appear on the surface. –JF

Put it on when it feels like you were born in the wrong era and long to wander the moors.

See also:

A Love Letter to Fans of Outlander • This Is the Time-Bending Romance You Should Be Watching

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Normal People (2020)

Sex, longing, and a small-town Sligo mood

Based on: Sally Rooney’s Normal People (2018)

Subgenres: Proposition of Love in Sligo • Connell’s Chain • Faithful Adaptation

 

It’s rare to find an adaptation that isn’t either strictly superior or inferior to its source, yet Normal People stands as a faithful companion piece that enhances the source with mood and visuals. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal translate Rooney’s vulnerability beautifully, and the sex scenes land with a rare confidence. –ET

Put it on when you miss deep emotions on screen.

See also:

Watching Normal People Have Very Good Sex (on the Small Screen) • Lenny Abrahamson on Adapting Sally Rooney’s Normal People for TV • Dispatches from an Extra on Hulu’s Normal People • Read Sally Rooney’s first short story about Marianne and Connell.

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MATCHUP:

True Blood (10) vs. Orange Is the New Black (2)

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True Blood (2008)

The Sins of a Brightly Colored World

Based on Charlaine Harris’s “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” (2001-2013)

Subgenres: Very TV-y TV • Campy, Bloody, Seductive • An HBO Show

 

If the Rice saga kick-started modern vampire culture, the True Blood adaptation leaped into the mix with a playful, melodramatic energy. Anna Paquin stars as a barmaid with a touch of the supernatural and Stephen Moyer as her complicated partner. Alan Ball, famous for Six Feet Under, infuses the proceedings with a darkly humorous streak that signals everyone’s in on the joke. The cast bounces off each other with a knowing wink, and early on there’s a moment everyone remembers—shouting “SOOKIE!” at a party as Denis O’Hare’s spine-lending moment lands on live television. The series truly delivered everything fans hoped for and more than its 2008 peers. –DB

Put it on when you want Anne Rice’s vampires to feel almost too much.

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Orange is the New Black (2013)

A series where khaki is the color of life

Based on Piper Kerman’s Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison (2010)

Subgenres: Ex-Inmates in Orbit • The Prison Industrial Complex as Villain • Group-Costume Plotlines

 

Being locked up alongside the ex who sent you inside isn’t just bad luck; it happened to Piper Kerman, who once aided a partner’s drug-smuggling scheme and then turned her memoir into this series. The humor, heart, and earnest critique of the U.S. prison system helped make it one of the early streaming era hits, expanding from Piper’s story to the series’ sprawling ensemble. It felt like everyone watched this show—your mother, your coworker, even the guy who’s usually skeptical about every death. –OS

Put it on when you’re in the mood to laugh—and maybe cry.

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. The Queen’s Gambit (8)

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Sherlock (2010)

The game is afoot

Based on: Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sherlock Holmes stories (1887-1927)

Subgenres: Tumblr-Favorite • They Should Have Kissed • Seeing the Mind Palace

 

For those who wandered the early 2010s online, it was possible to know every detail about Sherlock without ever watching it. This version places Holmes in a contemporary setting,using split screens, rapid cuts, and desaturated visuals to illustrate his deductions. Even if memes about Benedict Cumberbatch have fallen out of fashion, affection for Sherlock endures, proving why, a century after Doyle, we still care about Holmes and Watson. –OS

Put it on when you want to feel 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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The Queen’s Gambit (2020)

Chess, charisma, and coded cool

Based on: Walter Tevis’s The Queen’s Gambit (2003)

Subgenres: Lockdown Hit • Child Prodigy • High-Functioning Addicts • Mad Men-Era Allure • Redownloading the Chess App

 

In the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, a handful of surprising hits surfaced. The Queen’s Gambit stood out as a bright beacon—a coming-of-age tale about a chess prodigy grappling with addiction and patriarchy. The show oozed with 50s- and 60s-era charm, and its visual storytelling expanded on the book’s mood. Some fans argued Anya Taylor-Joy’s beauty redirected the character from the page, but the writing kept up a taut, cliffhanger-heavy rhythm that proved gripping. It also offered a glamorous, melancholic portrait of game enthusiasts during a very lonely period. –JF

Put it on when you want to see the whole board come into view.

See also:

If, like the rest of us, you’ve suddenly taken up chess, here are some books you should read.

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MATCHUP:

Station Eleven (5) vs. Watchmen (4)

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Station Eleven (2021)

Post-apocalyptic theater against the world

Based on: Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven (2015)

Subgenres: COVID Echoes • Beauty After the End • Gael García Bernal Forever

 

A flu pandemic destroys civilization, and a traveling theater troupe keeps hope alive among the ruins. This high-budget adaptation of a beloved novel sparked intense debate: some liberties tightened relationships in satisfying ways, while others felt the book’s ambiguities were made too tidy. Regardless, the production looks stunning, with strong acting and pacing that sustain prestige TV energy. The writing strives to tug at the heartstrings, and your reaction likely depends on your tolerance for melodrama.

Yet the show’s central argument—that art endures and guides memory in the darkest times—lands with particular force. It’s a study in how the books you reach for during hard moments become part of how you understand your life. –JF

Put it on when you need a cry and a memory of your favorite childhood read.

See also:

Don’t Worry, Station Eleven Isn’t Really a Pandemic Story • Every Coming-of-Age Story is an Apocalypse Story • What Kind of Pandemic Storytelling Do We Actually Need?

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Watchmen (2019)

A sequel? A remix? The finest comic-book era on television?

Based on: Alan Moore’s Watchmen (1986-87) (though Moore has his own opinions)

Subgenres: A Momentous Season of TV • Edgelord Misconceptions • American Reflection • Reznor/Ross Soundtracks • Alternate Realities

 

My skepticism about this series was high, given Alan Moore’s longstanding grumpiness about adaptations of his work. He famously dismissed the project, and questions about opening with the Tulsa Race Massacre also stirred debate. Yet the premiere hooked me, launching a nine-episode run that propelled the Watchmen story forward and demanded that we examine the white sheets in the closets of even the most well-meaning people. What does it mean for cops to wear masks and conceal identities? What other masks are we wearing? Whatever happened to Dr. Manhattan? And what is really going on with Jeremy Irons? If that opening episode’s setup and Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross score don’t grab you, at least wait for Jean Smart’s dramatic moment. –DB

Put it on when you want a superhero story that isn’t simply Marvel-fied.

See also:

Everything You Need to Know About the World of Watchmen • The Best Reporters in Comic Book History

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MATCHUP:

The Underground Railroad (6) vs. Shogun (3)

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The Underground Railroad (2021)

Speculative American history as directed by a singular voice

Based on: Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad (2016)

Subgenres: Barry Jenkins! • American Sins • Magical Realism

 

Whitehead’s novel set a high bar, earning every major prize and establishing itself as a landmark achievement. It arrived at a moment when a national reckoning felt overdue, urging memory and accountability. Barry Jenkins’ adaptation, with a stellar ensemble and a patient, artful approach, translates both the historical stakes and the novel’s magical realism with nuance. Although it surfaced in spring 2021 amid a culture not always ready for such weighty material, the miniseries remains deeply worth your time. –JF

Put it on when you want cinema-level immersion in a hard history.

See also:

Barry Jenkins’ Underground Railroad is Even More Challenging Than the Novel • What I Learned from a Close Read of All of Colson Whitehead’s Work • Read an Excerpt From The Underground Railroad

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Shogun (2024)

A stranger’s missteps in a foreign land, blades in the wind

Based on: James Clavell’s Shogun (1975)

Subgenres: Memed • Subtitles • Epic Conflicts • Straining White Men • Studying the Sword

 

Just when you thought epic prestige historical drama had exhausted its juice, Shogun arrived to prove otherwise. The series sprawls across a broad canvas with political upheaval, grand battles, and lighter moments of cross-cultural humor. The narrative follows the maelstrom unleashed after Dutch traders enter a Japan on the cusp of the Shogunate’s reconfiguration. It’s hard to pick a weak point: the production is sumptuous, the writing solid, and the performances—especially Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada—are magnetic. It remains faithful to Clavell’s 1975 novel while offering a grounded human texture that surpasses earlier TV attempts.

Why, then, isn’t it higher in the seedings? It may lean a little too safely into prestige format, lacking some bold risk-taking. Still, with more seasons in the pipeline, there’s ample opportunity for Shogun to redefine the boundaries of the genre. –JF

Put it on when you miss study-abroad days and want to relive them vicariously.

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MATCHUP:

Mindhunter (7) vs. Wolf Hall (2)

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Mindhunter (2017)

Brief chats with chilling men

Based on: John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit (2017)

Subgenres: Serial-Killer Case Studies• Muted Palette • Grotesques and Their Wicked Ways • The Male Loneliness Epidemic

 

Ah, Mindhunter, the series that dared to ask: what if Zodiac were a full 20 hours long and somehow even more unnerving? David Fincher’s stern, highly controlled murder drama—drawing from the FBI profilers who changed how the bureau understood killers—left us too soon, but its reign was intensely gripping while it lasted. Holden Ford (Groff) is the brilliant loner who parses his way into the minds of America’s most infamous killers. Bill Tench (McCallany) is the gruff partner with a soft center. Wendy Carr (Torv) is the unflappable psychologist who anchors the trio. Every Monster of the Week encounter is breath-stopping, with Cameron Britton’s Ed Kemper etching a particularly memorable mark. –DS

Put it on when you wish your partner would stop interrupting your conspiracy board time.

See also:

Meet the Forensic Expert Behind Mindhunter

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Wolf Hall (2015)

The King and I

Based on: Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (2009)

Subgenres: Courtroom Noir • Regency Machinations • Stiff Upper Lip Central

 

Mantel’s brilliance is a high-wire act, and Wolf Hall occupies a strange space for me: the books are extraordinary, yet a screen version can never fully eclipse that experience. Still, the first season sparkles—measured, cinematic, and carefully acted. Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, and Claire Foy inhabit calculating roles with a quiet intensity, and the way tone and power dynamics unfold is as much a study of human psychology as it is a historical tale. The build toward a charged climax feels earned, ending in a moment of dramatic payoff that lingers. The second season, though, loses a bit of its footing, and the subsequent books in Mantel’s trilogy would have benefited from fresh casting to refresh the dynamic. Still, that initial season remains a rare achievement. –JF

Put it on when you’re thinking about returning to school to study law or governance.

See also:

How My Friend Hilary Mantel Got Inside People’s Minds • Diplomacy Noir • How Much Real History Do You Need for a Historical Novel?

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MATCHUP:

Brideshead Revisited (1) vs. My Brilliant Friend (8)

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Brideshead Revisited (1981)

We have always remembered when we lived in the castle

Based on: Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited (1945)

Subgenres: Teddy Bears • Stiff Upper Lip • Era-Marked Transformations • Drugs, Booze & Privilege • Debating Catholicism

 

Evelyn Waugh’s humane humor sat beside a submerged conservatism—an uneasy balance. His most celebrated novel, Brideshead Revisited, longs for aristocracy while still recognizing its flaws, using class loyalty and personal bonds to explore the wartime shift. This miniseries, spanning eleven episodes, achieves a near one-to-one translation from page to screen, with many lines drawn directly from Waugh. The friendship forged between Charles Ryder and the opulent Lord Sebastian Flyte unfolds with restraint from Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, and the entire cast is allowed room to feel grief and longing on grand scale. Olivier even appears, as one would expect, while Delicatessen—the teddy bear of Aloysius fame—stuns as a minor, odd touch. It’s a timeless TV classic. –JF

Put it on when you’re wondering whether you should reach out to a former 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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My Brilliant Friend (2018)

Female friendship the Italian way

Based on: Elena Ferrante’s The Neapolitan quartet (2012-15)

Subgenres: Gorgeously Shot • 🤌 🤌 🤌 • Nino Sarratore Sucks In Every Medium • Do We Think Ferrante Had a Secret Cameo?

 

If you’ve followed Ferrante Fever, you know the hype around the Neapolitan novels. Ferrante’s blockbusters sparked a wave of conversations, and the adaptation’s stunning visual palette and Naples-at-its-best framing drew critical attention. Some viewers thought the pace too slow, but like the source material, patience is rewarded here. The show’s beauty and restraint make it a memorable viewing, even if it didn’t become the global phenomenon the books became. –JF

Put it on when you can’t afford a plane ticket to Europe.

See also:

My Brilliant Friend is the Kind of TV We Need Right Now: Slow • “Wade Into the Muck With Me.” On Reading and Re-Reading Elena Ferrante • Language Is the True Protagonist of My Brilliant Friend’s Third Season • Before the Neapolitan Quartet, There Was Sula

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MATCHUP:

Agatha Christie’s Poirot (12) vs. Lonesome Dove (4)

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Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1989)

Belgian stereotyping with a teacup on the side

Based on: Agatha Christie’s Poirot novels (1920-75)

Subgenres: Murder Follows the Protagonist • Elegant Tea Sets • Mid-Series Genre Shift

 

Agatha Christie’s Poirot ran for nearly a quarter-century, evolving through at least two major tonal shifts and a revolving door of prominent actors. Yet the one Poirot that stands out is David Suchet, delivering a performance that makes the detective’s fussy quirks feel endearing and his intellect a warm, patient curiosity about the people around him. The mustache remains impeccable, and the little gray cells are always busy. –CG

Put it on when you’re ready to Google at least one murder suspect per episode to verify the actor’s later movie stardom.

See also:

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist in history.

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Lonesome Dove (1989)

A sprawling Montana-scale epic

Based on: Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove (1985)

Subgenres: Ranch Life • Plans to Leave • Yeehaw • Walking Off Into The Sunset • Tears on a Dusty Trail

 

There’s been a recent wave of discussions about a Lonesome Dove renaissance. It’s a monumental novel, a lengthy classic that reads with the pace of a sunny thriller, and it became a screen success almost immediately. The four-episode miniseries drew record-breaking viewership and awards, thanks in part to a powerhouse cast. The author’s own reaction was complex: the adaptation’s grand scope reminded him of Gone with the Wind in the West. –JF

“I thought I had written about harsh times and harsher people,” he commented, “but the public heard something closer to an idealized West.” That’s TV for you. –JF

Put it on when you feel you’d look good in a cowboy hat.

See also:

The Book That Changed My Life • What If I’m Actually a Character in a Larry McMurtry Novel? • Orphans, Institutions, and Adventures Out West: Five Books About Unconventional Families

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MATCHUP:

Big Little Lies (11) vs. M*A*S*H (3)

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Big Little Lies (2017)

The Witherspoon-anchored TV machine’s blockbuster

Based on: Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies (2014)

Subgenres: Murder-Mystery • Wealthy California Moms • Threatening Men • Exceedingly Dramatic Kids

 

Whether you’re in the Moriarty demographic or not, Big Little Lies was a cultural force. It brought together Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, and Laura Dern in roles built for they way they dominate the screen. The characters’ affluent but emotionally turbulent lives made the show compulsively watchable, and the murder-mystery element only deepened the pull. The production’s glossy surface and the ensemble’s magnetism created a habit-forming experience that’s still talked about. And beyond the thrill, the show invited viewers to interrogate power, performance, and complicity in intimate circles. –JH

Put it on when you need a reminder that wealth does not guarantee happiness.

See also:

Women Can Lead Lives of Quiet Desperation Too

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M*A*S*H (1972)

Pranks among peril

Based on: Richard Hooker’s MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors (1968)

Subgenres: War Is Bad • Wisecracking Is Fun

 

Iconic anti-war comedy M*A*S*H pushed the boundaries of what a TV comedy could be, merging drama and sharp social commentary with humor. A spin-off from the 1970 film directed by Robert Altman and drawn from Hooker’s novel, it ran for 11 seasons and culminated in a finale that, at the time, was the most-watched broadcast episode in U.S. television history. Set during the Korean War, it paradoxically echoed and criticized the United States’ later conflicts in Vietnam. Today it’s a beloved classic for a reason, helped by its balance of levity and critique. –OS

Put it on when you need a history lesson with personality.

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MATCHUP:

Olive Kitteridge (10) vs. Pride & Prejudice (2)

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Olive Kitteridge (2014)

A family saga told with care

Based on: Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge (2008)

Subgenres: Fictional Maine • Family Dramas • Ann Dowd Can Do Anything

 

Olive Kitteridge honors its Pulitzer-winning source by weaving the linked stories into a coherent, patient miniseries. Olive, though not the central protagonist, is the town’s central presence in Crosby, Maine, brought to life by Frances McDormand’s precise performance as a woman whose prickly exterior shields tender hope. The drama contains its share of heartbreak, but humor regularly punctuates the narrative, including a memorable hostage scenario with Olive and her spouse. It takes actors of real range to anchor a scene with that mix of gravity and whimsy. –JF

Put it on when you crave a viewing experience that feels like reading a novel.

See also:

Six of the Best Bad Women in Fiction • Writing “Women of a Certain Age.” A Roundtable on Crafting Older Female Characters in Fiction • Romance Finely Aged: On the Unique Dynamic of Older Couples

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Pride and Prejudice (1995)

The celebrated Pride and Prejudice

Based on: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813)

Subgenres: Bonnets • Yearning • Water-Cooler Material in the Pre-Internet Era • Every Scene as Great Literature

 

Is there a TV mini that’s ever been more cherished? Adapting Austen with meticulous fidelity, this Pride and Prejudice instantly became a cross-Atlantic sensation. The young Jennifer Ehle’s Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy launched a pop-cultural icon, transforming Firth into a leading man and sending countless fans into a flirtatious frenzy. Since then, there have been several revivals, but for purists, nothing tops the original. –CG

Put it on when you crave charged flirts in a drawing room.

See also:

Martin Amis on the Genius of Jane Austen (and What the Adaptations Get Wrong) • Every Mr. Darcy Ranked • Why We Still Love Mr. Darcy, 200 Years Later

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We’re really moving along now! See you tomorrow for the round of 16.