Over 90 TV Series Based on Books Coming in 2026

“And now what do we watch?” is perhaps one of the questions that paralyzes the most TV series fans, when they find the remote tightly in their hands, some snacks ready to be crunched, but… a great underlying indecision ruling the moment. Not because there is a shortage of alternatives to consider, but rather because navigating between platforms, genres and themes so numerous can lead to a true “choice paralysis.”

So, if you’re looking for some new releases coming in 2026 to dispel any doubts and, above all, if you love adaptations from novels, graphic novels, manga and comics, it’s likely that in this article you’ll find a solid answer to your question (month by month, almost).

TV series adapted from books coming up…

As tradition dictates, we begin the year by recommending a wealth of Italian and international productions that blend small-screen entertainment with the world of literature, joining our specials on films adapted from books in 2026, on books of 2026 not to miss (and we’re referring to hundreds of new titles that we wrote about in advance) and on Italian narrative debuts of 2026 arriving in bookstores in the coming months.

A compact list, that of TV series adapted from books coming up in the next 12 months, in continuous update, which does not pretend to be exhaustive and whose titles are not ranked by importance, designed to accompany you season after season (and mood after mood), among atmospheres of mystery, comedy, historical, fantasy, sci-fi and romantic, to name just a few of the most present.

From the most awaited adaptations by critics and audiences to the hidden gems you might not yet have heard of, including new seasons of beloved stories, here are more than 80 TV series adapted from books in 2026 that won’t disappoint your expectations…

Index

• The most anticipated 2026 TV series adapted from books
• The new seasons of TV series adapted from books releasing in 2026
• Crime and mystery-based TV series 2026
• TV series 2026 adapted from historical, family and social-themed books
• Adaptations of romance and YA
• Adaptations of fantasy and romantasy
• TV series 2026 inspired by science fiction books
• TV series 2026 adapted from comics and graphic novels

Which book-based TV series coming in 2026 are the most anticipated?

The year 2026 promises to be the moment when the world of streaming will change its face (or at least renew it), if we consider even just the recent talks about the purchase of the historic production house Warner Bros. — and yet, among these and other transformations we may witness, some certainties still endure, at least regarding the release dates of some of the most awaited TV series adapted from books in 2026 at the moment.

We start with a flagship new title that debuts on January 1, namely Run Away, a thriller miniseries available on Netflix, which takes its cue from the eponymous bestseller by the acclaimed American writer Harlan Coben, translated into Italian as Fuga (Longanesi, translated by Stefania Cherchi): the protagonist is Simon, (James Nesbitt, already seen in Missing You), whose daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) runs away from home without leaving a trace, triggering a high-tension search…

There’s also buzz around Gomorra – Le Origini, a prequel to Gomorra, the internationally renowned TV series created by Leonardo Fasoli, Maddalena Ravagli and Roberto Saviano, based on the cult novel (published by Mondadori) by the Neapolitan writer and journalist born in 1979: “A journey into the past of Pietro Savastano, future boss of Secondigliano, and his descent into the hell of crime,” reports Sky TG24: appointment on Sky and streaming on NOW from January 9.

To note among the 2026 book-adapted TV series we’ll see this year is also A Tale of Two Cities, a four-episode miniseries produced by BBC and MGM+, set in London and Paris in the period preceding the French Revolution.

Distinctive feature? Kit Harington in the role of Sydney Carton, the main character of a story that speaks of inequality, freedom and politics, inspired by the novel Les deux villes (Newton Compton, translation by Silvio Spaventa Filippi) by the great English writer Charles Dickens. To watch its eight episodes on Amazon Prime Video, you’ll have to wait until September 6 (in the meantime, here you’ll find more details about the novel and the TV series).

Not forgetting a Netflix event series we’ll hear more about in the coming months, which will arrive on the platform on December 3, close to the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of one of the UK’s most-read authors: the evergreen Jane Austen. What we’ll see is, in fact, a new adaptation of her Pride and Prejudice (Garzanti, translated by Isa Maranesi), scripted in 6 episodes by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn (director of Heartstopper), with Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy.

Preceded, from September 26, by a spin-off tied again to the author’s masterpiece, drawing from the novel The Other Bennet Sister (also known as The Forgotten Sister and brought to Italy by Piemme, translated by Rachele Salerno) by Janice Hadlow, and titled The Other Bennet Sister – Pride and Redemption. The production will be available in ten episodes on Sky Serie and on NOW, with a double episode every Saturday, featuring the younger sister Mary Bennet, portrayed by Ella Bruccoleri.

From February 13, returning to Netflix, the new TV series The Museum of Innocence, based on the eponymous novel (Einaudi, translated by Barbara La Rosa Salim) by Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk, will also be broadcast: a Turkish production in 9 episodes set between the 1970s and 1980s, with Tilbe Saran, Bülent Emin Yarar, Gülçin Kültür Şahin and Ercan Kesal.

On Sky and Now TV, starting February 22, the TV series adaptation of the famous novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a Nobel Prize in Literature winner, will be available, produced by the BBC and presented as a modern retelling. The screenplay is by Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, Enola Holmes and Adolescence) and the direction by Marc Munden (The Secret Garden, The Sympathizer).

Meanwhile, at the end of summer, and more precisely on September 16, fans of the much-loved British author Lee Child will have only to go to Amazon Prime Video to enjoy the release of the first spin-off of Reacher (the TV series adapted from the novel The Enemy): we’re talking about Neagley, which, as the title suggests, will focus on the private investigator Frances Neagley (played by Maria Sten). When she discovers that a close friend from her past died in a suspicious accident, the woman becomes determined to seek justice using everything she learned from Jack Reacher…

New seasons not to be missed

Before venturing into the TV series adapted from books that will launch in 2026, there are also numerous new seasons that are about to return to the small screen after already capturing the attention of thousands of fans.

Starting with the third season of Tell Me Lies, exclusive to Disney+ from January 13 (based on Tell Me Lies – Dimmi bugie by Carola Lovering, which Magazzini Salani published in Italian translated by Barbara Ronca), and the fourth season of Bridgerton (an adaptation of the Regency romance series by Julia Quinn, published by Mondadori), whose new episodes will arrive on Netflix between January 29 and February 26.

Also in February, two other successes return: first, Cross, the TV series based on the novels of thriller maestro James Patterson, which will return to Amazon Prime Video for a second season from February 11, continuing to follow the adventures of detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge), who appears in more than 30 bestselling books by the author (published in Italy by Longanesi).

And, secondly, The Last Thing He Told Me, which has also reached its second season, streaming on Apple TV+ from February 20, for those who want to dive again into the universe of the novel The Last Thing He Told Me (Piemme, translated by Giada Fattoretto) by Laura Dave.

But the new seasons of TV series adapted from books you’ll see in 2026 don’t end here, and here is an alphabetical list (and continually updated) of those we suggest:

• Reacher (fourth season): on Amazon Prime Video the adaptation of the tense novel The Enemy by prolific English writer Lee Child (Longanesi, translated by Adria Francesca Tissoni). The 12 August will bring the first three episodes, while the subsequent ones will drop every Wednesday until 16 September;
• One Hundred Years of Solitude (second season): also in August, on Netflix, the continuation of the TV series based on the famous novel by Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez (Mondadori, translated by Ilide Carmignani);
• Daredevil – Rebirth (second season): recently confirmed, though the date is yet to be announced, with Matt Murdock and Krysten Ritter on Disney+ to interpret Daredevil and Jessica Jones in the adaptation of the famous Frank Miller (Marvel Comics) graphic novel;
• The Rings of Power (third season): release planned for the second half of the year for the fantasy series based on the masterpieces by J.R.R. Tolkien (Adelphi and Bompiani), broadcast again on Amazon Prime Video;
• House of the Dragon (third season): the spin-off of Game of Thrones, the fantasy TV saga by George R. R. Martin (Mondadori), will return to Sky and NOW during the summer;
• The Three-Body Problem (second season): good news for the Netflix series inspired by the well-known novel (Mondadori, translation by Benedetta Tavani) by Cixin Liu, with the release date to be announced later;
• Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (second season): for those who love Peter Parker, in autumn 2026, you can dive back into the animated Disney+ series following Spider-Man on his path to becoming the hero we know from the comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko;
• Invincible (fourth season): on Amazon Prime Video, in March new episodes of the animated TV series based on the same-named comic by Robert Kirkman (SaldaPress), featuring Mark Grayson, aka Omni-Man;
• Batman – Caped Crusader (second season): again on Amazon Prime Video, on July 31 we’ll see the animated hard-boiled series about the early years of DC’s beloved hero, created by Bruce Timm and featuring Bob Kane and Bill Finger;
• Interview with the Vampire (third season): the horror series born from the eponymous longseller (Tea) by Anne Rice reaches its third season, titled The Vampire Lestat, with its 7 episodes released on Amazon Prime Video from June 7;
• Terra de cenere (third season): investigations of the character born from the pen of Ilaria Tuti and interpreted by Elena Sofia Ricci in I casi di Teresa Battaglia – Figlia della cenere (directed by Kiko Rosati), which will include 8 new episodes;
• Maxton Hall (third season): on Amazon Prime Video, perhaps in the second half of the year, the sequel of the New Adult romance trilogy based on Mona Kasten (Sperling & Kupfer, translated by Alessandra Petrelli);
• Lupin (fourth season): inspired by the collection of stories Arsène Lupin – Gentleman Thief (Magazzini Salani, translated by Giordano Poloni), returns to Netflix on October 23 for a TV series in 8 episodes starring the cunning Assane Diop, played by Omar Sy;
• One Piece (second season): also the live-action series of the record-breaking manga by Eiichirō Oda (Star Comics) will soon return to the small screen, more precisely on March 10 on Netflix;
• Outlander (eighth season): in March, on Sky and NOW, the popular Outlander TV series will reach its conclusion, based on the eponymous fantasy-historical saga by Diana Gabaldon (Corbaccio and Mondadori);
• Good Omens (third season): due to legal charges involving Neil Gaiman, the creator of the TV series and co-author of the novel from which it is adapted, who had written with Terry Pratchett (recently published by Mondadori), the final season of Good Omens will consist of one episode, available on Amazon Prime Video from May 13;
• The Boys (fifth season): on April 8, on Amazon Prime Video, it resumes with 8 new episodes of the TV series adapted from the eponymous comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Panini Comics);
• How to Kill a Mockingbird (second season): from May 27, simultaneously on Netflix and on the British platform BBC iPlayer, the 6 new episodes of the mystery with Emma Myers and Zain Iqbal, based on the eponymous YA bestseller by Holly Jackson (BUR Rizzoli);
• The Night Manager (second season): space also again on Amazon Prime Video, for the 8 episodes of the new season of The Night Manager, available from March 4 and drawn from the spy story The Night Manager (Mondadori, translated by Ettore Capriolo) by John le Carré;
• Silo (third season): will begin on July 3, on Apple TV+, the new season of the dystopian production starring Rebecca Ferguson, based on the series of novels by Hugh Howey, brought to Italy by Fanucci. After the first episode, the subsequent ones will be released every Friday until September 4;
• The Witcher (fifth season): on Netflix, likely in the autumn, we will also be able to watch the final season of The Witcher, the prolific fantasy saga created by Andrzej Sapkowski (Editrice Nord), which over time has given rise to various reinterpretations and adaptations;
• Uno splendido errore (third season): also on Netflix, by 2026, the continuation of the adaptation of the YA saga (Newton Compton, translated by Ilaria Maria Ghisletti) by Ali Novak (in English, My Life with the Walter Boys);
• The Artful Dodger (second season): from February 10, on Disney+, the series continues, the TV adaptation of Oliver Twist (Feltrinelli, translated by Bruno Amato) by Charles Dickens, the spinoff with Maia Mitchell and Thomas Brodie-Sangster set many years after the events of the novel;
• Violet as the Sea (third season): after the positive reception of the previous seasons and the fans’ involvement, Francesca Chillemi and Can Yaman will return to Canale 5 with the fiction freely inspired by Conosci l’estate? (Sellerio) by Simona Tanzini;
• The Last Thing I Told You (second season): from February 20, on Apple TV, we will re-encounter the thriller series based on the books by Laura Dave: this time the starting point will be the second book of the saga, The First Time I Saw Him, still unpublished in Italy;
• Virgin River (seventh season): announced in the first part of the year the revival on Netflix of the romance series based on the eponymous novels by author Robyn Carr (HarperCollins Italia), about which we will soon know more details;
• Ransom Canyon (second season): there are eight new episodes planned for the Netflix western-romance series inspired by the Jodi Thomas novels (Newton Compton), to be watched on the platform starting July 23;
• Slow Horses (sixth season): on AppleTV+ September 16 returns Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman), the protagonist of the acclaimed thriller saga by Mick Herron brought to Italy by Feltrinelli;
• X-Men ’97 (second season): the summer 2026 on Disney+ promises the revived animated series that will again draw from the Unstoppable X-Men from 1992.

TV series 2026 based on crime and detective books

But let’s now turn to the TV series debuting in 2026, focusing first on those adapted from crime novels and related genres: mystery, noir and police procedurals, up to investigative thrillers.

Two productions tied to the great names of classic crime have understandably aroused curiosity in recent weeks: on January 15 on Netflix, and on March 4 on Amazon Prime Video, we will witness the launch of I Sette Quadranti di Agatha Christie, based on the eponymous novel by the great English writer (Mondadori, translated by Ombretta Giumelli), and Young Sherlock, which will tell the origins of the unforgettable detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, portrayed by Hero Fiennes Tiffin and directed by Guy Ritchie.

Equally intriguing is the announcement for the arrival on June 18 of I Will Find You – Wherever You Are, a Netflix miniseries based on the eponymous novel by the already mentioned Harlan Coben (Longanesi, translated by Luca Bernardi), with Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Logan Browning and Erin Richards, and the TV series Scarpetta (on Amazon Prime Video, from March 11), based on the famous Patricia Cornwell novel series with forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta, played by Nicole Kidman and supported by Jamie Lee Curtis.

On March 6, on Sky and NOW, arrives then Avvocato Ligas, a legal drama that will follow, just a few days after the book’s publication in stores, Un caso complicato per l’avvocato Ligas – Perdenti (Corbaccio) by the late journalist and author Gianluca Ferraris, with Luca Argentero in the role of Ligas, a brilliant, controversial and unpredictable barrister.

On Amazon Prime Video, February 18, we will be able to watch 56 Days, a thriller with erotic tones based on the eponymous novel (Fazi, translated by Giuseppe Marano) by the Irish writer Catherine Ryan Howard: set in Dublin at the onset of the pandemic and developed in 8 episodes that revolve around attraction, secrets and death, with leads Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia as Clara Wyse and Oliver Kennedy.

Meanwhile on Netflix, from January 8, those who loved La tua verità (Nord, translated by Grazia Brundu) by Alice Feeney can enjoy the adaptation in 6 episodes of this psychological thriller under the title His and Hers, developed by William Oldroyd (also director and co-showrunner) together with Dee Johnson. And, for fans of Jo Nesbø, we note Detective Hole, the TV series premiering on March 26 (also on Netflix), which adapts the Norwegian author’s fifth novel about the eponymous detective, titled Devil’s Star (Einaudi).

More on the thriller and action front is rather Man on Fire – A Hunger for Vengeance, a seven-episode miniseries launching on Netflix from April 30, inspired by the eponymous novel (unpublished in Italy) by English author A. J. Quinnell, pen name of Philip Nicholson: about a former mercenary with post-traumatic stress who decides to protect the daughter of a former colleague who became an orphan and to avenge his family’s death. With Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Billie Boullet, Alice Braga and Scoot McNairy.

Mark the date on the calendar for those who loved The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn (or who may still read it, since in Italy it has not yet been published): the date September 9 will be the day when Apple TV+ will release the thriller series Last Seen: after the first two episodes, a new one will follow every Wednesday until October 7, where the detective Ian Ridley (Patrick Brammall) must relentlessly continue the search for his missing daughter Maggie.

Netflix, in the meantime, is gearing up for a big event series focusing on Legends, a spy thriller directed by Neil Forsyth and based on the volume The Betrayer – How An Undercover Unit Infiltrated The Global Drug Trade, written by Guy Stanton with Peter Walsh, which from May 7 will focus on a British customs undercover operation from the 1990s.

Between autumn and winter 2026, it will be the turn of Harry Potter, the cult series born from the pen of J.K. Rowling, which after the cinema success of the 2000s is now reimagined as a serial format, aimed at deepening characters, places and subplots less explored in the films. The first season, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, devoted entirely to the first volume of the seven-book saga, will feature Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as Harry, Hermione and Ron, ready to begin their friendship and a series of increasingly gripping adventures through the corridors of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.



IN ATTESA DELLA SERIE TV, SCOPRI CON IL NOSTRO QUIZ QUANTO CONOSCI IL LIBRO HARRY POTTER E LA PIETRA FILOSOFALE

Equally talked-about is the Netflix arrival of the six-episode miniseries based on I ragazzi di Anansi by Neil Gaiman (Mondadori, translated by Katia Bagnoli), awaited for several years and expected to premiere by 2026, with a cast including Delroy Lindo, Malachi Kirby, Grace Saif, Whoopi Goldberg, Fiona Shaw and Jason Watkins.

There is already much talk about Fourth Wing, the romantasy series linked to the The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros (Sperling & Kupfer, translated by Marta Lanfranco), of which Fourth Wing is the first volume: Moira Walley-Beckett is directing, and we’ll see it soon on Amazon Prime Video.

Also on Amazon Prime Video will debut in the coming months The Inheritance Games, inspired by the romantasy duology by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Sperling & Kupfer, translated by Cristina Brambilla), while on Netflix we must not miss Quicksilver, inspired by the dark fantasy series by Callie Hart (Rizzoli, translated by Cristina Proto), highly acclaimed on #BookTok, with a launch planned for the end of 2026.

TV series 2026 inspired by science fiction books

Proceeding with our excursion into 2026 TV series in the sci-fi genre, which certainly stands out—after more than eight years since the launch of The Handmaid’s Tale, the cult series inspired by Margaret Atwood’s long-selling novel The Handmaid’s Tale (Ponte alle Grazie, translated by Camillo Pennati) — the sequel The Testaments, based on the second volume of the story, namely I testamenti (Ponte alle Grazie, translated by Guido Calza).

Set 15 years after the events of the original series and produced as always by Hulu (with Elisabeth Moss as executive producer), it will be available on Disney+ in April, and will see the return of Ann Dowd in the cast, alongside new characters played by Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Rowan Blanchard, Mattea Conforti, Mabel Li, Amy Seimetz and Brad Alexander.

Meanwhile, early buzz is already circulating about Neuromancer, the Apple TV production that will kick off with a ten-episode season toward the end of the year, taking us into the universe of the cyberpunk classic Neuromancer (Mondadori, translated by Tommaso Pincio) by William Gibson, which will come to life under the direction of J. D. Dillard and with a cast that includes Mark Strong, Callum Turner and Briana Middleton.

And, after months of uncertainties and delays due to Hollywood strikes, 2026 should also be the year of Blade Runner 2099, the long-awaited miniseries with Michelle Yeoh (and David Zucker as executive producer), which takes its cue from the masterwork of Philip K. Dick (the groundbreaking science fiction writer to whom we dedicated a special here), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Mondadori, translated by Marinella Magrì), linking to Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.

TV series 2026 adapted from comics, anime and graphic novels

We now come to the 2026 TV series that, by their nature, tend to go beyond literal adaptations, reinterpreting the sensibility of the volumes they reference, often in a contemporary light: those drawn from comics and graphic novels, which will give us the chance not only to watch, but also to (re)read, from a new perspective, stories we thought we already knew.

First on the calendar is Spider-Noir, the live-action TV series in which Amazon Prime Video rides the wave of Spider-Man’s success in Spider-Man – Into the Spider-Verse, reintroducing Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage in the role of the Marvel superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. This adaptation will feature a black-and-white cinematography, halfway between a detective thriller and a existential drama, with more details to emerge in the coming months.

For those who want to temper the wait, from January 22 you’ll find on Disney+ the new FX series by Ryan Murphy and Matthew Hodgson, with the first 3 episodes released immediately and the next 10 arriving every Thursday. It is called The Beauty, and it features in its cast Evan Peters, Rebecca Hall, Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope, and is based on the comic series The Beauty – Obsessed with Beauty (Panini Comics) by Jeremy Haun and Jason Hurley, a thriller, contemporary and disturbing tale about the cult of appearance.

Also with Disney+ in mind, we cannot overlook MCU-related projects, starting with Wonder Man, the eight-episode TV series arriving on January 28 and centered on a modern-day actor named Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen), who struggles to land roles and dreams of portraying his childhood hero, the famous Wonder Man of Marvel Comics.

Between autumn and winter 2026, VisionQuest will be the eight-episode miniseries that will close the WandaVision and Agatha All Along trilogy. The main character will be Vision (Paul Bettany)—the character created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, who first appeared in issue no. 57 of The Avengers (Marvel Comics, October 1968)—now facing a journey of self-discovery and the recovery of memories he lost.

To counterbalance the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there will be Lanterns, the new TV series from DC Studios, starring John Stewart and Hal Jordan (portrayed by Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler), written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof (author of Watchmen and Lost) and the cartoonist Tom King (Batman and Detective Comics).

A production in 8 episodes that should air on HBO Max in summer 2026 and which, according to official synopsis, “will be a mystery in the vein of True Detective, in which the two Lanterns must investigate a terrifying earthly mystery with repercussions across the entire DC Universe” (the DC Comics franchise created by James Gunn and Peter Safran).

For the adults and children who want to discover a laboratory of laughter, visual surprises and word games, we also note the launch of Try Not to Laugh!, with its 46 self-contained animated episodes of about six minutes each, available from May 18 on Rai Gulp and RaiPlay. Produced by the publishing house Tunué in collaboration with Rai Kids, the TV series borrows from the eponymous book by Pera Toons, the pen name of Alessandro Perugini, one of the most loved content creators of these years, as well as a bestselling author, who aims to amuse and stimulate curiosity.

For manga lovers, among the 2026 must-see TV series there is also Fist of the North Star – Hokuto no Ken, which reinterprets the famous Ken the Warrior series (Panini Comics) by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara in the 40th anniversary of its release, offering a new animation experience featuring the Japanese voice cast of Yuichi Nakamura (Rei), Ruriko Aoki (Mamiya) and Koichi Yamadera (narrator). Debut is expected on April 10 on Amazon Prime Video.

And we conclude our special on the 2026 TV series with a bonus track that may deviate slightly from the adaptation-from-books concept, but still involves one of Italy’s most successful contemporary cartoonists, Michele Rech, better known as Zerocalcare.

Appreciated for his graphic novels (such as La profezia dell’armadillo, Un polpo alla gola and Kobane calling, all published by Bao Publishing) and for his vignettes in a variety of media, as well as for his audiobooks, short animated pieces, murals and films, the Roman artist born in 1983 will soon return to the world of TV series with Due Spicci, which from May 27 will continue the Netflix saga of Strappare lungo i bordi and Questo mondo non mi renderà cattivo, with Valerio Mastandrea reprising the voice of his inseparable Armadillo.

For the many other new releases not yet announced that could arrive on the small screen in 2026, the recommendation is one: stay tuned…