The Queen's Gambit is Netflix's latest and greatest offering - a wonderful show about a chess prodigy who rises in the global rankings and falls victim to drug abuse and alcoholism. Like many shows distributed and/or produced by Netflix, it was based on a novel.
Netflix produces a lot of great original content. Some of this content is entirely original - that is to say, an original story not based on previously published material. Other shows and miniseries are based on novels and short stories. Some may be obvious adaptations, but others, not so obvious.
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
As stated in the intro, The Queen's Gambit is based on a novel. Named after a chess move of the same name, The Queen's Gambit was written by a man named Walter Tevis and originally published back in 1983.
Like the show, the novel was widely praised for its technical depiction of chess. Tevis consulted with national chess master Bruce Pandolfini while writing the novel to ensure the highest degree of accuracy. Funnily enough, Pandolfini later consulted with showrunner Scott Frank on the miniseries adaptation.
The Witcher (2019 - )
The Witcher was one of Netflix's most popular series in 2019, a fact that was undoubtedly aided by the star power of Henry Cavill and the legacy of the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Due to the popularity of the video game, some people erroneously believe that The Witcher series is based on the games. In reality, they are adapted from Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski's book series. Consisting of novels and various short stories, The Witcher is one of Poland's most beloved fictional exports.
Orange Is The New Black (2013 - 2019)
Orange Is the New Black was one of Netflix's most popular shows. Overseen by showrunner Jenji Kohan, the show lasted a solid seven seasons and 91 episodes, making it one of Netflix's longest-running fictional programs.
The show is loosely adapted from Piper Kerman's memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison. Published in 2010, the memoir details Piper's past as a drug runner and the people she interacted with while in prison. The show obviously adds a lot of detail, considering it ran for nearly 100 episodes.
The Last Kingdom (2015 - )
The Last Kingdom was originally aired on BBC Two before it was picked up by Netflix for a third season. After season three proved successful through the streaming service, Netflix renewed the show for a fourth season that premiered in April of 2020.
The Last Kingdom has some hefty source material, as it's based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxton Stories. The long and dense series is comprised of 12 individual historical novels spanning from The Last Kingdom, published in 2004, to 2019's Sword of Kings.
13 Reasons Why (2017 - 2020)
13 Reasons Why fell victim to a needlessly elongated story. Unlike Orange Is the New Black, it couldn't find its own identity and floundered once it surpassed the source material.
Said source material is Jay Asher's young adult novel Thirteen Reasons Why. Published in 2007, the novel earned considerable praise and won numerous awards - although it did draw some controversy for its graphic depictions of suicide, bullying, and sexual assault.
The Haunting Of Bly Manor (2020)
The Haunting of Hill House was quite obviously adapted from Shirley Jackson's iconic horror novel. It shares the same name, and The Haunting of Hill House is one of the most beloved and influential horror novels ever published.
What's not so obvious is the inspiration for The Haunting of Bly Manor. Unlike its predecessor, this one doesn't share a name with its inspiration and said inspiration isn't nearly as popular. Bly Manor was adapted from the wider works of author Henry James, with a particular emphasis based on his 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw.
You (2018 - )
You is another Netflix series that was borrowed from another channel. The first season aired on Lifetime but proved particularly popular on Netflix.
It was renewed for a second season and moved to the streaming service, and a third season is scheduled to be released some time in 2021. The series is based on two novels written by author Caroline Kepnes. The first, You, was published in 2014. A sequel, titled Hidden Bodies, was published in February of 2016. The show would follow nearly three years later.
Mindhunter (2017 - 2019)
Mindhunter is quite a depraved show, as it follows a group of FBI agents who interview serial killers to get insights into their minds and motives. Despite the troubling subject matter, the story is unfortunately adapted from true events.
Co-written by FBI agent John Douglas and author Mark Olshaker, Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit was published in 1995 and concerns Douglas's profiling of prolific murderers, like the Atlanta child killer and Edmund Kemper (both cases/killers appear in the show).
Altered Carbon (2018 - 2020)
Altered Carbon was one of Netflix's most ambitious projects. Unfortunately, it never earned great reviews and failed to find an audience, resulting in its canning after two seasons. Regardless, the series has picked up a considerable cult following, which is largely due to its ambitious story and stellar visuals.
The show is not an original - rather, it was adapted from Richard K. Morgan's cyberpunk novel of the same name, published back in 2002. It was followed by two sequels - Broken Angels in 2003 and Woken Furies in 2005.
Cursed (2020)
Like 13 Reasons Why, Cursed was led by the excellent Katherine Langford. Premiering on July 17, 2020, it received mixed reviews, with some criticizing its story and writing and others praising Langford's leading performance as Nimue.
The show was adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, which was created by Tom Wheeler and famous graphic novelist Frank Miller, the same man behind works like Sin City and 300. The story re-tells the famous Arthurian legend from the point of view of The Lady of the Lake.