No list of the best television adaptations would be complete without at least one entry by Andrew Davies, adapter extraordinaire, and the man behind countless book-to-TV-and-film series from Pride and Prejudice to Vanity Fair to Bleak House to War and Peace, Les Misérables and more. Why House of Cards? Because it, and its 2014 Netflix US reworking, show exactly what can be done when a clever book is translated cleverly to screen.
It’s the story of Tory chief whip Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson)’s Machiavellian rise to power in British politics, and as such, it’s about everything: class, influence, snobbery, money, evil, ambition – all the great themes are covered in its three x four-episode series (the BBC original has 12 episodes total; the US version went all the way up to 73). It set a standard for grown-up drama led by despicable yet extremely watchable characters. Without House of Cards, would TV’s golden age antihero have even existed? – LM
6. I, Claudius (1976)
Based on: I, Claudius by Robert Graves
Compelling, sexy, funny, and with the writing, directing and cast (if not quite the budget) to achieve its vast ambition, Jack Pulman’s BBC adaptation of Robert Graves’ I, Claudius and Claudius the God is an all-time classic. This retelling of events from the early Roman Empire has all the scheming, double-dealing, murder and skulduggery of Game of Thrones and House of Cards put together. Admittedly, its theatrical sets and acting style feel a little out of place now, but – as we said here – don’t let that keep you from a gripping and intrigue-filled drama. A young Derek Jacobi (well, these days, a young everybody) leads a packed cast including Siân Phillips, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir John Hurt, Brian Blessed and more. – LM
5. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017 – 2025)
Based on: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
A prestige TV drama for a prestigious literary novel. A common fear with screen adaptations is that they’ll bowdlerise, gloss over, and concertina story, but Bruce Miller’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 feminist dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale did exactly the opposite; it went deeper, expanding incidental details from Atwood’s original to create a fully conceived world inside and outside of Gilead – the corrupt theocracy that replaced the United States of America after a military coup. Due to end after its soon-to-come sixth season (with an adaptation of Atwood’s follow-up novel The Testaments also promised), The Handmaid’s Tale is an astonishing achievement. A large part of that is down to star, producer and sometime director Elisabeth Moss, who has been to hell and back with her character Offred/June. Dark, confrontational, unsettling and with iconic imagery, this is the adaptation every novel deserves. – LM
