Why are the series and movies we watch now adaptations of books?

BarcelonaLast weekend, three of the five highest-grossing films were literary adaptations: the one by Wuthering Heights (which has raised 1.82 million euros in the State), the one of Hamnet (565,000 euros) and that ofThe assistant (€467,000). On Netflix, the streaming platform with the most subscribers, the list of most-watched English-language series globally during the week of February 9-15 also includes various book adaptations: The Bridgertons, Lincoln's lawyer and He and sheThis week, two of the standout premieres are, in fact, literary adaptations: the thriller erotic 56 days and the last season of Like Water for ChocolateThis is a version of the novel by Mexican author Laura Esquivel, which was also adapted for the big screen. Literary adaptations are nothing new in film or television, but rarely have they been so ubiquitous, to the point of wondering where all the new or original ideas have gone.

The fever for literary adaptations isn't limited to film or television; it has also made its presence felt in the theater. In the case of the Catalan stage, the 2025-2026 season has been and will be marked by various adaptations, such as Absalom, Absalom!, by William Faulkner, which can be seen at the TNC; Death and Spring, by Mercè Rodoreda, also programmed by the TNC, and The teacher and Margarita, which was performed at the Teatre Lliure.

"It's not just book adaptations; they're also acquiring intellectual property (IP) from everything they can, whether it's a novel, a video game, or real-life cases. There's so much competition between platforms to capture viewers that you have to add more value to the projects you create. Before, a screenwriter would come up with an idea and that was enough, but now you have to add value to stand out from other series. If you jump on the bandwagon of things that are already famous, you attract the target audience of the novel, the video game, or whatever it may be," explains screenwriter Marta Grau Rafel. She details that often when screenwriters try to sell an original idea to a production company, they encounter more resistance because they don't have a group of potential viewers who are sure to watch the series or film.

This trend has led to original ideas becoming less common, but Grau Rafel points out that, ultimately, screenwriters are also responsible for adaptations. However, he admits that the situation is "frustrating" because there are fewer opportunities to develop original ideas, which is why many screenwriters end up writing books. Jordi Frades, deputy general manager of Diagonal TV, a production company that has adapted novels such as The Cathedral of the Sea either The Gypsy BrideThis coincides with Grau Rafel's diagnosis, and he also confirms that he has noticed many screenwriters making the leap into the literary world.

Frades explains that the publishing industry itself has realized the market niche that audiovisual adaptations represent and, in many cases, is now directly offering its books to production companies. "When selling a project to a platform, with a book you start with an existing plot, and that means everything is already much more detailed than with an original idea for which you only have a ten-page synopsis," he adds. "With an original idea, the potential for success is untested," says Frades, who highlights cases such as that of The assistantA winning horse after selling countless copies. One of the latest adaptations Diagonal TV has been involved in is the series adaptation of two of the romance author's novels. best-seller Megan Maxwell, I'm not asking for much. and What are you waiting for? (this last title is the one that gives the series its name).

The deputy director general of Diagonal TV asserts that the industry is currently experiencing a peak in literary adaptations due to high production demand. "There's such a need for production because there are so many platforms that novels often end up taking precedence," he emphasizes. Screenwriter and writer Carmen Fernández Villalba recalls once presenting a series project to a producer, who told her he liked it very much, but that if it were a book, "he would buy it immediately." "He suggested I write it as a book first. If I brought him the book first, the series project had more guarantees. If it's already published, it's moved to another level," explains this member of the board of Guionistes Associats de Catalunya (Screenwriters Association of Catalonia). She also points out that there's a status issue at play in this whole landscape: "Someone who publishes a book already has the status of a writer and already has authorship. It seems that screenwriters, who have been made invisible for so many years, don't carry as much weight as an author who publishes a book."

Market niche and feedback

Fernández Villalba asserts that the publishing world and the audiovisual industry are no longer isolated compartments but rather have many points of connection. Anna Soler-Pont identified this market niche and in 1992 founded the Pontas agency, which, among other things, manages the adaptation rights of various authors. "When we started, 10% of audiovisual productions came from the world of books, and now, globally, it's around 40%," explains Soler-Pont. In fact, this March she will be at the London Book Fair, and half of her appointments are with producers and executives from streaming platforms. The Pontas agency has been key to the screen adaptation of books such as Countdown: The Story of Salvador Puig Antichwhich served as the basis for Savior, which won the Goya Award for best adapted screenplay; Traces of sandalwood, co-written by Soler-Pont herself, or a Lead sky.

One of the latest rights they have managed are those of the novel The last shipby Domingo Villar, which will be a series titled CaldasHe asserts that both Columna, the publisher of the Catalan version, and Siruela, the publisher of the Spanish version, anticipate a surge in sales of the novel when the series premieres. In this regard, Soler-Pont indicates that adaptations create a feedback loop. A prime example is that of HamnetFollowing the film's release, sales of Maggie O'Farrell's novel, originally published in 2021, have experienced a resurgence. In the case of the Catalan version, L'Altra Editorial has sold over 3,000 copies in a month and a half, and is already predicting it could be one of the most sought-after books for Sant Jordi's Day.

Soler-Pont points out that a television or film script is a work of art and that people are now beginning to understand that when they see an adaptation, they don't have to follow the book it's based on verbatim. "I always tell our clients [the authors] that if they're not prepared to face a betrayal and a radical change to their story, they shouldn't sell the rights. copyright "Ownership of an audiovisual work belongs to the producers, the network, or the platform, but not to the author, unless they become a co-producer," he reflects.

The link with the BookTok phenomenon

One of the reasons behind the rise in literary adaptations is the phenomenon of... booktokers, the influencers of books that have been a hit on TikTok since mid-2020Their recommendations, delivered in a more direct, entertaining, and playful way than a conventional review, attract readers. The books they discuss often become popular and go viral, two elements that can catch the attention of production companies and platforms, always on the lookout for products or intellectual properties that already have a strong fan base. Typically, the booktokers They focus on fiction for young people (young adults), romance novel, fantasy and thrillerSeries like Heartstopper, Murder for beginners either The summer I fell in love They owe their existence to the BookTok phenomenon. One of the most anticipated Prime Video releases of the year for young audiences is Off CampusAn adaptation of a series of romantic novels starring the hockey players of an American university. The first season arrives in May, and the second has already been greenlit.

Before the booktokers While they paved the way for the audiovisual industry, in the United States there was another figure who recognized the lucrative market of combining literature, television series, and film. Actress and producer Reese Witherspoon, who turned to producing when she couldn't find interesting roles for her age, founded a book club that helped her identify books that could be transformed into good audiovisual material. Many of the series and films she has produced through her company, Hello Sunshine, are adaptations of books she previously selected for her book club. This list includes series such as Everyone loves Daisy Jones, Little fires everywhere, Tiny beautiful things, The last thing he told and From scratch and movies like The wild girl. Witherspoon's future projects as a producer also include a string of adaptations: from Romantic comedy (VR Europe), a book by Curtis Sittenfeld, up to The Nightingale (Amsterdam), by Kristin Hannah, passing through Run, Rose, runCo-written by Dolly Parton and James Patterson.

Screenwriters, producers, and publishers alike don't foresee the bubble bursting. "I don't think it will go down; on the contrary, because it's becoming an increasingly competitive sector," concludes Grau Rafel, who points to a new consequence of this phenomenon: its intersection with artificial intelligence. "We have to see where it leads us, but an artificial intelligence can adapt a novel that's already been written. If we don't fight against this, it will be easier than finding a screenwriter who can contribute an original idea," he warns.