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A wave of Emmy-nominated television series and films has renewed interest in the books that inspired them. From dystopian dramas to romantic comedies, the 2026 Emmy Awards feature nominations across nearly every category for book-to-screen adaptations. For readers who want to experience these stories on the page, the timing could not be better.
Acclaimed Dramas With Deep Literary Roots
Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments is now drawing fresh attention as its television adaptation arrives. The novel serves as the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, which concluded its six-season run last year. Set more than fifteen years after the original story, it follows a new generation of girls in Gilead — including June Osborne’s daughter — as they face forced marriages or fight for their freedom. Returning character Aunt Lydia, played by Ann Dowd, secretly builds a resistance. First published in 2019, the book is now available with a TV tie-in cover.
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Gary Oldman leads the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, now heading into its sixth season, premiering September 16. The show is based on Mick Herron’s Slough House series, and the first book introduces Jackson Lamb and his team of disgraced MI5 agents. Sidelined to a dead-end office, they get a chance to prove themselves when a young man is abducted and his captors threaten to broadcast his beheading online. The series has earned strong critical praise, and readers can follow the story across multiple books.
Jack Thorne, co-writer of Adolescence, has adapted William Golding’s 1954 classic Lord of the Flies into a four-part series. The story follows a group of boys stranded on an island who gradually give in to their darkest instincts without rules or structure. The adaptation has already been described as harrowing. In Canada, the drama premieres in October on CBC Gem.
Lighter Stories Also Making an Impact
Not all the nominated adaptations are heavy dramas. Bridgerton returns on Netflix with its fourth season, this time focusing on Benedict Bridgerton and his love interest Sophie Baek. Their story mirrors the Cinderella tale — the two meet at a masquerade ball and fall in love before he learns her true identity. Looking further ahead, season five is scheduled for 2027 and will follow Francesca and Michaela, drawing from Julia Quinn’s sixth novel, When He Was Wicked.
Meanwhile, the film adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation brings Emily Henry’s popular novel to Netflix. Best friends Poppy and Alex, played by Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, share ten summer trips that build and nearly break their bond. The story asks whether one final trip can save what they almost lost.
Thrillers and Unconventional Stories
Sarah Snook stars in the thriller adaptation of The Woman in the Window — or a similarly structured story — as Marissa Irvine, a mother who arrives to collect her son from a playdate only to find the woman at the door has no idea who he is. The eight-episode series is available to stream on the Global TV app and Prime Video. Readers who pick up the source novel should expect an intense experience.
Apple TV+ also features The Idol-adjacent drama based on the novel following Margo, the daughter of a former Hooters waitress and an ex-professional wrestler. A college dropout with a newborn and mounting bills, she turns to an OnlyFans account as a way forward — only to question whether internet fame carries too high a price. The series stars Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman. Season one is available now, and season two is coming soon.
For fantasy readers, The Hedge Knight — part of George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg — follows a young knight named Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg, secretly Prince Aegon Targaryen. Set a century before Game of Thrones, the story takes place in a world where dragons are extinct but Targaryens still rule. Season two of the television adaptation does not premiere until early 2027, so there is still time to read the book and catch up on the first season via Crave.
Finally, Remarkably Bright Creatures offers a gentler but equally compelling story. Sally Field plays Tova Sullivan, a widow who takes a night-shift job at her local aquarium to cope with grief. There, she forms an unexpected friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus who holds clues to a long-buried family mystery. The film adaptation is available now on Netflix.
