'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' – sign us up!
10 New Movies and Shows Based on Our Favourite Books
'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' – sign us up!
We always look forward to adaptations of our favourite books. Whether it’s a sprawling miniseries on a streaming platform or a big-budget movie, we love it when the books we lost ourselves in get the screen treatment. How will the casting match up? Will the costumes be right? Can they nail the settings?
These are the adaptations from much-loved books that we have on our must-watch list in 2023.
1. Daisy Jones and the Six
Where can I watch it? Prime Video on March 6
Riley Keough stars as Daisy Jones in this adaptation of the blockbuster, much beloved Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. The book tells the story of a once-close band, tracing the roots of their breakup and what caused the members to fall out so spectacularly. We’re expecting incredible ‘70s costumes and performances, and a great cast including Suki Waterhouse and Sam Claflin.
2. Wellmania
Where can I watch it? Netflix in 2023
Celeste Barber is one of the funniest women on Instagram and we can’t wait for her debut Netflix series. It’s an adaptation of Australian writer Brigid Delaney’s memoir Wellmania, about how she tried different wellness fads for a year. We couldn’t think of a better person to tackle the weird and wacky world of wellness than Barber.
3. Bridgerton
Where can I watch it? Netflix in 2023
A new season of Bridgerton is coming this year and don’t forget – this franchise is based on a completely wonderful book series by Julia Quinn. If you haven’t read them yet, we recommend diving in from top to bottom, given that the books are such a total delight and they help add depth to the binge-able series. The third season, which is coming to Netflix soon, will focus on the relationship between Lady Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton, which unfolds in the fourth book in the series, Romancing Mr Bridgerton. Heaven. They’re perfect for a beach reading blitz, in case you’re looking for something this summer.
4. Tiny Beautiful Things
Where can I watch it? Disney+ in 2023
If you loved Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild (or the Reese Witherspoon movie adaptation a few years ago), you’ll love Tiny Beautiful Things. This is an adaptation of her essay collection, starring the great Kathryn Hahn – when is she ever bad! – and produced by Witherspoon’s production company. This is going to be a show about getting your life together and overcoming the hurdles that are before you.
5. Lessons In Chemistry
Where can I watch it? AppleTV+ in 2023
This charming novel was a bestseller in 2022, a tale of a chemist who becomes an unwitting television chef sensation in the ‘60s, with fans including Nigella Lawson and Elizabeth Day. Brie Larson stars in this series, which we’re hoping will be the bright, colourful period drama we need in 2023.
6. The Last Thing He Told Me
Where can I watch it? AppleTV+ in 2023
This popular thriller is coming to AppleTV+ this year, starring Jennifer Garner and Angourie Rice, the Australian actor you might remember from Mare of Easttown. This is going to be a gripping whodunnit, as a woman and her stepdaughter go on the run after the disappearance of their beloved husband and father, to try to piece together the meaning of his last words. What is the secret he was keeping all these years? And how does it trace back to them?
7. Three Women
Where can I watch it? Paramount+ in 2023
The date for this much-anticipated adaptation has yet to be announced and we’re already so excited. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo remains one of our favourite non-fiction books of recent years, and this adaptation starring Shailene Woodley and with Taddeo as a producer and creative force behind it comes with very high expectations. How will it translate to the screen? We can’t wait to find out.
8. Ripley
Where can I watch it? Paramount+ in 2023
Andrew Scott. The Talented Mr Ripley. What more do you need to know? When the Hot Priest himself was cast as Tom Ripley in this new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel The Talented Mr Ripley – previously made into the ‘90s film starring Jude Law, Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow – the Internet rejoiced. It was such brilliantly perfect casting. Filming is complete and the series is rumoured to be premiering this year. We’ll keep you updated the more we find out.
9. A Haunting In Venice
Where can I watch it? In cinemas in September
Love them or find them a bit ridiculous, the Kenneth Branagh adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot murder mysteries never fail to delight. This is the third in the series, after Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, and like those previous iterations, you can expect incredible locations and a star-studded cast. (A Haunting in Venice will star Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan and Tina Fey. Sign us up.) We’re also very partial to anything set in the beautiful surrounds of Venice, so we couldn’t be more excited.
10. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
Where can I watch it? On Prime
We’re excited for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, a cinematic and transporting miniseries on Prime Video. This Australian production is based on the beloved Holly Ringland novel of the same name, which follows a young girl, Alice, who escapes a horrific family situation to live with her grandmother on a flower farm, discovering more about her life and family history in the process. The cast for this powerful series is incredible: Alycia Debnam-Carey stars as Alice, with Sigourney Weaver as her grandmother June. Plus, there’s Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell and Tilda Cobham-Hervey, just to name a few. With stunning visuals and a propulsive, moving story, this show is a must-watch.
