25 modern book-to-screen adaptations that didn’t let us down

Game of Thrones

HBO’s Game of Thrones brought George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series to life, quickly becoming one of the biggest book-to-television adaptations of all time and sparking a whole new era of them in the process. And no matter what your thoughts on the series’ divisive ending, one thing is certain when it comes to Game of Thrones: It simultaneously stayed true to the story Martin told in his books and took that story further than most fans ever could have imagined.

The first few seasons of the series have been praised for how accurate to the books they are — and that in itself is an accomplishment given how elaborate and complex Martin’s characters, worldbuilding, and plot are. But the later seasons surpassed the storylines taking place in the novels, bringing our characters together in ways that even Martin hadn’t managed (at least, not yet anyway).

And while the books undoubtedly painted vivid pictures of Martin’s characters, the television series gave them faces that fans will forever associate with the story. Emilia Clarke will always be the Mother of Dragons in the eyes of fans, and there will never be a better Tyrion Lannister than Peter Dinklage. The HBO series also gave viewers a visual of Westeros, a world that it would be easy to get lost in from simply reading the books.

In fact, the show succeeded in bringing Martin’s world to life so much that even those who haven’t committed to the book series fell in love with the HBO version of it. Game of Thrones became a global phenomenon over the course of its eight-season run, appealing even to viewers who don’t normally look to fantasy and science-fiction stories to fill their time. The political and personal drama transformed modern television, and we’ll be seeing plenty of similar series cropping up over the next few years.