Book-to-Screen Adaptations You Might Have Missed This Year

This British historical drama film is based on the 2013 novel originally entitled Queen’s Gambit, by Elizabeth Fremantle. Set in Tudor England, it follows the story of the Queen of England and Henry VIII’s sixth wife, Katherine Parr (Alicia Vikander). Katherine is named regent while the king (Jude Law) is off at war, but following his return, King Henry is unwell both mentally and physically, and Katherine must fight for her survival in an increasingly hostile environment. The film, directed by Karim Aïnouz, is now available to stream on Prime.

Expats is a mini-series based on Janet Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates. Set in Hong Kong, the story follows the lives of a close-knit group of wealthy American expatriates living decadent (and often scandalous) lives. Expats stars Nicole Kidman as Margaret Woo, Sarayu Blue as Hilary Star, and Ji-young Yoo as Mercy Cho. The series was created and directed by Lulu Wang and is also now available to stream on Prime.

Moonflower Murders, the follow-up to Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders is now a BBC series. Season 1, which consists of six episodes, follows former publisher turned amateur-sleuth Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) after she leaves her former life behind to start over in Crete. However, there she finds herself involved with a murder case when she discovers a woman’s mysterious disappearance might be linked to a novel written by author Alan Conway (Conleth Hill). The series, directed by Rebecca Getward, also stars Timothy McMullan as fictional detective Atticus Pünd. It’s available to stream in the US on PBS Masterpiece.