Reboots and revivals may seem like a recent phenomenon, but they’ve been a Hollywood tradition since the industry’s earliest days.
The practice doesn’t just extend to remaking the same movie again and again — it also encompasses classic films being turned into television series. Casablanca, for example, winner of the 1943 Oscar for Best Picture, spawned two short-lived TV adaptions.
The first show, titled Casablanca, premiered on ABC in 1955 but was canceled after 10 episodes. The second, also titled Casablanca, premiered on NBC in 1983 and was canceled after just five episodes. David Soul, famous for playing Hutch in the original Starsky & Hutch TV series, played the Humphrey Bogart character Rick Blaine, while Hector Elizondo starred in Claude Rains’ role of Captain Louis Renault.
The movies-to-TV trend really took off in the 1980s and early 1990s when hits including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing got small-screen adaptations. In the former, titled simply Ferris Bueller, a young Jennifer Aniston starred as Ferris’ sister Jeannie (played by Jennifer Grey in the 1986 film).
According to former GQ editor Jim Nelson, who worked on the show, the Friends alum dated costar Charlie Schlatter, who played Ferris (Matthew Broderick in the movie). “She was lovely, kept to herself on the set, smoldering a bit like her outraged character, 17-year-old Jeannie Bueller,” Nelson wrote in 2014. “Everyone on set thought she was hot, including Schlatter, with whom she had a brief, torrid romance — while playing, it must be said, his older sister. To we immaturions on the show, this seemed extra-hot.”
Though a few TV shows adapted from movies become hugely successful, many more never quite got their footing. In 2014, a CBS series based on the Cameron Diaz film Bad Teacher was canceled after just three episodes. In the show, Ari Graynor took over the titular role.
Despite the sitcom’s short run, Graynor was still proud of her work. “I love Meredith,” she told the Televixen blog of her role in 2014. “So, even when she’s doing outrageous, ridiculous things, I completely understand where it’s coming from within her. … She’s an underdog herself and that helps to balance some of that stuff.”
Arguably one of the most beloved movies-turned-shows in recent memory is Friday Night Lights, based on the 2004 film of the same name (which was in turn based on a book). Fans have been clamoring for a reboot for years, but it doesn’t look promising.
“I heard inklings a few years ago that they were gonna make another Friday Night Lights,” Connie Britton, who played Tami Taylor on the NBC series, told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021. “Meanwhile, we know we’ve already had a movie, we already had this TV show, and then if they were to do it again with, like, a whole different iteration of it, I don’t know. I would think that would be sort of odd.”
Keep scrolling to see what other movies have been given the TV treatment over the years:
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Movies That Were Turned Into TV Shows Over the Years: ‘Clueless,’ ‘Scream’ and More
Reboots and revivals may seem like a recent phenomenon, but they’ve been a Hollywood tradition since the industry’s earliest days.
The practice doesn’t just extend to remaking the same movie again and again — it also encompasses classic films being turned into television series. Casablanca, for example, winner of the 1943 Oscar for Best Picture, spawned two short-lived TV adaptions.
The first show, titled Casablanca, premiered on ABC in 1955 but was canceled after 10 episodes. The second, also titled Casablanca, premiered on NBC in 1983 and was canceled after just five episodes. David Soul, famous for playing Hutch in the original Starsky & Hutch TV series, played the Humphrey Bogart character Rick Blaine, while Hector Elizondo starred in Claude Rains’ role of Captain Louis Renault.
The movies-to-TV trend really took off in the 1980s and early 1990s when hits including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Dirty Dancing got small-screen adaptations. In the former, titled simply Ferris Bueller, a young Jennifer Aniston starred as Ferris’ sister Jeannie (played by Jennifer Grey in the 1986 film).
According to former GQ editor Jim Nelson, who worked on the show, the Friends alum dated costar Charlie Schlatter, who played Ferris (Matthew Broderick in the movie). “She was lovely, kept to herself on the set, smoldering a bit like her outraged character, 17-year-old Jeannie Bueller,” Nelson wrote in 2014. “Everyone on set thought she was hot, including Schlatter, with whom she had a brief, torrid romance — while playing, it must be said, his older sister. To we immaturions on the show, this seemed extra-hot.”
Though a few TV shows adapted from movies become hugely successful, many more never quite got their footing. In 2014, a CBS series based on the Cameron Diaz film Bad Teacher was canceled after just three episodes. In the show, Ari Graynor took over the titular role.
Despite the sitcom’s short run, Graynor was still proud of her work. “I love Meredith,” she told the Televixen blog of her role in 2014. “So, even when she’s doing outrageous, ridiculous things, I completely understand where it’s coming from within her. … She’s an underdog herself and that helps to balance some of that stuff.”
Arguably one of the most beloved movies-turned-shows in recent memory is Friday Night Lights, based on the 2004 film of the same name (which was in turn based on a book). Fans have been clamoring for a reboot for years, but it doesn’t look promising.
“I heard inklings a few years ago that they were gonna make another Friday Night Lights,” Connie Britton, who played Tami Taylor on the NBC series, told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021. “Meanwhile, we know we’ve already had a movie, we already had this TV show, and then if they were to do it again with, like, a whole different iteration of it, I don’t know. I would think that would be sort of odd.”
Keep scrolling to see what other movies have been given the TV treatment over the years:
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‘Westworld’
Released in 1973, the original Westworld film, written and directed by Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton, served as the inspiration for HBO’s Westworld series. The network renewed the show for a fourth season in April 2020.
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‘Fargo’
The Coen brothers’ 1996 film inspired the FX anthology series of the same name, which aired its fourth season in 2020. In addition to racking up Emmy and Golden Globe nominations over the years, the show was also the place where Plemons met his now-fiancée, Kirsten Dunst.
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‘Watchmen’
Based on the 1986 graphic novel of the same name, Zack Snyder‘s 2009 film version of Watchmen later inspired an HBO limited series that aired in 2020. The show, starring Regina King, Jean Smart and Jeremy Irons, took place in the same universe but was set 34 years after the events of the comics and movie.
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’12 Monkeys’
Terry Gilliam‘s 1995 film (which was based on 1962’s La Jetée) inspired the Syfy series of the same name, which ran from 2015 to 2018.
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‘Wet Hot American Summer’
The beloved cult classic has spawned two Netflix series: a prequel titled Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and a sequel titled Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.
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‘The Dark Crystal’
The 1982 fantasy film, directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, became a Netflix prequel series called The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance in 2019.
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‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Before Sarah Michelle Gellar slayed the undead on the beloved WB series, Kristy Swanson played the titular role in a 1992 movie that also starred Luke Perry. The show, which also starred David Boreanaz and Alyson Hannigan, ran from 1997 to 2003.
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‘Psycho’
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror film inspired the drama series Bates Motel, which ran from 2013 to 2017, and followed a young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) before the events of the movie.
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‘The Karate Kid’
The 1984 movie spawned the sequel series Cobra Kai, which was renewed for a fifth season in August 2021.
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‘The Silence of the Lambs’
The Oscar-winning 1991 film inspired Hannibal, starring Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, as well as Clarice, told from the perspective of FBI agent Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster and later Julianne Moore).
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‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’
The 1975 movie (based on Ken Kesey’s novel of the same name) inspired Ryan Murphy‘s Netflix series Ratched, starring Sarah Paulson as the titular nurse.
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‘High School Musical’
Disney’s musical trilogy served as inspiration for the Disney+ show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, starring Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. The comedy, which premiered in 2020, follows a group of high schoolers as they stage a musical adaptation of the original film.
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’10 Things I Hate About You’
The beloved 1999 teen comedy, starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, later inspired a two-season sitcom that aired on ABC Family from 2009 to 2010.
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‘Fame’
The 1980 movie was later turned into an Emmy-winning series that aired from 1982 to 1987 on NBC and later in syndication.
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‘Teen Wolf’
The classic Michael J. Fox comedy served as the basis for a 1986 animated show of the same name. In 2011, MTV debuted a live-action adaption of the movie, which starred Tyler Posey in the title role and aired for six seasons.
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‘M*A*S*H’
One of the best-known examples of a movie-turned-show, M*A*S*H was adapted from the 1970 film of the same name and aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983.
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‘Scream’
The horror film series got a new life on MTV in 2015 before airing its third and final season in 2019.
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‘The Purge’
In 2018, USA’s The Purge, which is based on the movie series of the same name, premiered. The show ran for two seasons before the network canceled it in May 2020.
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‘The Girlfriend Experience’
Steven Soderbergh‘s 2009 film served as the inspiration for Starz’s anthology series, which premiered 2016. The show’s third season debuted in May 2021.
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‘Heathers’
The 1989 cult classic starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater became a one-season TV series in 2018.
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