Television adaptation

A television work that reworks material first created in another medium, such as a novel, play, comic, or film. It reshapes that material for episodic or broadcast storytelling.

Adaptation (arts): The creative transformation of a work from one medium or form into another. Television adaptation belongs to this broader practice of transforming existing works.
Novel: A long work of prose fiction with an extended narrative and developed characters. Novels are a frequent source because their plots and inner narration require reshaping for television.
Roots (1977 miniseries): An American television miniseries based on Alex Haley’s novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. It demonstrates how a long family history became a landmark television event.
Original television programming: Television content created without adapting a preexisting work as its source. It contrasts with television whose central story comes from another medium.
Transmedia storytelling: A narrative that unfolds across multiple media, with each medium contributing distinct material. Television adaptations can become one part of a larger story world spanning media.
Screenplay: A written plan for a screen production, including dialogue, action, and scene structure. A screenplay converts source events and characters into performable television scenes.
Comic book: A narrative work that uses sequential images, often combined with written text. Comic adaptations translate drawn panels and visual conventions into moving images.
The Handmaid’s Tale (TV series): A television series based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name. Its continuing story expands beyond the novel’s original narrative.
Remake: A new production that retells a story previously presented in the same or another medium. A remake reworks an earlier screen production, while adaptation may draw directly from a non-screen source.
Cultural memory: The shared ways groups remember and interpret the past through stories, symbols, and practices. Widely watched adaptations can shape which versions of a source story persist culturally.

Linked from 9 pages