While it may seem like new and original show ideas are popping up all the time, many people do not realize the origin of these storylines. Even though television has become the dominant form of entertainment, books still play a pivotal role in entertainment. In fact, many of the television shows you consume nowadays are derived from books. You might be surprised by some of the TV shows mentioned below.

Friday Night Lights

The early 2000s produced shows with some of the most loyal fanbases still going strong to this day. When it comes to these beloved shows, Friday Night Lights is no exception. This popular sports drama series centers around a Texan football team chasing their championship while also dealing with issues faced in typical small-town America. While the show ended in 2011, it still has a cult-like following to this day. But what some don’t realize is that it was based on a book. While the novel only followed the football team through one season, the series adapted this into a storyline spanning over multiple years and covering a variety of gripping topics.

Fresh Off the Boat

ABC is notable for the family sitcoms it brings to viewers’ homes. Adding onto its beloved ranking of shows was Fresh Off the Boat, which aired from 2015 to 2020. This sitcom follows the Taiwanese Huang family as they move to Orlando, Florida, in the 90s and must overcome a large number of cultural differences woven together to create a hilariously relatable plot. What makes this series even more special is that it was based on a book titled Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang, who wrote about his experiences with Asian-American culture.

Orange Is the New Black

Orange Is the New Black seemed to take pop culture by storm when it was introduced to Netflix in 2013. Since then, the series has gained an unapologetic fanbase with a keen interest in watching the lives of these incarcerated women intertwine. Although this series earned a large amount of attention, many did not realize it was based on the real-life memoir of Piper Kerman, called Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. This novel explores the experiences of one Piper Kerman, as she spent a year behind bars for a crime she had committed ten years prior. While Piper’s memoir is what inspired the series, the show itself was very liberal with how it spun the story and the characters involved.