Series – Transforming a successful book into a film or series is always a risky bet. Even more when the book in question is the object of worship of millions of readers around the world on Tiktok. However, the adaptations of novels that have become best-sellers thanks to #Bobotok are multiplying, as We liarsthe new Prime Video series, released Wednesday, June 18 on the platform.
The eponymous book was published over 10 years ago already, in 2014 in the United States and the following year in France. But he had a second successful success later thanks to Tiktok, even pushing his author E. Lockhart to write a suite in 2022. We read both, and the series is a faithful adaptation (and will therefore appeal above all to a teenage audience).
We liars is a thriller of the genus “Young Adult”, with a final twist that promises to make spectators react who have not read the book. This is the story of Cadence Sinclair, 17, who returns to the family holiday home a year after a mysterious accident that she does not remember and that nobody wants to explain to her.
The series is at the crossroads between two other adaptations of successful novels. As in The summer I became pretty On the premium, the main characters are adolescents who grew up together and the heroine saw her first love with a childhood friend. As in A perfect couple On Netflix, it is a wealthy family, with heavy secrets well hidden behind a carefully controlled image. The three take place in the same idyllic setting: a large house by the sea in the Massachusetts in the United States.
The three generations of characters offer their lots of secondary intrigue. And adult spectators will surely prefer the scenes between the three sisters and mothers (played by Caitlin Fitzgerald, Candice King and Mamie Gummer, the daughter of Meryl Streep) at « teen drama » A little stupid between the cousins.
We liars does not revolutionize the genre of the teenager thriller, but offers good entertainment to shiver (a little) in the heat and live (by proxy) the vacation of the ultra -ties.
And if you’ve already finished 8 episodes, here are 5 others really good adaptations of successful books on Tiktok.
Daisy Jones & the Six
Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. Posted in 2019, Daisy Jones & the Six From the successful American author Taylor Jenkins Reid had fascinated Tiktok. Written in the form of crossed interviews, the novel tells the behind the scenes of a group from the 70s (freely inspired by Fleetwood Mac), from its creation to its worldwide success, until its separation as brutal as itxplicated.
The Prime Video series, released in early 2023, skillfully uses the particular form of the book, with interviews face cameras, and also shows everything that readers imagined in their heads. The casting is a success, notably with Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, Sam Claflin or even Suki Waterhouse. And to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality even more, the fictitious group even released an album, with all the songs in the series. Of the quality fan service.
Heartstopper
It is one of Netflix’s best successes. The series Heartstopper is a gay teenage romance, full of tenderness but also realism on homophobia. She touched subscribers, adolescents and adults in the heart, and revealed the actors Kit Connor and Joe Locke when it was released in 2022. The story follows two high school students, Charlie and Nick: the first is openly homosexual, the second wonders when their friendship seems to turn into love.
Originally, it was a comic strip from the illustrator Alice Oseman, published online on Tumblr from 2016. The adaptation of this webcomic is a real model for the representation of LGBTQ+ people on the screen. After three successful seasons, Netflix will end the saga with a film, whose shooting is scheduled for this summer.
My Dear F***ing Prince
Other homosexual romance, My Dear F***ing Prince (or Red, White, and Royal Blue In original English), is the adaptation of the eponymous book of the American writer Casey Mcquiston, published in 2019. In the middle of a diplomatic incident, the son of the President of the United States and the Prince of England must feign friendship, but will obviously fall in love.
The film was released on Prime in July 2023 and markedly transposed the humor of the book, and the alchemy between the two main characters played by Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez. Behind his incredible scenario, My Dear F***ing Prince Tackles bisexuality and homosexuality with a new look on the screen, in particular thanks to the benevolent reaction of Uma Thurman as an American president who speaks openly of anal sex, prep and HPV vaccination to her son.
Shadow and Bone : La Saga Grisha
This is one of the first adaptations of fantasy books that hit Tiktok, and it is far from the last. The Netflix series Shadow and Bonereleased in 2021 on the platform, is taken from several novels of the American Leigh Bardugo. She intelligently mixes the intrigues of the two literary series Grisha et Six of Crows.
Rather faithful adaptation of novels, the series is a success thanks to a convincing cast: Jessie Mei Li in the main role of Alina Starkov, Ben Barnes who camps General Kirigan and Freddy Carter who plays Kaz Brekker. And it does not have to be ashamed of its special effects, in particular the mysterious wall of fog and its creatures, the Fold. After two seasons, Netflix finally canceled the third, to the great despair of the fans.
The Hating Game
They hate themselves, are in competition for the same promotion at work and use all the tricks to win it. The Hating Game (Best enemies In French) is a classic of the “Enemies to Lovers” sub-genre, these romances where the heroes go from hatred to love. The 2016 bestseller Sally Thorne is always a sensation on Tiktok, as criticized for his shots as appreciated by fans of the trophy.
His adaptation in film, released in the cinema in 2021 in the United States but not in France, delighted fans of the book by remaining close to his model. Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell are convincing in competitive colleagues and succeed in raising the temperature despite sometimes ridiculous dialogues. Best enemies is now available in France in VOD, on Canal, Prime or Apple TV. A good Sunday evening film with a TV set.
