16 Netflix Shows and Movies From 2020 That Are Based on Books

Based on a YA novel, the teen tearjerker narrates a romance between two mentally ill teenagers who make a pact with each other to see and appreciate “all the bright places” in the world, even as potential tragedy looms large.

Watch All the Bright Places on Netflix.

Peter and Lara Jean are back in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before sequel, based on the novel of the same name by Jenny Han. As Peter and Lara Jean figure out how to have a real relationship, things hit a snag with the return of John Ambrose McClaren – the last remaining recipient of Lara Jean’s letters.

Watch To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You on Netflix.

Lois Lowry’s beloved children’s book gets the animated treatment in this Netflix adaptation. When their parents neglect them, a set of siblings plan to send their parents away and raise themselves. Of course, their plan leads to unforeseen consequences that require them to fight even harder to stay together as a family.

Watch The Willoughbys on Netflix.

Joan Didion’s 1996 novel became a Netflix original movie starring Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, and Willem Dafoe, among others. Set in 1984, it follows a journalist who quits her job to care for her father, then inherits his drug-running business.

Watch The Last Thing He Wanted on Netflix.

Like the 2018 original, The Kissing Booth 2 is based on the YA series by Beth Reekles. This time, it’s based on the sequel book, The Kissing Booth: Going the Distance, in which college decisions threaten the future of Elle and Noah’s relationship.

Watch The Kissing Booth 2 on Netflix.

The mystery thriller, starring Amy Ryan, is based on the true-crime book Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker. When a woman’s daughter goes missing, her quest for answers leads to the uncovering of a wave of unsolved murders of sex workers by the Long Island serial killer and the dangers women face.

Watch Lost Girls on Netflix.

Summer’s surprise hit is actually based on a comic book by Greg Rucka. The action thriller follows an immortal band of mercenaries as they discover a new immortal and find themselves being hunted for their powers as their pasts come back to haunt them.

Watch The Old Guard on Netflix.

Based on the novel Sorta Like a Rockstar by Quick, this movie stars One Day at a Time‘s Justina Machado and Moana herself, Auli’i Cravalho, along with comedy legend Carol Burnett, in a drama about a musically gifted teenager fighting for her dreams and her friends.

Release date: Aug. 28

The famous Gothic novel about a second wife’s unsettling discoveries is getting another remake, this time starring Lily James as Mrs. de Winter and Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter.

Release date: Oct. 21

The classic book series by Ann M. Martin gets a 21st-century update. Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne, and Dawn build a babysitting business together and do their best to help the kids they work with, all while dealing with the ups and downs of junior high.

Watch The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix.

Netflix’s twist on Arthurian legends is actually based on a novel by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler. It becomes the coming-of-age story not just of King Arthur but also a young woman named Nimue, whose magical gifts will eventually lead her to become one of the most significant characters in the legends of Camelot.

Watch Cursed on Netflix.

Reuniting It costars Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff, the sci-fi-tinged dramedy follows a teenage girl who discovers she’s developing telekinetic powers. It’s based on a comic book by Charles Forsman, who also penned The End of the F***ing World, another comic book turned Netflix series.

Watch I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix.

Netflix’s latest supernatural teen show is also based on a comic-book series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez. After their father’s murder, three kids and their mother move into his family home, where they discover a series of magical keys and doors – and a malevolent entity searching for the keys, too.

Watch Locke & Key on Netflix.

Self Made isn’t just based on a book but also on a true story. The miniseries is based on the biography On Her Own Ground by A’Lelia Bundles, which in turn narrates the life of Madam C.J. Walker, a hair-care entrepreneur and the first Black, self-made, woman millionaire in America.

Watch Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker on Netflix.

Netflix’s charming small-town drama is based on a book series by the same name by Sherryl Woods. There’s plenty of book material for the drama about three lifelong best friends dealing with love, motherhood, and careers in a small town: Woods’s book series has a whopping 11 novels in it!

Watch Sweet Magnolias on Netflix.

Netflix’s first series in which Yiddish is the main language is also based loosely on a real memoir: Deborah Feldman’s autobiography, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. Although the characters are different, the story remains the same: an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman escapes her arranged marriage and starts a new life that she’s not entirely ready for.

Watch Unorthodox on Netflix.