The long awaited series based on the 1988 cult movie Heathers is set to premiere on Stan on 28th September 2018. The first season of the satirical dark comedy consists of ten episodes following Veronica Sawyers daily struggle against the vicious gang of Heathers. Starring as Veronica is Gracie Victoria Cox. Melanie Fried, Jasmin Mathews and Brendan Seawell will portray the three fashionable gang members all with the name Heather. We are excited to get hooked on this adaptation of the drama, love and comedy masterpiece.
Alongside the upcoming premiere of Heathers on Stan, the streaming platform is also screening the first two seasons of the adaption of Get Shorty. This is reason enough for us to look back onto the history of film-to-TV adaptions and count down our picks for best of the best:
Fargo
Let’s start off with the crime drama Fargo. The series premiered in 2014 and has celebrated the release of three seasons so far. Based on the Coen Brother movie Fargo from 1996 the series adapts their unique black comedy, crime style to a critically acclaimed TV show starring Billy Bob Thornton, Kirsten Dunst and Ewan McGregor. Each season of is set in a different year with a new cast of characters only the location and the unique Fargo style remain the same. Nevertheless during all of its three season so far Fargo does not loose the positive reception or viewership. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus lauds the series’ “dark humor and odd twists”.
Friday Night Lights
Next up on our list is Friday Night Lights the American teen drama from 2004, which was successfully remastered in the series with the same name. The 2006 series ran for five seasons. Starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton this high school football team drama tells the story of a small American town facing modern-day issues like family values, drugs, or abortion. The first season was critically acclaimed for its realistic depiction of Middle America. Even though Friday Night Lights gathered a strong fan base it never had a sizable regular audience. Still the teeny drama never disappoints to entertain, and who doesn’t love to just blend out the world for a minute and dive into a throwback high school drama.
Stargate – SG1
Stargate – SG1, the ten-season spinoff of Roland Emmerich’s 1994 Stargate ran from 1997 until 2007. The sci-fi adventure series is set in space where a team of twenty humans is exploring the galaxy and has to fend off alien attacks meanwhile. Starring Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks and Amanda Tapping this television show never drew the critics onto its side. Will Joyner from the New York Times said Stargate – SG1 is “more than a Stargate fan might expect, but certainly less than one would have hoped for”. Disregarding some negative reviews the galaxy adventure has a big and loyal audience, which allowed it to run for an entire decade.
Westworld
The new adaption Westworld of the almost half a century old original movie with the same name has us tied to our TVs. The, in 2016 commenced, sci-fi western series has aired two celebrated seasons so far and will be continued. The story is set in a technologically advanced Wild West themed amusement park inhabited by android “hosts”. Humans indulge their wildest fantasies and the “hosts” cannot stop them because they were programmed not to hurt humankind. The positively received series starring Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright was praised for its visuals and story. San Francisco Chronicle reviewer David Wiegand said Westworld “isn’t easy to understand at first but the unusually intelligent storytelling will have you hooked”.
Parenthood
Parenthood started out in 2010 and ran for six continuously successful seasons. The new adaption of the 1989 movie Parenthood stars Peter Krause, Lauren Graham and Dax Shepard. It draws us into the story of the huge family clan, the Bravermans, consisting of an older couple and their four children, as well as their grandchildren. It turned out to be a relatable chaotic and humorous TV show, which has won the Critics Choice Television Award.
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
And last but not least the series, which holds a safe spot in many of its viewers hearts, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It is based on the supernatural drama from 1992 with the same name. Buffy is the story of the young Buffy Summers who is chosen by fate to be a Vampire Slayer. She has to ward off supernatural evil to protect the human world, when she would much rather be a normal high school girl.. Sarah Michelle Geller stars as Buffy and along side Nicholas Brendon and Alyson Hannigan she has once again gathered a huge fandom for the Vampire franchise. Buffy doesn’t just fight evil like a superhero but also shows human flaws and doubts which make her feel like she was our best friend. The seven-season television show has cemented itself onto multiple greatest TV sows of all time lists and is also on ours.
