8 Book-to-Screen Adaptations to Add to Your 2025 Reading List
ByEmily Maskell,
a freelance writer who covers entertainment and pop culture
Gabriel Basso working late in The Night Agent.
Photo: Netflix
The New Year is the perfect time to refresh your bookshelf and reading list with the many highly anticipated page-to-screen adaptations coming in 2025. Filmmakers and showrunners are drawing from contemporary hits (The Night Agent) and enduring classics (A Study in Scarlet) for exciting new shows and movies. From spy thrillers to witchy dramas to action-packed comics, the sources of these adaptations are well worth a read before you watch.
On the night of December 21, 1988, Pan Am 103 flight from London to New York City crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. What followed was a long and painful investigation into the deadly terror attack, especially for Jim and Jane Swire, who lost their daughter, Flora, in the disaster. Though they were wracked with grief, the couple set out on a tragic campaign to uncover the truth about what happened that night.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, starring Colin Firth, Catherine McCormack, and Sam Troughton, debuts on Peacock on January 2.
The Mayfair Witches follows neurosurgeon Dr. Rowan Fielding’s discovery that she is the heiress of a dynasty of powerful witches. The second season of Rice’s series sees Rowan, the queen of the coven, come to terms with the fact that she birthed the demon Lasher, an evil spirit that has haunted the witches for generations. Rowan sets out to discover what Lasher has become and whether she can use her healing powers to turn him from monster to human.
Season two of Mayfair Witches, starring Alexandra Daddario, Tongayi Chirisa, and Jack Huston, returns to AMC on January 5.
The fifth installment of All Creatures Great & Small reunites the Skeldale House family as World War II rages on. After season four saw James training to be an RAF pilot and Tristan serving in the Royal Veterinary Corps, this new season sees the two men finally return to Darrowby. However, the quiet peace of the town will take some adjustment with James’ new baby-raising responsibilities.
Season five of All Creatures Great & Small, starring Samuel West, Anna Madeley, and Nicholas Ralph, comes to PBS on January 12.
FBI agent Peter Sutherland monitors an emergency phone line in the White House Situation Room, but when that phone rings, his past becomes entwined with conspiracies in the present. Season one ended as Peter’s relationship with former tech CEO Rose Larkin blossomed and he earned a space in the secretive Night Agent program after saving the president from assassination. The second season will see Peter depart for his next assignment at the Joint Base Andrews military facility with new danger just around the corner.
Season two of The Night Agent, starring Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, and Fola Evans-Akingbola, debuts on Netflix on January 23.
Inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, the sidekick gets the spotlight in Watson. This retelling is a medical drama with detective elements, following Dr. John Watson as he opens his Pittsburgh medical practice, Holmes Clinic. However, just as he begins to treat his patients, Watson’s past begins to haunt him when evidence comes to light that Moriarty may still be alive.
Watson, starring Morris Chestnut, Eve Harlow, and Peter Mark Kendall, is on CBS from January 26.
➼ Goosebumps, by R. L. Stine: The second season of Goosebumps brings new spooky stories from Stine’s series of children’s horror novels to streaming. Goosebumps: The Vanishing will debut on Disney+ on January 10.
➼ Sakamoto Days, by Yuto Suzuki: A retired hit man’s quiet life is destroyed when former enemies come seeking revenge. The anime series premieres on Netflix on January 11.
➼ Dog Man, by Dav Pilkey: Dog Man — part dog, part cop — must fight his canine instincts to obey the law. The film is scheduled for theatrical release on January 31.
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