Slew of TV shows and movies from Mean Girls to Sexy Beast keep being rehashed again and again as studios prioritise 'making money' from 'safe' projects

Movies and shows successful across the US and UK focused on adaptations  READ MORE: Mean Girls' fans vent fury as musical hits UK cinemas in remake of iconic 2004 Hollywood film 'no one asked for'

Viewers have been inundated with on-screen adaptations of books, comics, and even musicals.

And it appears the trend is only set to snowball as now audiences are being reiterated version of existing movies themselves – such as the latest Mean Girls – and encouraged to dip back into well fleshed-out fandoms and fictional worlds.

It would seem that another one of the latest trends is video-game inspired films and TV shows, with everything from The Last of Us, Five Nights at Freddy’s and The Super Mario Bros. Movie on offer.

Some of the most in-demand viewings – which have had fans in a frenzy – have had multiple iterations.

The Percy Jackson & The Olympians book series, based on children whose parents are mythical Greek gods, have already been made into movies – albeit not for all the series’ sequels – and have a musical.

But in December, a TV show based on the novels proved to be a hit for Disney Plus.

Speaking to FEMAIL, one branding expert revealed that while it may seem like studios are simply running out of original ideas, there is simply lots of money to be made in adaptations.

‘Movie companies aren’t lacking ideas, or imagination – at the end of the day, they’re a business, not an ideas factory (that’s the job of script writers), and they need to make money,’ Hayley Knight said.

‘And it’s getting more difficult to create constant new content, especially as they have to compete on platforms such as Disney and Netflix, and with binge-watching ready made audiences, who often consume the same content.

‘And for every 10 remakes, they have three new movies that are intended for the same audience – think Do Revenge and You’re Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah – that do incredibly well, as the remakes and adaptations have given them the data they require to make strong new content.’

She added that often adaptations don’t get released with the same intention and artistic choices the originals did.

‘Recent remakes of movies such as Mean Girls and She’s All That may on paper look terrible versions of the original, they aren’t intended for the original audience,’ Hayley explained.

‘They are created for a new generation, who they hope will have the same reaction as the original – and they’re designed to create engagement and conversation, which is great for marketing.

‘When it comes to movies, it all comes down to two elements – what’s popular, and what’s going to make the company money. Barbie proved this, and achieved both spectacularly. And there was a reason they created three new Star Wars movies, which Disney has done very well from in subsequent films and series.

‘Adaptations and remakes are all developed based on what audiences are engaging with, so it’s very common to see movie adaptations of books and video games, because they already have a captive audience and are already popular – Harry Potter, Pokémon and Uncharted are excellent examples of this. And these movies work especially well still in a cinema format, as the companies know that the already existing fan base will definitely pay to go and see them.’

Here, FEMAIL looks at the stories we’ve seen time and time again (and again) – in a variety of formats – which have still proven to be huge successes in recent times.

MEAN GIRLS

2004: MOVIE

2011: SEQUEL

2017: MUSICAL

2017: NOVELISATION BY MICOL OSTOW

2019: NOVELISATION BY IAN DOESCHER

2020: GRAPHIC NOVEL

2020: MOVIE-MUSICAL

 The musical of Mean Girls hits cinemas in the UK earlier this month but fans of the 2004 Hollywood film have questioned why a remake is being released at all.

The new script is based on the 2017 Broadway musical, which is itself inspired by the original 2004 film starring Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron and Rachel McAdams as Regina George.

Fans of the original teen comedy took to X, formerly Twitter, were dubious of how the adaptation could ever compare to the noughties classic which made $130.1 million worldwide and became a pop culture phenomenon.

The musical of Mean Girls hits cinemas in the UK earlier this month but fans of the 2004 Hollywood film have questioned why a remake is being released at all

They wrote: ‘Why have they remade Mean Girls? Are we that out of ideas! The original is a classic, literally no reason to remake it.’

‘Why have they remade Mean Girls? Are we that out of ideas! The original is a classic, literally no reason to remake it.’

‘I’m sorry but I don’t understand why Mean Girls was turned into a muscial plus redine. The original movie was already great.’

‘Mean Girls: Pop remake is over-reliant on the original as a cultural artefact but offers some fun updates, catchy songs and good recasting.’

‘A film Mean Girls is hurtful and disappointing.’

‘Also I watched the new Mean Girls last night and it was a cute attempt but it’s a no from me.’

While the concept mostly remains the same, Tina Fey has returned to revamp her original screenplay for Gen Z, adding new songs and jokes.

The musical number stars singer Reneé Rapp as head of the plastics Regina and Angourie Rice as school newbie Cady.

It is filled with cameos, including Lindsay, and makes frequent references to the original.

Reflecting on the phenomenon of Mean Girls nearly 20 years later, Lindsay, 37, told Entertainment Tonight: ‘It’s stood the test of time.’

‘I feel really grateful. I mean, it’s not very often that you have all these movies that do that,’ she continued.

‘Mean Girls really opened the doors for a lot of things going on in schools. I think it’s also a really fun movie, so it’s really a blessing.’

The new script is based on the 2017 Broadway musical, which is itself inspired by the original 2004 film starring Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron and Rachel McAdams as Regina George

Early reviews of the film have praised the musical as a ‘sharp and funny’ remake after it was released in the US prior to Europe.

The Telegraph wrote: ‘The film is a complete scream for three main reasons. First, the generational rewrite has been deftly done, with enough timeliness braided in to make it feel freshly relevant, but all the gags fans want to hear again left reverently intact.

‘Second, the new cast are uniformly excellent, from the three energetically hilarious new Plastics, Rapp, Vandanapu and Bebe Wood, to Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho and Jacquel Spivey as the contented outcasts who initially take in Rice’s Cady, before coaching her to infiltrate the school’s ultimate in-group.

‘And third, Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin’s suite of songs, which draw amusingly on all sorts of noughties pop trends while delighting in their own right.’

While Empire said: ‘Sharp, funny and strongest when it stands on its own two perfectly manicured feet, this snappy musical successfully updates the original Mean Girls template for a fresh audience.

Early reviews of the film have praised the musical as a ‘sharp and funny’ remake after it was released in the US prior to Europe. Pictured, the original ‘Plastics’ in the 2004 film

‘One of the great things about the switch to musical format is that the songs give us a direct window into characters’ feelings and motivations, breaking the fourth wall in ways that would feel straight-up clunky if there wasn’t a tune involved.’

As well as an on-stage musical, there was 2011 Mean Girls sequel – following a different character, but in similar circumstances.

There have also been video games released. And it’s not just on-screen adaptations. Mean Girls has even been taken to printing presses with a  2017 novelisation by Micol Ostow, and a Shakespeare-inspired re-write by Ian Doescher, titled Much Ado About Mean Girls.

SEXY BEAST 

2000: MOVIE

2024: PREQUEL TV SERIES

Sexy Beast, the 2000 cult classic starring Ray Winstone, is back… but not quite as fans know it.

A new prequel TV series on Paramount+, released yesterday, sees Gary ‘Gal’ Dove, played to critical acclaim by Ray Winstone in Jonathan Glazer’s gangster film, in his younger years.

James McArdle (Mare Of Easttown) plays a young Gal – with Winstone’s blessing, while actor Emun Elliott takes on the role of Don Logan in the latest incarnation.

Sarah Greene (Bad Sisters) plays DeeDee – played by Amanda Redman in the film , while Friday Night Dinner’s Tamsin Greig plays his older sister Cecilia.

The TV prequel rewinds to London in the early 90s, with Gal working his way up the food chain in the East End underworld; the series takes great pains to explain Don’s back story.

‘In the movie he’s a psychotic loner,’ says Elliott. ‘We reveal why this terrifying man is who he becomes. There’s vulnerability and trauma. He’s basically a frightened child who lashes out when he’s scared.’

In a withering review, The Telegraph’s Michael Hogan recalled Gal’s famous catchphrase – No, no, no! – and suggested it should have been applied to the idea of a re-make.

His review this week ahead of the TV series being unleashed on January 25th suggested the reboot ‘desperately misses Glazer’s touch’ and offered up just two stars.

He said fans of the original film are likely to be left unmoved by the eight-parter’s finale, writing: ‘The end result feels glib and cynical. This is a deeply unsexy beast.’

The TV series is awash with ‘cartoonish gangsters and geezers’, according to an unimpressed Hamish McBain of The Standard.

The critic was happy to see Gal Dove’s trademark orange swimming trunks filling the opening shot, but it wasn’t enough to garner more than two stars from McBain.

There was more cheering news from The Herald in Scotland, which called the film a triumph for James McArdle and Emun Elliott, saying the TV series is ‘like the film’s little brother’.

And Down Under, film and TV Critic Karl Quinn, on The Sydney Morning Herald, actually gave the film three-and-a-half stars, praising the bravery of Michael Caleo for tackling such a fan favourite. 

MASTERS OF THE AIR

2007: BOOK 

2024: APPLE TV+ MINI-SERIES 

This recently-released World War Two aerial drama, following the men of the U.S. Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group on courageous missions over Germany, is visually immense.

We see vast skyscapes filled with Flying Fortress bombers, weaving through cloudbursts of anti-aircraft flame and flak, as Luftwaffe fighters scream out of the sun with all guns blazing.

In one early sequence, a squadron of planes races up a Greenland fjord before Austin Butler, as the pilot hero Major Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven, lands in a hurricane.

In another, hapless navigator Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle) directs his crew to the wrong side of the Channel, before they struggle back to base for a crash landing in an East Anglian field – with U.S. jeeps racing from all directions to the rescue.

This recently-released World War Two aerial drama, following the men of the U.S. Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group on courageous missions over Germany , is visually immense

Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who also made wartime epic Band Of Brothers more than 20 years ago, every episode places intense emphasis on its technical brilliance

The spectacle never lets up. One heart-stopping tableau follows the next, with a vividness and authenticity that has never been possible before in television history.

This is 1943 and the Americans are just arriving in Europe… three years late, as always, but very welcome.

Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who also made wartime epic Band Of Brothers more than 20 years ago, every episode places intense emphasis on its technical brilliance.

Long tracking shots take us through crowds, so that we catch snatches of conversation as we pass, or along the entire fuselage of a bomber, showing us each of the ten crew as they sweat, curse and struggle.

Based on historian Donald L Miller’s book, the script bombards us with military detail.

As scores of airmen cram into a barn-like briefing room, their intelligence officer unloads facts by the ton: ‘Along the Frisian Islands from Northern Eye to Lange Hoog, you can expect concentrated flak from identified batteries consisting of 88mm and 105mm guns guided by Wurzburg radar, on a straight nine-mile run to the target.’

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS

2005: BOOKS

2010: MOVIE

2010: VIDEO GAME

2017: MUSICAL

2023: DISNEY + SHOW

Nearly two decades after Rick Riordan first published his Percy Jackson novel series, the beloved character and his friends are coming to live again in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series.

The books were first brought to the screen in two films, 2010’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Theif and 2013’s Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

The films starred Logan Lerman as the title character, who learns he’s a demi-god – half human and half Greek god, the son of Poseidon.

Alexandra Daddario also starred as Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, and Brandon T. Jackson as his best friend Grover Underwood, a mystical satyr.

Nearly two decades after Rick Riordan (pictured) first published his Percy Jackson novel series, the beloved character and his friends are coming to live again in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series

The show casts actors who are much closer in age than the characters in the book, who are supposed to be 12 years old.

Fourteen-year-old Walker Scobell plays Percy Jackson, while 14-year-old Leah Jeffries plays Annabeth and 17-year-old Aryan Simhadri plays Grover, with the younger casting praised by Variety’s Aramide Tinubu.

‘Unlike the Percy Jackson films, which aged the characters up, launching the show with younger actors spotlights a unique period while establishing a solid framework that will allow the story to expand as the leading trio ages,’ Tinubu said.

The books were first brought to the screen in two films, 2010’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Theif and 2013’s Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

The films starred Logan Lerman as the title character, who learns he’s a demi-god – half human and half Greek god, the son of Poseidon

Collider’s Chase Hutchinson claimed in his review, ‘For the first time, the lightning in a bottle that was the simple yet sturdy series of books has actually been captured on screen.’

Still, others weren’t quite as convinced, like USA Today’s Kelly Lawler, who mentioned both films managed to disappoint both fans and author Riordan himself… while posting underwhelming numbers at the box office.

Lawler was one of just two critics to give the series a negative review in the first wave, stating that casting younger actors was a misstep.

There was also a video game adaptation of the first movie. In 2017, the series also had a musical adaptation called The Lightning Thief.

THE LAST OF US

2013: VIDEO GAME

2013: COMIC BOOK MINI-SERIES

2014: ONE-NIGHT LIVE SHOW

2023: TV SHOW

The Last Of Us has been hailed by critics as the best video game adaptation of all time – pulling in more than 22 million viewers with its premiere episode when it came out last year.

The first season follows the harrowing journey of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by the mutated cordyceps virus.

HBO had already announced the hit series had been renewed for a second season, although fans could be left waiting more than two years for new episodes.

The show is based on an immensely popular PlayStation game of the same name.

The Last of Us is set in an alternate United States that has been ravaged by a mutated Cordyceps fungus that turns humans into terrifying creatures and has wiped out most of humanity.

The show is based on an immensely popular PlayStation game of the same name, which came out in 2013

The first series centers on Joel who has been tasked with taking a young girl named Ellie out west in hopes her immunity to the fungus can help create a cure.

The storyline largely followed that of the game created by publisher Naughty Dog with some notable alterations, including the shift in the overall timeline as well as the in-depth exploration of the relationship between lovers Bill and Frank.

But, after the season finale aired on March 12, fans were already wondering if the next installment will also follow the same storyline.

Earlier in 2023, HBO confirmed that The Last Of Us had been renewed for a second season.

‘I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,’ executive producer Neil Druckmann said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

‘The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast and crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two!’

There has not been confirmation of when the next installment might reach our screens, but the network has a habit of making fans wait two years for follow-up series, such as with House of the Dragon and Westworld.

The first season follows the harrowing journey of Joel ( Pedro Pascal ) and Ellie ( Bella Ramsey ) in a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by the mutated cordyceps virus

The hit show has also had a series of iterations. After the initial 2013 video-game release on Playstation, there was also a comic-book series and live show

But it has been confirmed that the creators are planning more than one season to cover all the material in The Last of Us: Part II game, which was released on PlayStation 4 in 2020.

In an interview with GQ, Mazin was quizzed over whether the second series would include the entire Part II story, to which he said: ‘No. No way. It’s more than one season.’

Asked further about if this could mean two or three, he added: ‘You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct.’

The hit show has also had a series of iterations. After the initial 2013 video-game release on PlayStation, there was also a comic-book series and one-night live show – which is available on PlayStation’s YouTube.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

2004: GRAPHIC NOVEL

2010: MOVIE, ANIMATED SHORT AND VIDEO GAME

2023: NETFLIX SERIES

Last year, Netflix revealed that Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the rest of the original cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World were returning to voice their respective characters in an anime series adaptation that will delve deeper into the popular graphic novel series that inspired the 2010 film.

The movie, which was also adapted into a video game, was based on the wildly popular Bryan Lee O’Malley-created graphic novel series.

The first volume in the franchise, entitled Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, was published in 2004.

The franchise centers on the eponymous character as he pursues a relationship with mercurial delivery woman Ramona Flowers and attempts to defeat her seven evil exes.

Last year, Netflix revealed that Michael Cera , Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the rest of the original cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World were returning to voice their respective characters in an anime series adaptation

The movie, which was also adapted into a video game , was based on the wildly popular Bryan Lee O’Malley-created graphic novel series.

Five sequels followed the original title, with the final installment being published in 2010.

The graphic novel series was met with widespread critical acclaim during its six-year run, with many reviewers praising its fusion of American and Japanese creative influences.

Edgar Wright went on to adapt the series into Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which starred Michael Cera as the title character.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead costarred as the figure’s love interest while Kieran Culkin played his humorously acerbic roommate Wallace Wells and Ellen Wong portrayed his casual girlfriend Knives Chau.

Jason Schwartzman played the series’ overarching villain, Gideon Graves, while Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Mae Whitman and Satya Bhaba played four of Flowers’ exes.

Alison Pill, Mark Webber and Johnny Simmons played the members of Pilgrim’s band, Sex Bob-Omb, and Brie Larson portrayed the character’s own ex-girlfriend, Envy Adams.

The movie, which also featured musical input from figures such as Beck and Nigel Godrich, was met with a positive critical reception upon its debut, with many reviewers praising the usage of comic book and video game tropes.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World has since developed a strong cult following in the years following its release

However, the feature failed to break even at the box office during its initial period of release.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World has since developed a strong cult following in the years following its release.

A video game based on the graphic novel franchise was later released to much acclaim in 2010.

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER

2008: ANIMATED SERIES

2010: MOVIE

2012: SEQUEL

2024: LIVE ACTION SERIES

The trailer for Netflix’s upcoming live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender aired this month, when the streaming giant shared the first official look at the new version of the animated show via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.

The story follows 12-year-old Aang – the current Avatar and last survivor of his nation, the Air Nomads – as he learns to telekinetically manipulate the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) ‘to restore balance to a world threatened by the Fire Nation,’ according to a synopsis, obtained by People.

It’s an adaptation of the wildly popular Nickelodeon cartoon of the same name, which premiered in 2005 and went on for three seasons before concluding in 2008.

In 2010, an M. Night Shyamalan film version – which starred Dev Patel as fan-favourite Zuko – was released.

While the movie was considered a commercial success — more than doubling it’s $150million budget to make $320million at the box office worldwide — it was almost universally panned by critics and fans alike.

One of the biggest criticisms was the decision to cast white actors — such as Nicola Peltz and Twilight’s Jackson Rathbone — in predominantly Asian or Inuit-based roles, leading to the coining of the term ‘racebending’.

However, the trailer for Netflix’s latest live action series has fans excited to see what’s in store.

In the preview, Aang (played by Gordon Cormier) voices his fear of not being able to protect the world from the Fire Nation, which is determined to destroy ‘everything in their path.’

‘I don’t want the responsibility,’ Aang admits, before he is assured that he will have help defeating Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) from friends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley).

Sokka explains, ‘You don’t have to do this alone. You have me, Katara, and a flying ball of fur. What more do you need?’

‘The Fire Nation has embarked on a dark path, and the world might never recover,’ a narrator explains in the trailer. ‘The world needs the avatar. It needs you, Aang.’

Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) declares he intends on capturing Aang, just like how he’s ‘chased down every [other] hint of the avatar.’

The narrator goes on to say: ‘The world needs you, Aang. Remember what it is we’re really fighting for. The ones we love.’

Following multiple confrontations and near-death experiences, Aang defies gravity as he rises off the ground and declares: ‘I’m the avatar, and I’m gonna save the world — with my friends.’

Avatar: The Last Airbender’s first season, consisting of eight episodes, will hit Netflix on February 22.

The Last Airbender also stars Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as General Iroh, Ken Leung as Commander Zhao, Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula, Kiawentiio as Katara and Ian Ousley as Sokka.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 

1964: NOVEL

1971: MOVIE WITH GENE WILDER

2005: MOVIE WITH JOHNNY DEPP

2013: MUSICAL

2024: PREQUEL

This Roald Dahl classic has been recounted countless times, through a number of different mediums.

The latest has been the Timothée Chalamet-led musical adaptation of Wonka.

It also features Keegan-Michael Key, Matt Lucas, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, and newcomer Calah Lane.

Timothée earned $9M to portray the titular character, according to Variety, beating Tom Holland, Donald Glover, Ezra Miller and Ryan Gosling to the position.

The eccentric genius, who delighted in punishing naughty children, was memorably originated by Gene Wilder in Mel Stuart’s 1971 beloved classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

In 2005, the Tim Burton movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory saw Johnny Depp star as the quirky chocolatier.

The 1964 novel has also been the subject of a 1983 BBC Radio 4 adaptation, 1985 video game, 2010 operatic production, 2013 musical, and even a 2017 Tom and Jerry short.

In 2021, a satirical true crime podcast – called The Candyman – by comedy group Big Big Big, presented the events of the book.

Variety in 2020 also reported that Taika Waititi was partnering with Netflix to work on two animated series set in the universe, although it is not clear if this is still in the works.

Dahl’s depiction of his famous Oompa-Loompas in the first edition of the book described them as almost black-skinned pygmies ‘imported direct from Africa!’

Fast forward nearly 60 years, and Chapter 16 of the latest edition of the book is significantly changed, with Wonka telling the children that the Oompa-Loompas were in fact ‘Imported direct from Loompaland.’

At the Roald Dahl museum and Story Centre, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, a sign went up in the summer at its entrance declaring that the racism of the writer was ‘undeniable and indelible’.

ONE DAY 

2009: NOVEL

2011: MOVIE

2024: NETFLIX SHOW

Earlier this month, the first trailer for the anticipated Netflix adaptation of David Nicolls’ bestselling novel One Day was released.

The 14-episode series will arrive on the streaming service on February 8 and stars White Lotus actor Leo Woodall and This Is Going To Hurt’s Ambika Mod.

The first trailer teases the 20 year story of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew who, on 15th July 1988, the night of their Edinburgh University graduation, speak for the very first time. 

The next morning, they go their separate ways but the novel and TV series catches up with them on the same day every year.

While Nicholls wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film, Scottish screenwriter Nicole Taylor has headed the writing team for the Netflix adaptation

Each episode finds Dex and Em, one year older, on this one particular date, as they grow and change, move together and apart, experience joy and heartbreak.

The trailer shows the pair’s first meeting at a uni party as Emma’s voiceover muses: ‘It’s one of the great cosmic mysteries. How is that someone can go from being a total stranger to being the most important person in your life.’

The teaser then reveals clips of the pair over the years as Dexter chases his ambition to be rich by the age of 40 and Emma pursues her dreams of ‘doing something that actually makes a difference.’

Eleanor Tomlinson also makes an appearance in the trailer as Dex’s wife Sylvie.

The cast is rounded out by the likes of Essie Davis (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries), Tim McInnerny (Blackadder), Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) and Joely Richardson (Lady Chatterley).

The decades-spanning love story is based on the 2009 novel by David Nicholls, which has sold over five million copies worldwide.

It’s not the first time Emma and Dexter’s story has found its way to screen. A movie starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess was released in 2011, but received mixed reviews.

Jan Moir writing for the Daily Mail at the time reviewed the movie ‘as fake as Anne Hathaway’s accent.’

While Nicholls wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film, Scottish screenwriter Nicole Taylor has headed the writing team for the Netflix adaptation.

Taylor won a BAFTA for Best Writer for her 2017 BBC series Three Girls about the Rochdale grooming scandal.

Nicholls is on board as an executive producer.

Lead star Ambika previously told RadioTimes.com that the series will be able to give ‘more time’ to the decades-spanning book, with each episode dedicated to each year in the friends’ lives.

‘I really enjoyed the film, but I think a lot of people felt that – and I would agree – that an hour-and-a-half movie isn’t usually enough to dedicate to this epic novel that spans 20 years,’ she explained.

‘So, hopefully, in our series we’ll be able to cover more ground and sort of zoom in on the story with more detail.’

‘I think the way that our writers are going about it is really beautiful, and hopefully people will just be able to see more of the book in the series.’

MR & MRS SMITH

2005: MOVIE

2024: TV SHOW

The very first trailer for the new action show Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a series based on the iconic 2005 spy thriller starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, dropped last month.

The show stars Donald Glover, 40, and Maya Erskine, 36, as ‘John and Jane Smith’, a married couple who on the surface are just your everyday neighbors – but behind closed doors are actually spies.

The Prime Video show was so-created by Glover, Francesca Sloane, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was set to play Mrs. Smith. However, Phoebe parted ways with Donald and the show over ‘creative differences’ and was ultimately replaced by Erskine.

A trailer for the very first season shows the couple getting to know each other over a cup of coffee, with John asking Jane, ‘Is this your first time in New York?’

‘Should we be asking each other that?’ Jane replies before she asks the more shocking question, ‘Have you ever killed anyone?’

‘No, no. Not really,’ he replies.

The duo are seen posing as the perfect couple to outsiders, presenting as a happy married couple as they host friends at their apartment.

The very first trailer for the new action show Mr. & Mrs. Smith , a series based on the iconic 2005 spy thriller starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie , dropped last month

During a chat with a friend (played by Sarah Paulson), they claim to be computer software engineers.

‘What is that you two do?’ she asks.

‘We’re computer software, uh, engineers,’ they say somewhat awkwardly, seemingly not having their stories completely straight.

During a dinner party, a friend asks, ‘How’s the intimacy between the two of you?’, prompting Jane to smirk.

But when they aren’t presenting as ordinary citizens, they are living a dangerous yet adventurous life full of explosions, chases, brawls, and shootings.

In one scene, the couple are seen moving a seemingly lifeless body by their bathtub.

The new series will debut February 2 on Prime Video.

The show previously starred Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the role Maya is currently inhabiting before she departed over ‘creative differences.’

The original Mr & Mrs Smith movie is known for bringing Brad Pitt and Angelina together as they met on set

Glover revealed the news during a controversial piece for Interview Magazine, where the actor/writer/producer/director interviewed himself.

During his self-interview, Glover confirmed they had, ‘classic creative differences,’ but added that he thinks they are still friends.

‘What does it mean to be a friend? I still like her. I assume she still likes me,’ Glover said.

He then revealed Erskine will be stepping in for Waller-Bridge, saying of her:  ‘Yeah. She’s dope. It’s exciting. I really love the show. I’m writing the finale now.’

In September 2021, The Hollywood Reporter said that Glover and Waller-Bridge are still friends and that the split was ‘amicable.’

The original Mr & Mrs Smith movie is known for bringing Brad Pitt and Angelina together, as the pair met on set while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston. They insisted at the time that there was no infidelity but after a picture emerged of them on a beach in Kenya with Maddox, Aniston filed for divorce.

However, their fairytale romance fell apart in 2016.

A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER

2019: BOOK

2024: TV SERIES

A Good Girl’s Guide to murder delighted true crime fans everywhere when the first novel came out in 2019.

And now, there is a BBC drama in the works. Adapted from Holly Jackson’s hugely successful mystery thriller, it tells the story of single minded Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma) who is determined to prove a murderer’s innocence.

The cast also features Zain Iqbal (Ravi) and will be directed by Dolly Wells.

Author Holly Jackson said: ‘I am so unbelievably excited that Emma is our Pip. She is phenomenal and this role was truly always meant to be hers. And we found our perfect Ravi in Zain’.

‘I can’t wait for us all to be able to watch their scenes. I smile every time I see them together, because I know that we’ve pulled off the impossible, and Emma and Zain are the only two people I would trust to bring these characters to life’.

She added: ‘Everyone’s going to be just as thrilled as I am.’