Are these shows even happening?

We’re being skeptical canaries about the chances of these being made anytime soon.

The Fifth Season TV Show

I first heard murmurs in 2017 that N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season was being adapted for TV by TNT, shortly after I finished the book (five stars, all the way). And then things went quiet. Real quiet.

As networks start looking around for the next “Game of Thrones” epic fantasy success, this could be a contender. Then again, part of the power of this novel was its three interlinked but non-chronological timelines, making this a harder post-GOT sell than the more linear Wheel of Time or Lord of the Rings.

Likelihood of being made? Until I hear different, I’m downgrading this adaptation to “Unlikely.”

The Dark Tower TV Show

If you had asked me last month, I’d have given this show a negative 5% chance of being made. Between the source material—a first book that reads like someone telling you about their half-forgotten, meandering dream—and the fact that even Idris Elba couldn’t save the 2017 movie adaptation from it’s 16% Rotten Tomatoes rating, I was a skeptical canary.  But, apparently, an origin story reboot is in the works, thanks to a push for content by Amazon.

Showrunner Glen Mazzar (The Walking Dead) is on board, along with actors Sam Strike (Nightflyers) and Jasper Pääkkönen (BlacKkKlansman) who will play Roland and The Man in Black respectively.

Likelihood of being made? Yep, it’s being made.

Consider Phlebas TV Show

Well, canaries, I did not like this book. But, with a good screenwriter and showrunner, I can totally see this transformed into an enjoyable intense space action thriller.

But news have been scarce since Amazon announced that it has acquired rights to Iain M. Banks’ book in early 2018. Screenwriter Dennis Kelly (Utopia) rumored to be attached to the project, last year, but I’ve yet to see anything confirmed, and the Consider Phlebas imdb page is a blank slate.

Likelihood of being made? For now, I’m writing this adaptation off as a victim of Amazon’s enthusiastic (and slightly frenetic) grab at popular novels as it tries to build up Primeworld and become a real contender in the streaming market. Other novels with rights now owned by Amazon include Ringworld, Snow Crash, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and Conan the Barbarian. 

What adaptations would you like to see on the big screen?