Over 30 Movies Being Adapted Into TV Shows, Ranked From Worst To Best Idea

TV companies are going crazy trying to mine film libraries for the next big television series, because why come up with an original untested idea without an established brand name title, right? I almost included the movie to television series trend in my 9 Current Movie and Television Trends I Hate article last month, but I decided it was too soon to make that judgement.

While I'm already tired of seeing the announcements, I really loved Fargo (and I really mean LOVED — it's my favorite television series of the year), I'm still enjoying Friday Night Lights/Parenthood showrunner Jason Katims' About a Boy, and I know many people who really dig Hannibal, Bates Motel, and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. So it's hard for me to condemn it at this point.  And yes there are also Gotham, Constantine and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I consider those shows comic book adaptations.

You might be shocked to learn that there are currently over 30 television shows in development right now based on big screen movies. Which are good ideas? Which sound horrible? After the jump, I attempt to rank all of the movies being adapted into TV shows, by concept from worst to most promising ideas.

31. Real GeniusAdam Sandler's company Happy Madison Productions is developing an NBC television adaptation of the 1985 college campus comedy starring Val Kilmer. Craig DiGregorio (Workaholics co-exec producer) wrote the television pilot with David King (Parks and Recreation, The League).

The movie was "a smart and cheeky guide to doing right by the old coming of age comedy structure" about an individualistic student Chris Knight (Kilmer) and his fellow student and extreme brown-noser Kent. But the TV series version will drop most of the signature elements and set the story in a workplace instead of a school.

 The show will center around "the relationship between two co-workers with incompatible personalities." Watch the trailer for the original Real Genius movie here. The workplace comedy doesn't sound like something in my wheelhouse.

30. Marley and Me

NBC has given a put pilot commitment to a Marley and Me TV series as a single-camera sitcom. The show will be a follow-up to the 2008 dramedy directed by David Frankel which was based on the memoir by John Grogan. The film told the story of Grogan's relationship with his dog, which had many ups and downs. Of course, the movie definitively ended that story, but the show will pick up where the film left off.

John and Jenny Grogan (played by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in the movie) have just moved back to Florida with their three kids (a 16-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a 6-year-old girl) so he can return to his newspaper column. When they discover their next door neighbors are neglecting an adorable puppy, they have no choice but to take the animal in. They name the new dog Marley because she inherits all of Marley's stuff, which already has Marley's name on it, and because they need to name the show after the original movie to sucker people into watching.

Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City, The Big C) will script, Frankel will direct the pilot and I won't be watching.29. Monster-In-LAwAmy R Harris (The Carrie Diaries) and John Riggi (30 Rock) are writing a multi-camera adaptation of Monster-in-Law for Warner Bros Television. The series will be "loosely inspired" by the 2005 comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda, which centered around a woman butting heads with her fiancé's overprotective mother in the run-up to the wedding, but the show will follow a happy couple juggling parenthood and a complicated relationship with the husband's mother.

The project is not currently set up at a network but it seems perfect for network television. I have no interest in a show spotlighting these kind of family dynamics.

28. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

I have to admit, I didn't think a Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs movie was a good idea — I'm not sure anyone did. But I think Phil Lord and Chris Miller surprised nearly everyone. So when I heard that DHX Media, the company behind the Paddington film and in-development TV re-do of Inspector Gadget, is working with Sony Animation to create a Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs TV series, I had the same reaction.

The show will consist of 22-minute CG-animated episodes that follow the basic concept of the two films, but we don't yet know how it will be "re-imagined for the small screen" just yet. We have heard that Flint Lockwood and "many familiar faces from the film like new school reporter Sam Sparks, Flint's father Tim, Steve the Monkey, and sardine model Brent McHale" will feature into the new television show. But without Lord and Miller typing away on the other side of that computer screen, I'm not sure I care to see how they expand the 30-page children's book into 26 episodes.

27. Uncle Buck

ABC is developing a tv series adaptation of Uncle Buck, the 1989 comedy starring John Candy and directed by John Hughes. This is not the first time Uncle Buck has been a tv series. Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley (both MADtv alums) will write the multi-camera half-hour series, as well as executive produce alongside Will Packer (Ride Along).

Hughes' original movie featured Candy as a schlubby man-child type who is tasked with watching his brother's unruly kids. Laurie Metcalf, Macaulay Culkin, Amy Madigan, and Gaby Hoffmann also starred. Much like most of John Hughes' projects, Uncle Buck featured characterizations and situations that were somehow relatable by most everyone and despite the music, clothes and pop culture, had a timeless core. So I can see why ABC would want to try to turn Uncle Buck into a sitcom, and if they are able to avoid the pitfalls of the 1990 television show, it could work. But I'm just not interested.

26. Ghost

Paramount is remaking the hit 1990 film Ghost for television. Writers Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner (who worked together on Fringe) are attached to adapt the film for the small screen. No network is attached and only a pilot is in the works at this time.

The original film starred Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Jerry Zucker, it won two Oscars and was the second-highest grossing film of the year, making over $215 million. The movie was about a murder victim who attempts to solve the crime of his own killing, and also reconnect with his girl, while existing as a ghost.

Now this idea could either be adapted as a serial story with a season long arc or as a procedural following the Whoopi Goldberg character communicating with ghosts to solve crimes and reconnect with their lost loves. Neither of these sound like a show I'll be watching.

25. Problem ChildProblem Child is one of those late Eighties/Early nineties comedies that was somehow iconic but wasn't very good. The film told the story of couple (played by John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck) who can't conceive and decide to adopt. The result is Junior, the titular character who loves to terrorize everything and everyone around him. The film made over $50 million, which was a lot at that time, and even got a sequel the next year.Old School and Hangover writer Scot Armstrong has been hired by NBC to develop the movie into a single-camera sitcom. There is nothing I hate more on television or movies (ugh Phantom Menace) than an annoying child actor who is given reign to have at it. And the premise is nothing but repetitive — it'll likely be episode after episode of the Problem Child doing bad things and then being forgiven or learning a lesson. But of course, repetitive predictable programing like this does oh so well on network television so I imagine it will (sadly) find an audience.24. Bachelor Party

ABC has hired New Girl writers J.J. Philbin and Josh Malmuth to make a television adaptation of the 1984 Tom Hanks comedy about the ultimate bachelor party thrown by a group of friends on the eve of his wedding. The movie took place over the crazy night testing if Hanks' character could resist the temptation of being unfaithful to his fiancée. Of course, I have no idea how you turn this idea in't a television sitcom, although the pilot writes itself.

The half-hour comedy centers around three couples: one just starting to fall in love, one on the verge of marriage, and one freshly divorced. The series will supposedly examine modern relationships and romance as the characters "experience the trial-by-fire that is the modern day, co-ed bachelor/bachelorette extravaganza." It's envisioned as an anthology, with each season centering on a different wedding party.

I agree with Angie Han, the series really doesn't need to be an adaptation of the 1984 movie as its almost entirely different. Like... whats the point of calling your movie Battleship if its an alien concept not even remotely based on the source material?

23. In Good Company

The In Good Company TV series is being developed by CBS and Paul Weitz, who wrote and co-directed the 2004 film, and Happy Endings alums Josh Bycel and Jon Fenner. The show is being envisioned as a multi- and single-camera hybrid, whatever that means, and will center around a middle-aged executive dealing with a new boss that's much younger than he is — and who also begins dating his daughter. Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, and Scarlett Johansson played those roles in the movie.

I can see how a television series with this premise would work and check all the boxes on the network television clipboard, but I'm really not interested in another one of these series.

22. LimitlessBradley Cooper is set to executive produce a television series based on the 2011 sci-fi thriller for CBS, along with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The movie was based on Alan Glynn's novel The Dark Fields and followed a man named Brian Sinclair who gains the ability to use 100% of his brain power after taking a drug called NZT. The TV series will pick up where that story left off, with Brian using his newfound powers to become a force for good.

Cooper is not expected to reprise the role of Sinclair but the original film's director Neil Burger will helm the pilot and executive produce. Craig Sweeney (Elementary) will write the adaptation and also executive produce. I'm not sure how a Limitless television series will be able to compete in a television landscape filled with Marvel and DC Comics superheroes. What makes Limitless stand out or look different? And is anyone that big of a fan of the movie? It only made $79 million domestically, which isn't a huge number in 2o11. All of that said, the concept at the core isn't a bad one.

21. HitchWill Smith is set to executive produce a small-screen remake of Hitch, his 2005 romantic comedy which grossed $370 million worldwide. This is the third time a Hitch television series has been attempted, first in 2007 at CBS and in 2010 at Fox, but neither got off the ground. Fox has given a script commitment with Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont (Leap Year, Made of Honor) writing the script.

The 2005 film starred Smith as a professional dating consultant who teaches uncharismatic men how to woo women. The television series adaptation will be a single-camera, half-hour workplace comedy "exploring contemporary dating and sexual politics." The high concept premise certainly lends itself to a television series, with Hitch's business encountering either an episodic, case-of-the-week format to a serialized long-form storyline.

I can see this working out well, but I personally would rather see an HBO or premium cable network adaptation of Neil Strauss' book The Game which has equal parts this and a Fight Club project mayhem secret society-like club.20. Mortal Instruments

I never got to see the 2013 Harald Zwart movie, but Cassandra Clare's young adult novel series is apparently popular enough to warrant the development of a television series adaptation which will pick up where the first film left off. The movie told the story of a young woman who learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She must join forces with others like her and venture into a dangerous alternate New York City called Downworld. The Clint List/Helix producer Ed Decter is attached to run the show, with production starting next year. Hey, if Teen Wolf can be a hit, why not this? :/

19. School Of Rock

Nickelodeon is has given a straight-to-series order for School of Rock, based on Richard Linklater's 2003 film. The movie was a big hit in 2003, winning high marks from critics and grossing $131 million worldwide. It remains Linklater's most commercially successful movie to date. A sequel was briefly considered but never panned out. Linklater is on board to executive produce along with Scott Rudin. The cable network has ordered a thirteen-episode first season which will premiere in spring 2015. Jim and Steve Armogida (Grounded for Life, Crash & Bernstein, My Family) are serving as showrunners.

Much like the movie, the School of Rock TV series will focus on a wannabe rock star named Dewey Finn who poses as a substitute teacher at a fancy prep school and teaches the buttoned-up kids about the magic of rock 'n' roll. Dewey was played by Jack Black in the film, Tony Cavalero (The Single Life, Hart of Diixie) will play the character in the School of Rock TV series.

School of Rock is pretty solid source material for a TV series, although I'm disappointed this series will air on Nickelodeon which means it will probably be more focused towards children than the original film, which was a movie that connected with a wide spectrum of audiences.18. UnderworldLen Wiseman, who wrote and directed the Underworld films is developing a television series based on the franchise. The original 2003 film came years before Twilight and followed a beautiful vampire warrior who is "entrenched in a war between the vampire and werewolf races", first aligned with the vampires, but "she falls in love with Michael, a werewolf who longs for the war to end." We don't know anything about the television adaptation but I'm guessing that it might be aimed at the Young Adult demographic and could end up on a network like MTV.17. Rush Hour

Brett Ratner and Arthur Sarkissian are producing a Rush Hour television series at CBS, with Bill Lawrence and Blake McCormick as creative leads. Aside from a pilot commitment, we don't know much more. Bill Lawrence is writing it with Blake McCormick, with the latter serving as showrunner.

The show will supposedly stick pretty close to the template of the films: a cocky Los Angeles cop is partnered with reserved Hong Kong detective who is in town working a case and "wacky hijinks and excessive action ensue, along with plenty of culture clash comedy." As Russ Fischer pointed out, the appeal of the films came not from the premise but from "the way Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan bounced off one another. (Literally, in many cases.) " So I imagine this series will live or die based on the casting of these two lead roles.

16. Shooter

Mark Wahlberg is teaming up with Paramount TV to bring his 2007 film, Shooter, to TNT as a television series. Antoine Fuqua directed the original film, which grossed $47 million in the US and $95 million total internationally. The Shield and Underworld: Awakening writer John Hlavin will pen the drama adaptation about an American Marksman trained in counter intelligence and on the run from the U.S. government. The "on the run" aspect lends itself well to serialized television but how long can this kind of story spin its wheels?

15. The Devil's Advocate

NBC is developing a TV series based on the 1997 movie The Devil's Advocate, about a young lawyer who realizes his boss is the Devil in the literal sense. 

John Wells (Shameless) is producing along with Arnold Kopelson, who worked on the original film. Matt Venne, whose credits include Stephen King's Bag of Bones and The Exorcism of Molly Hartley, is writing the script.

Directed by Taylor Hackford, 1997's The Devil's Advocate was based on Andrew Neiderman's novel of the same title. Keanu Reeves starred as Kevin Lomax, a public defense attorney who accepts an offer to join a prestigious New York law firm run by John Milton (Al Pacino). Charlize Theron co-starred as Reeves's wife. The film earned decent reviews and grossed $153 million at the box office.

I'm not sure if anyone is looking forward to a tv series adaptation of The Devil's Advocate, but I've enjoyed having the devil as a focal character on past tv shows like Reaper and I like stories where good people are put in hard to say no comprimising moral situations — so I'm willing to give this a chance.

14. In the Heat of the Night

Showtime has picked up the  In the Heat of the Night television series from Tate Taylor (The Help), based on the 1967 drama starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. Directed by Norman Jewison, the Civil Rights-era film starred Potier as a police detective investigating a murder in a small Mississippi state, and butting heads with the local police chief played by Steiger. Jewison's picture earned five Academy Awards, including ones for Best Picture and Best Actor (for Steiger). It spawned two film sequels and a TV series than ran from 1988 to 1994.

Like the original movie, Taylor's In the Heat of the Night television series will explore character and race in Mississippi, but it will be set in the present day instead of the '60s. No further story details have been revealed, but considering its a Showtime network series you can bet it will be socially relevant. And its also Showtime's involvement in this movie to television adaptation that has me interested in the project.

13. Scream

I was actually a pretty big fan of Scream when it came out, and have enjoyed the sequels, even the bad ones. MTV's plan to turn the post modern meta horror film into a television series had me excited until I heard that the show (at this point anyways) won't feature Ghostface, the recognizable masked killer who made his on-screen debut in the original 1996 film. Apparently, the Ghostface mask was actually an existing creation, owned by the company FunWorld, and either MTV doesn't want to pay the rights to use the design or have yet to obtain the rights.

But not having Ghostface doesn't kill the television adaptation for me, because a killer could be using any kind of halloween disguise if the writing is as good as Kevin Williamson's original screenplay. The Scream series has always been good at its world building, creating layers of meta commentary on the horror film genre.

Jamie Travis directed the pilot from a script by exec producer Jill Blotevogel (Ravenswood), who rewrote the draft by Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin (Criminal Minds, Revenge). The show is set to star Willa Fitzgerald(Alpha House), John Karna (Premature), Carlson Young (Key and Peele) Amadeus Serafini and Bex Taylor-Klaus (The Killing). The first ten-episode run of Scream will debut in October 2015.12. 12 Monkeys

Syfy is making a television series adaptation of Terry Gilliam's 1995 film 12 Monkeys. Bruce Willis played the time-traveling convict in the original film. The show, which follows the journey of a Aaron Sanford (Nikita, Pyro in the X-Men films) as time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who is on a mission to eradicate the source of a deadly plague, is gearing up to premiere on Friday, January 16th 2015 at 9pm. Amanda Schull takes on the role played by Madeline Stowe in the original film.  You can watch the television trailer here.

I'm a time travel fanatic, so I'm probably over excited about this television adaptation. But I'm really not expecting this to be great because its airing on Syfy and I haven't ended up liking any of their original scripted programing with exception of Battlestar and Farscape. Also 12 Monkey's placement on this list at #12 is just pure coincidence and not intended.

11. Big

Fox is developing a TV series remake of Big, the 1988 comedy starring Tom Hanks. The reason I have faith in this one is because its coming from Kevin Biegel and Mike Royce, who most recently worked together on the beloved-but-cancelled Enlisted. The duo are writing and executive producing the half-hour comedy series, which is being envisioned as an ongoing series with a limited episode count (meaning fewer than the traditional 22 per season — which is also usually a good sign).

Tthe original film centered on a adolescent boy who wishes to be a grown-up, and wakes up the next day as a 30-year-old man (Hanks). Like the movie, the Big TV series will consider "what it means to be an adult, what it means to be a kid, and how in today's world those two things are more confused than ever." Its interesting because since the release of the 1988 film adults have evolved and have come to embrace their inner kids more than past generations. So I could even see this being a completely swapped twist on the original concept.

10. Terminator

Terminator has been turned into a television series before with The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but the new Terminator series is being developed in line with Annapurna Pictures' new Terminator Genisys film reboot (announced trilogy) and will be directly related in an unexpected way. Apparently the tv series hinges on "a critical moment" from the original James Cameron-directed Terminator. Which moment? We don't know, but where the original film's story went one way, the upcoming television show "will take that same moment in a completely different direction." I've heard from very good sources that the idea for this television series is much much better than the idea for the Terminator Genisys film it spawns from. Count me interested for now.

9. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Netflix has picked up the rights to Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and plans to adapt the books into a live-action television series. The books centered around three orphans who are forced into the care of the villainous Count Olaf, a similar idea which has been very successful for Universal with the Despicable Me films. The books were previously turned into a 2004 movie starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep which grossed $209 million worldwide but wasn't enough to start a movie franchise.

The book series consists of 13 installments published between 1999 and 2006, known for their macabre elements, dark sense of humor, and Gothic or steampunk-like setting. The story centers around Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, whose parents have just been killed in a house fire, and are sent to live with a distant relative called Count Olaf, who'll stop at nothing to steal the fortune that the children inherited from their parents. The kids try to avoid Olaf's evil clutches while figuring out what happened to their mom and dad.

I think the concept might make for an interesting television series and Netflix has been doing it mostly right thus far. They have a core set of 13 books in which to work off, with stories beloved by fans of the popular series.

8. Ash vs. Evil DeadSam Raimi is working with Starz on an Evil Dead TV series, with a ten-episode half-hour season order which will see Bruce Campbell to reprise his role from the movies. Ash vs. Evil Dead will serve as the continuation of the three Raimi-directed Evil Dead films, which culminated with Army of Darkness. So this could be looked at as Evil Dead 4, but as a five-hour television series.

Sam Raimi will direct the pilot and is co-writing that with brother Ivan Raimi (Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell) and Tom Spezialy (Chuck, Reaper). The series will follow Ash, "a stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last three decades avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead."

When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons — personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its evil grip.

I have always appreciated the low-budget film goodness of Raimi's original film but Army Of Darkness is my real favorite of this franchise. So if the series can channel more of the third film than the first two installments, I'll be interested to see how it turns out.

Hit the jump to find out the final and top 8 Movies Being Adapted Into TV Shows, Ranked From Worst To Best Idea!

7. The Truman Show

Peter Weir's 1998 film The Truman Show starred Jim Carrey as a man discovers that his entire life is a television show designed to entertain the masses. Paramount it hoping to replicate this for the small screen, but we don't know much more than that. The movie came out in the beginning of the reality-TV boom but the concept doesn't seem nearly as outlandish as it was almost 20 years ago — When I first saw the headline I actually wondered if this might be an unscripted television adaptation with them finding someone to actually live in a fake town with fake actors. We haven't gone that far, yet.

But the whole point of the film is that the primary character gradually discovers the reality of his own existence, how long can that discovery last? And there is only so much you can tease this before you reveal the truth. A season at most? What happens when Truman tries to find out? In the film he escapes. I can't imagine the show letting that happen unless its a limited one season arc. I also can't imagine a show forcing Truman to live fully aware he is trapped in a fake world.

But I loved the movie and enjoy the idea of watching the behind the scenes of a director orchestrating the fake world beyond Truman's door, trying to keep the illusion running. So while I'm skeptical it can last, I'm very interested because of the source material.

6. American GigoloParamount and Jerry Bruckheimer are reteaming for a television adaptation of the 1980 crime drama about a lucrative escort (played by Richard Gere in the film) to older women in the Los Angeles who gets wrapped up in a murder investigation of one of his clients and begins to suspect he's being framed. I can easily imagine this Fugitive story as a one season television arc.5. AshecliffeShutter Island was liked but wasn't hugely acclaimed, especially within the filmography of director Martin Scorsese. With the filmmaker's HBO series Boardwalk Empire coming to a close, Paramount Television is working with the director on a television series adaptation of Shutter Island, titled Ashecliffe.

"Ashcliffe" is both the name of the hospital in the movie (and potential series), and an early title of the original film. The show would focus on the island-set hospital years before the events of Shutter Island, "and the secrets and misdeeds perpetrated by its founders who erected the hospital in the early 20th Century and developed the methods of treatment use for the mentally ill."

Normally I wouldn't be excited based on this premise, but the people involved have me interested. The pilot script was written by Dennis Lehane, the author whose novel inspired Scorsese's original film, and Martin Scorsese might direct the pilot episode. Amy Powell, head of Paramount TV, came up with the idea and brought it to Scorsese and Lehane, who both loved the concept. 

4. The Illusionist

The CW is bringing the 2006 film to the small screen with a script by Mark Hudis, the Emmy nominated writer of Nurse Jackie and True Blood. The movie from director Neil Burger starring Ed Norton, Paul Giamatti and Jessica Biel was loosely based on real events from late-1800s Austria, but the television series will move the setting to New York, and change some significant character dynamics.

Still set in the 20th century period, with the main character as a renowned illusionist who returns home from a decade in prison to find his wife re-married to the crime boss who framed him. He then poses as an underling in the crime boss' organization where he rises to power quickly, using magic to pull off elaborate heists, with a plan to "take down the boss from the inside and win back his one true love." It actually sounds like a pretty cool concept that could sustain itself for longer than a season.

3. Frequency

NBC is developing the 2000 time travel thriller Frequency into a television series. The film featured Jim Caviezel as a guy whose radio allowed him to speak with his dead father (played by Dennis Quaid), and the story involving a thriller plot involving a serial killer. Warner Bros. Television is developing the series with current Supernatural showrunner Jeremy Carver scripting. Toby Emmerich, who wrote the original film, is acting as exec producer alongside alongside Jennifer Gwartz, Dan Lin and John Rickard.  The series will be a character-driven drama in which an NYPD detective connects with his son, 30 years in the future.

"The two must work together to change the history of tragic events to come while also getting the chance to heal their complicated relationship."

I'm a big fan of the original film and a huge time travel fanatic, so I'm in no matter what. The concept echoes the original film but with an interesting twist that the Caviezel character is interacting with his future son.

2. Minority Report

20th Century Fox is developing Steven Spielberg's small-screen adaptation of Minority Report written by screenwriter Max Borenstein (Gareth Edwards' Godzilla) for Amblin television.

Spielberg's 2002 film was based on a short story of the same name by legendary science fiction author Philip K. Dick. The film was set in the year 2054, with action in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. There, a specialized police department called "PreCrime" goes after criminals before they commit crimes, based on predictions from (spoiler alert) three psychics called "precogs". Tom Cruise played PreCrime Captain John Anderton, who comes into the crosshairs of the system he helps run, and hopes to escape and discover the reason why he has been targeted by the program. The film also starred Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow. It was one of the best reviewed films of 2002.

But the interesting thing about the television series is that it will be a sequel to the movie:

The Minority Report follow-up takes place 10 years after the end of Precrime in D.C. when one of the three Precogs struggles to lead a "normal" human life but remains haunted by visions of the future. He meets a detective haunted by her past who just may help him find a purpose to his gift.

Thats right, the series will swap the genders of the detective and precog, and will also serve as sequel to the original film. Count me interested. I also think it would have been easy to make a procedural crime/mystery a week series with the initial Minority Report concept, but instead setting it as a sequel makes it even more interesting. Now the only problem is that while I love most of Spielberg's movies, most of his network television series aren't usually that great.

1. Westworld

Michael Chritchton's Westworld hit the big screen in 1973 with Yul Brynner as a gunslinger robot that goes amok at a theme park. You can watch the trailer for the original film here. The HBO television adaptation comes from producer J.J. Abrams and Jonah Nolan (writer of The Dark Knight and Interstellar, and creator of the show Person of Interest). The show will be "...a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin."

Jonathan Nolan directed the pilot, which he scripted with Lisa Joy (Burn Notice). This isn't the first time Westworld has been adapted to television. There was a short-lived series called Beyond Westworld which was meant to expand upon the original film and its sequel Futureworld, but only a few episodes were ever aired.

There are so many things about this project that have me excited. First off, its a Bad Robot production from producer JJ Abrams. Secondly, its an HBO television series and I tend to love most of the shows they air. Thirdly, Jonathan Nolan is a great writer who works with complicated and interesting ideas. Not only is he involved creatively as a writer but also directing the pilot — and maybe his family was gifted with filmmaking genetics. And #4: The source material has a lot to get excited about. I love sci-fi and theme parks and this combines those two subjects in ways that I only hoped Tomorrowland and Jurassic World would.