Surrey


<p>Don’t let the kids have all the fun this World Book Day. This is shaping up to be a bumper year for book-to-TV adaptations, with a number of superb series already released, and many more in the pipeline. These are the ones we’re most excited about – take note and add the books to your TBR pile in anticipation!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dope-girls-bbc-and-iplayer-out-now"><em>Dope Girls</em>, BBC and iPlayer, out now</h2>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="These women mean business | Dope Girls - BBC" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/46gmegmSG4E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Dubbed the female&nbsp;<em>Peaky Blinders</em>, our hopes could not have been higher for&nbsp;<strong><em>Dope Girls</em></strong>, a gritty, historical drama brought to you by the same production company as&nbsp;<em>Industry</em>&nbsp;and<em>&nbsp;I Hate Suzie</em>. Based on Marek Kohn’s book,&nbsp;<em>Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground</em>, the series follows a newly empowered, post-WWl generation of female gangs responsible for the birth of the modern nightlife industry. Starring Nabhaan Rizwan, Fiona Button, Eliza Scanlen, Dustin Demri-Burns, Geraldine James and Julianne Nicholson, this is an absolute riot!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frankenstein-netflix-november"><em>Frankenstein</em>, Netflix, November</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Frankenstein.jpg" alt="Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein for Netflix" class="wp-image-106258" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein</figcaption></figure>



<p>Cor blimey, there’s<em>&nbsp;sooo</em>&nbsp;much star power attached to this remake of Mary Shelley’s 1818 cult horror – we can’t contain our excitement! Directed by Guillermo del Torro – so we’re expecting all kinds of weird, wonderful and scary – and starring Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac, Charles Dance, Christoph Waltz and Lars Mikkelsen, we’ll deffo be rereading the original in anticipation. Roll on November!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dope-thief-apple-tv-fri-14-mar"><em>Dope Thief</em>, Apple TV+, Fri 14 Mar</h2>



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<p>Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel<strong><em>&nbsp;Dope Thief,</em></strong>&nbsp;about two crooks posing as drug enforcement agents to rob small-time drug dealers, is such good TV fodder it’s surprising it has taken this long for an adaptation. But with Ridley Scott and Peter Craig producing and the brilliant Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura starring, it looks like our patience has been rewarded.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lord-of-the-flies-bbc-one-tbc"><em>Lord of the Flies</em>, BBC One, TBC</h2>



<p>Though the thought of William Golding’s island classic,<em><strong>&nbsp;Lord of the Flies</strong></em>, will be giving many of you A-level PTSD, we’re stoked for this remake, penned by Jack Thorne. Details are scarce, but we know that filming has begun in Malaysia with a relatively new young cast. Oh and Hans Zimmer is composing the score so we’re expecting it to be suitably epic.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-miss-austen-bbc-out-now"><em>Miss Austen</em>, BBC, out now</h2>



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<p>In case you didn’t know, 2025 marks Jane Austen’s 250th birthday and&nbsp;<strong><em>Miss Austen</em></strong>&nbsp;is the first of several TV adaptations to honour the literary great. Set after Austen’s death, this witty heartbreaker explores the bond she had with her sister Cassandra – yes she of letter burning infamy. Written by Andrea Gibb, based on Gill Hornby’s bestselling&nbsp;novel<em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</em>starring Keeley Hawes, Rose Leslie, Synnove Karlsen, Patsy Ferran, Phyllis Logan and Max Irons, this lavish series is quite the birthday pressie.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-feels-like-for-a-girl-nbsp-bbc-tbc"><em>What It Feels Like For A Girl,</em>&nbsp;BBC, TBC</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/paris-Lees-2.jpg" alt="Paris Lees and her novel What it Feels Like For A Girl" class="wp-image-106224" /></figure>



<p>Ready for a hit of Y2K nostalgia? We are, and we’re eagerly awaiting&nbsp;<em><strong>What It Feels Like For A Girl</strong></em>, an upcoming BBC adaptation of Paris Lees’ electrifying memoir. It follows Byron, a teenager stuck in a small post-industrial town, who yearns for more, and finds it in Nottingham’s, seedy, drug-fuelled club scene of the early Noughties. With Lees writing and producing and&nbsp;<em>Back to Life</em>‘s Chris Sweeney on directing duties, this should be blimmin’ fantastic.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-death-of-bunny-munro-sky-tbc"><em>The Death of Bunny Munro</em>, Sky, TBC</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/TDOBM-1st-Look.jpg-copy.jpg" alt="Matt Smith as Bunny Munro in the upcoming Sky Series" class="wp-image-103701" /></figure>



<p>Nick Cave’s Noughties novel&nbsp;<strong><em>The Death of Bunny Munro</em></strong>&nbsp;has been adapted for telly by none other than Pete Jackson, who was behind the astonishing&nbsp;<em>Somewhere Boy</em>, so excitement levels are high for this. Throw in Matt Smith as the titular Bunny – a door-to-door salesman and self-professed lothario with a sex addiction – and we’re watching with bells on.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="trespasses"><em>Trespasses</em>, Channel 4, TBC</h2>



<p>Another on the Muddy watch (and read) list is Louise Kennedy’s 2022 debut novel,&nbsp;<strong><em>Trespasses</em></strong>. Published to high acclaim, it tells the story of a dangerous affair between a Protestant and a Catholic set against the backdrop of the Troubles. Adapted for screen by&nbsp;<em>Bad Sisters</em>‘ Ailbhe Keogan, produced by BAFTA award-winning and double Oscar-nominated Wildgaze Films (<em>Brooklyn, An Education)</em>&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;starring Gillian Anderson, Tom Cullen and Lola Petticrew – we’re sold!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-stolen-girl-disney-tbc"><strong><em>The Stolen Girl</em>, Disney+, TBC</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-stolen-gjrl-disney.pg_.jpg" alt="Jim Sturgess and Denise Gough, and Ambika Mod in The Stolen Girl" class="wp-image-106230" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jim Sturgess, Denise Gough and Ambika Mod</figcaption></figure>



<p><strong><em>The Stolen Girl&nbsp;</em></strong>is adapted from Alex Dahl’s bestselling 2020 novel,&nbsp;<em>Playdate</em>, which&nbsp;sees every parent’s worst nightmare come to life when a child is abducted from a sleepover. Yep, dark and terrifying stuff, but with Denise Gough, Holliday Grainger, Ambika Mod, Jim Sturgess, Bronagh Waugh and Michael Workeye starring, we’ll grin, bear it, and probably love it!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-sky-atlantic-tbc"><em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em>, Sky Atlantic, TBC</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-2.jpg" alt="Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall from George R.R. Martin's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-106239" /></figure>



<p>If&nbsp;<em>House of the Dragon&nbsp;</em>isn’t enough to keep all you&nbsp;<em>Game of Thrones&nbsp;</em>fans happy, you’ll be pleased to hear that&nbsp;<strong><em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms&nbsp;</em></strong>is coming to a screen near you later this year. Set a century before the first<em>&nbsp;GoT</em>&nbsp;book,<em>&nbsp;A Song of Ice and Fire,&nbsp;</em>this prequel is based on a novella penned by George R.R. Martin and follows the escapades of hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Though no dragons or White Walkers are said to be making an appearance, we’re sure it will be similarly compulsive viewing (and reading) as anything that comes out of Westeros.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-other-bennet-sister-nbsp-bbc-one-tbc"><em>The Other Bennet Sister,</em>&nbsp;BBC One, TBC</h2>



<p>Next up on the Jane Austen-related adaptations is Janice Hadlow’s popular novel,&nbsp;<em>The Other Bennet Sister</em>, which reimagines the life of Mary Bennet, the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister of the Bennet clan from&nbsp;<em>Pride and Prejudice</em>. An epic love story, it will take viewers from Regency London to the Lake District. Gorgeous.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-towards-zero-out-now-bbc-iplayer"><em>Towards Zero</em>, out now, BBC iPlayer</h2>



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<p>An Agatha Christie adaptation with an all-star cast? We know, it’s the stuff of Sunday night TV dreams! Anjelica Huston, Matthew Rhys, Jack Farthing, Ella Lily Hyland, Clarke Peters, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Anjana Vasan and&nbsp;<em>Sex Education</em>‘s Mimi Keene all star in&nbsp;<strong><em>Towards Zero</em></strong>, Christie’s tale of a murdered widow, a scandalous celebrity divorce, a failed suicide attempt and a misjudged accusation of theft. Adopt the armchair detective position to find out how they all connect.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-thursday-murder-club-netflix-tbc"><em>The Thursday Murder Club</em>, Netflix, TBC</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thursday-Murder-Club.jpg" alt="Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley with Richard Osman for the Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club" class="wp-image-106262" /></figure>



<p>Richard Osman’s murder-mystery novel series about a group of crime-solving pensioners took the world by storm when the first one, <strong><em>The Thursday Murder Club</em></strong>, was released in 2020. Now, four books later, there&#8217;s an adaptation starring Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, Tom Ellis and Richard E Grant <em>and </em>directed by Stephen Spielberg. It comes to the streamer later this year and, like the books, we’re sure it will be a hit.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-kill-your-family-netflix-tbc"><em>How to Kill Your Family</em>, Netflix, TBC</h2>



<p>Ok, ok so this adaptation of Bella Mackie’s multimillion bestselling thriller likely won’t be out until 2026. But it’s too good not to have on your radar. Anya Taylor-Joy has been confirmed as the lead, Grace. She picks off members of her wealthy and estranged extended family one by one following her mother’s death. Brought to you by the same production company as <em>Killing Eve</em>, this will be a smash. And if you’ve not read the book yet, do so now! Yes that is an order!</p>



<p><strong><em><a href="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/film-tv/film-tv-whats-new-this-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">For this week&#8217;s top TV viewing click here</a></em></strong></p>


2025’s best book-to-TV adaptations for World Book Day

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