10 Movies That Would Have Been Much Better As TV Shows

A lot of movies have premises that are easily adapted for TV shows, but some of these stories would have been better just formatted for the small screen in the first place. Plenty of films have inspired hit TV series in the past, like M*A*S*H, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and What We Do in the Shadows, with many shows turning out even better than the movies they’re based on. What if they had simply skipped the movie stage and been ideas for a series all along? Especially now in the era of prestige television, creators should be considering whether their movie project would be better suited to the longer format.

Some storytellers build such a fascinating world for their movies that the best way to explore it in depth would actually be with a TV series. Also, occasionally a movie’s characters are far more memorable than its plot, and a TV series would be a better way of presenting them in different situations. In general, TV shows have more time to dig into the lives of secondary characters, and to try out different storylines to see what works best in practice. This is why a number of movies, even some good ones, would have been improved if their creators started out with the intention of making a TV show instead.

10 Mean Girls (2004)

A Mean Girls sitcom would’ve been like 30 Rock meets a female-focused Freaks and Geeks.

Due to the enduring love for Mean Girls, it’s hard to suggest that it should be anything different, but the plans for a Mean Girls movie musical show that there’s room for other takes on the material. Tina Fey wrote the original movie between her time on Saturday Night Live and the hit sitcom 30 Rock, which she created. If she’d made Mean Girls a TV show, it would have been equally successful.

A Mean Girls TV show could have been like a female-centric Freaks and Geeks, spending a lot more time on Cady Heron’s struggles adapting to life in Illinois. It would also have likely given Amy Poehler more time to shine as Regina George’s cool mom. The fact that there was a TV movie sequel to Mean Girls that carried over just one character from the original film is further evidence that its setting and themes suited more than the single storyline.

9 The Irishman (2019)

A longer-form version of The Irishman would’ve been like The Sopranos meets Breaking Bad.

Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino are all movie-making legends who deserve the biggest screen possible, but The Irishman would have made a fantastic long-form crime drama. Given the movie’s focus on organized crime, The Sopranos is an obvious touchstone for how an Irishman TV series could have played out, but Breaking Bad might be a more appropriate comparison. Like that show’s Walter White, The Irishman‘s Frank Sheeran went on a moral odyssey that would easily have captivated over the course of multiple seasons. A TV show would also have been more likely to use different actors for flashback scenes, eliminating the need for The Irishman‘s de-aging technique.

8 Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)

A Fantastic Beasts series would’ve done for Harry Potter what The Mandalorian did for Star Wars.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them could have been the perfect prequel companion to Harry Potter in the same way that The Mandalorian and Andor have retrospectively enriched Star Wars. Each episode of a Fantastic Beasts TV show could have detailed how Newt Scamander added another mythical creature to his journal, while still adding in well-known characters like Dumbledore and delving into the usual wizarding high jinks. HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot show will retell and expand on the story of Harry and his friends on the small screen, but Fantastic Beasts missed the chance to flesh out the world in a more unexpected manner.

7 The Gentlemen (2019)

A crime series version of The Gentlemen would’ve been like a humorous Peaky Blinders.

Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen is about a drug kingpin in England whose attempt to sell off his empire sparks a brutal international struggle for power, but the plot takes a backseat to the entertaining characters. Matthew McConaughey’s American drug lord, Colin Farrell’s gentle-mannered thug, and Hugh Grant’s sleazy reporter were each deserving of more screen time in the movie, which struggles to spread its focus across so many stars. The Gentlemen has all the ingredients of an action-packed crime series like Peaky Blinders, but with Ritchie’s unique eye for humor. A TV version would’ve also explored some of the smaller characters, like the rapping gangsters known as “The Toddlers.”

6 Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)

A Hitman TV show would’ve been more faithful to the video games.

There was already proof that a movie based on the Hitman series of games was not a sure-fire winner after Timothy Olyphant’s outing as Agent 47 failed to impress critics. Instead of trying to latch onto the success of John Wick, the rebooted Hitman: Agent 47 should have taken inspiration from its source material. The Hitman games have overarching storylines, but each mission is so perfectly self-contained that they feel better suited to the episodic nature of television, rather than the broader strokes of a movie. Fortunately, after two failed attempts to launch a movie franchise, a Hitman TV series may finally be in the works.

5 The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005)

A modern Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy show would’ve been like the Doctor Who reboot.

Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy novels are so rich and multi-faceted that a single movie was never enough to do them justice. There were a few noticeable differences between the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book and the movie, especially the character of Zaphod Beeblebrox and Arthur’s relationship with Trillian. There are bound to be some changes when a book is adapted for the big screen, but this movie didn’t have the scope to explore the remarkably detailed universe Adams created. There was previously a TV adaptation in the ’80s, but a modern, big-budget attempt would have been akin to a more outlandish Star Trek or Doctor Who.

4 Ocean’s 8 (2018)

Ocean’s 8 as a TV show would’ve been like Lupin or Money Heist.

Despite the endearing chemistry of its all-star cast, Ocean’s 8 failed to live up to the standard of its predecessors. The movie was almost doomed before it had a chance because comparisons to the George Clooney and Brad Pitt era of the Ocean’s franchise created an inescapable weight of expectations. If Ocean’s 8 had distanced itself further from those movies by being a TV show, it would’ve been a better opportunity for the characters and the plot lines to develop organically, instead of trying to recapture the magic of movies that were over a decade old. The popularity of Lupin and Money Heist shows what Ocean’s 8 could have been.

3 Hail, Caesar! (2016)

A Hail, Caesar! series would’ve been like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel meets Bojack Horseman with a touch of Fargo.

If Hail, Caesar! was a TV show, it could use the same characters in the same setting, but expand on the hectic inner workings of the Hollywood studios in the ’50s. A TV series version would’ve had the chance to follow Baird Whitlock, Hobie Doyle, and DeeAnna Moran trying to survive the industry in different acting roles. It’d have blended the period charm of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with the snarky Hollywood satire of Bojack Horseman. The Coen brothers have already seen one hit movie turned into an equally successful TV show with Fargo, so perhaps Hail, Caesar! might cross their minds if they wanted another spinoff of their work.

2 The Incredibles (2004)

An Incredibles cartoon series would’ve been an homage to old superhero shows.

Disney has already started expanding the worlds of several beloved Pixar classics, so The Incredibles could yet have its own TV show. The retro-futurist feel of The Incredibles is reminiscent of old superhero shows aimed toward children, like Adam West’s run as Batman, and the movie offers glimpses of a whole host of superheroes who could flesh out the world enough for a TV series. The Incredibles also features some great villains across its two movies who could feature in an episodic adventure-of-the-week TV show. Even if the Parr family isn’t directly featured, Frozone could have his own spinoff, or a TV show could focus on the National Supers Agency.

1 The French Dispatch (2021)

The French Dispatch as a TV show would’ve been like Wes Anderson’s series of Roald Dahl shorts.

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch essentially presents three episodes of TV compiled into one package, but this small snapshot proved that the town of Ennui-sur-Blasé had more than enough scope for a whole series. Each section of The French Dispatch is so visually and tonally distinct that a TV series could have gone down an entirely new path for every episode, all unified by Anderson’s signature visual style and deadpan humor. Anderson’s Roald Dahl adaptations show that he can still work his magic in a shorter format, and The French Dispatch provided the perfect sandbox for him to pursue different storytelling experiments, dictated by the different voices of each columnist.