I Designed a Book Adaptation Streaming Service // attempt #3 at getting producers to notice our woes

Contrary to the title, I would not go as far as creating an actual streaming service! Do you know how much work that would require? 

I would probably need money. And people. And connections. All of which I do not have yet.

No, I actually did this for a college project! This project was submitted at the beginning of May 2020, but 😅 I kept putting off this post until now!

Since this project has to do with books, and I have been particularly vocal about certain aspects of adaptations, I thought I would share this project with you all!

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The Assignment 

Our assignment was to create a niche streaming service which did not already exist, and discuss the specific details of its audience and marketing plans in a pitch. While I will spare you the specifics, I will show you what I came up with for the final project! 

Some of my classmates came up with streaming services which catered to young chefs, or services which highlighted LGBTQ+ shows. A lot of them were excellent ideas, but mine was a bit more close to my heart, personally.   

My Streaming Service

After a whole lot of brainstorming, I decided to name my streaming service “Novel Watch”. I made a cute logo for it, too! This was not required. I was just being extra. 

Actually, the only visual requirement was to “create an original image for the streaming service”, which could have been a) a logo, b) a poster, c) anything, really. 

As you can see, I went a little overboard. 

As part of the project, we had to at least describe how the streaming service would be structured, who the audience would be, and what kinds of content would be included. I chose to separate the content by Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Family, because… well, because that seemed appropriate. I wanted the audience to be families, or at least family friendly, like Disney+ but for book-related media. Obviously some shows like The Cruel Prince or The 100 would not be for everyone, but they wouldn’t be rated R or anything.

For the project, we were required to list and cite 10 shows or movies – 9 already created, and one Original creation. Do you recognize every show in my image? I chose (from upper left to bottom right) Anne With An E, Merlin (❤️), How To Train Your Dragon, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, The 100, Goosebumps, The Hunger Games, and Dumplin‘. I selected this group of shows and movies based on several things. 

1. They were all Netflix Originals, or not originals from any other major streaming service. I did this because, in my project, I explained that since Netflix has a lot of originals based on books, Novel Watch could partner with Netflix as an advertisement-free add-on to a regular Netflix subscription for just an additional $1.99. (this would work bc Novel Watch would include exclusive content and shows that are not available irl, but you don’t need all the details) 
2. I did not include shows like The Witcher because those are not family friendly! 
3. The difference between the “Family” and “Middle Grade” categories is that Middle Grade is directed at a younger audience, while Family could be enjoyed by (look, i know this isn’t entirely true bc httyd is a masterpiece but just work with me here, okay?) 
4. I did not include movie franchises based on majorly popular MG books like Percy Jackson or that other movie series because I did not want to! The world does not need to see those right now 🙂 

I would also like to point out that I submitted this project right before the Percy Jackson TV show was announced, so… do what you will with that information. 😌 I may or may not have predicted the best thing to happen ever. 

💫 related: Everything We Need in a Percy Jackson TV Show ⚡️ 📺

The Show  

As part of the project, we were also required to create an “Original” show or movie that would release with the premier of this imaginary streaming service.

Okay, please forgive me for picking The Cruel Prince as my original show! I do have some reasons for doing so. (other than because i liked it. obviously.)

I used The Cruel Prince for multiple reasons: 1) because I have read the book and I could easily describe what kinds of elements from the scenes would or wouldn’t work in a series of episodes, 2) because I know it’s popular enough to work as a debut streaming original show, and 3) I used the title “The Cruel Prince” for the show, rather than “The Folk of the Air” which is the official book series title, because TFotA is too long and was barely mentioned a few times in the books.

I also titled the show “The Cruel Prince” because it’s easier to recognize that as the true series title, and it gives the audience a better idea of what kind of show it could be. (the folk? of the air? why are those folks in the air? where are they going? are they flying? so many questions. the cruel prince makes so much more sense.)

In my project, I talked about the popularity of this series and why the popularity would make this a stable adaptation decision. I also mentioned that Holly Black’s work has been adapted before, so from a producer’s standpoint, this book series would be more reliable/respected than adapting a book from a debut author, for example.

Do I actually believe this? Not really. I just needed to point that out in my essay, because it makes sense, from an outsider’s standpoint. However, there are plenty of other books and series out there which also deserve an adaptation, but this is a show which, at the time of my project, has not been officially announced, unlike some other series which have already been chosen to be adapted. I also needed a book with a huge number of reviews on Goodreads, so I could quote that in my essay.
(I believe Universal has the rights to the series adaptation, but that might be a rumor and nothing is official right now, as that was mentioned before the series even released.)

💫 related: How Book to Screen Adaptations SHOULD Be Created // a heartfelt analysis from someone who has been disappointed way too often

Actually 😅 now that I think about it, I might have been able to make a better (more diverse) series decision. But obviously I can’t turn in anything new on this project and it’s not even real! It doesn’t matter! 

Other adaptations I would want to make: 

• You Should See Me In A Crown
• The Poppy War (it’s Adult but i know y’all want it!)
• The Bone Witch (would probably be faster as a show)
• the Fablehaven series (MG books)
• I want them to take back Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and do it RIGHT
• The Knife of Never Letting Go and the other Chaos Walking books (look i know this is happening but it’s already messed up!)

People of Hollywood? Please hire me. I will do all of your work. I will bring you millions of dollars and fans. I will do everything right. Please consider this as my application.

In Conclusion

I, personally, think this is a great idea. 🙂 We wouldn’t dislike adaptations so much if Hollywood people were just more considerate of the original works, and this is the *perfect way to do it. (Okay obviously it’s not perfect but you know what I mean!)

Is it probable? Maybe not. Perhaps where the adaptations are residing currently (usually Netflix, and now a bit of Hulu and Disney+) makes more sense for now, but it would be cool if there was a streaming service where more adaptations were welcome to thrive!

Anyways, I got an A on this project, so there. 😌 This idea is great. According to science and my professor’s grade. 

In other news, I changed the design of my header image! As you can probably tell! Do you like it? 🥺

Would you subscribe to a streaming service like this? What’s your favorite book adaptation? What other books do you want an adaptation for?

Would you be interested in an in-depth post about what I think the PJO series needs to include? I will literally make detailed notes and send it to RR for y’all. 

Chat with me about it!

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You can also be my friend on Goodreads!

Happy reading, everyone! Have a lovely day! Please stay safe and healthy!