10 TV Shows That Improved Upon The Source Material
3. Justified
FX's terrific Western crime series Justified is centered around the character of Raylan Givens, created by legendary author Elmore Leonard, with Givens appearing in the novels Pronto, Riding the Rap, Raylan, and the short story Fire in the Hole (the latter serving as a particular influence on the show).
As brilliantly pulpy as Leonard's works are, Justified pulls off the extremely tricky task of delivering an adaptation that feels firmly consistent with his voice and vision, while weaving and growing its own rich, delineated web of characters and scenarios.
The expansive quality of the six-season show combines with towering performances from the ensemble cast - especially Timothy Olyphant as Givens and Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder - to somehow put even more meat on the bones of Leonard's written ideas.
Though there's little competition between the books and the show, Justified uses the building blocks of Leonard's source to somehow create something even better.