7 Best YA Novels Adapted Into Hit TV Shows

The on-screen journey of Lemony Snicket's dark chronicles, A Series of Unfortunate Events, began with the release of a single film in 2004, starring Jim Carrey and Jude Law among other big names. It charters the misadventures of three children after they are sent to live with their distant relative, who they discover has only adopted them to try and steal their fortune.

Although the film enjoyed great success - even scooping up an Oscar for Best Makeup - like others on this list, it soon became apparent that any franchise would not be able to complete the story of the 13 novels which Snicket (real name Daniel Handler) had written, especially as its young leads grew too old to reprise their roles.

Instead, Netflix rebooted the project in 2017 in the form of a TV series. It replaced Carrey with Neil Patrick Harris as the menacing Count Olaf and lasted for three seasons, each of which received critical appraisal. It was also able to stay faithful to its source, with the first seasons covering the events of the first four novels, the second focusing on books 5-9, and its final run concluding with the stories of the remaining four.