
Over the past few years, the television industry has really stepped up its efforts to bring great stories to the small screen. Many argued that it was because television was more like a movie. While that’s not a bad thing, it does make it harder to decide which projects should be made into TV shows and which should be made into movies. In fact, some people might be surprised to know that some of the most popular TV shows of recent years were originally meant to be movies. While the movies were probably successful too, I think most people would agree that those projects turned out much better as TV shows. Read on to see five TV shows that were originally meant to be just movies.
1. This is us
It’s us is easily one of the most popular shows of 2010/20. Now in its sixth and final season, the series has given us one of the most complex and beautiful stories of an American family. However, if some things had turned out differently, the Pearsons would never have been on our television screens. Instead, they would have been in Hollywood on the big screen. According to an article by Peopleseries creator Dan Fogelman, originally intended to It’s us to be a movie about a group of octuplets born in the 70s and 80s. Fogleman said, “The reason I was struggling with [the film] was not the plot; it was about these characters and how I didn’t want them “beginning-middle-end”. I wanted to do this ongoing story – which was very much like the theme of the show”. As we know, he finally decided to turn the story into a TV show and it was a great decision.
2. A tree hill
For nearly a decade, A tree hill was one of the hottest shows on TV. The series followed a group of teenagers living in a fictional town in North Carolina. The initial storyline centered on two half-brothers who had very different upbringings. The show ran for nine seasons and helped establish the careers of actresses like Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton. If you have already seen A tree hill, you might find it hard to imagine the series like the movie, but it was almost the reality. The show’s creator, Mark Schwahn, started writing history like a movie which would go on to be titled The Ravens after Tree Hill High School’s basketball team. After sharing the idea with some producers, the conclusion was that the story would work better as a television series.
3. Game of Thrones
The iron Throne had fans in a chokehold during his on-air time. The show is based on the book series A song of ice and fire by George RR Martin and people wanted to see the story told on the big screen for many years. However, Martin felt like a movie – or even a series of movies – could never do his stories justice and a lot of people would probably agree. During an interview with Weekly entertainmenthe said, “Even Tolkien took three feature films, and three Tolkien [novels] are as long as one of my books. It got me thinking, “How could this be done?” I knew it couldn’t be done as a network TV series. It’s too adult. The level of sex and violence would never have been reached. I said, “The only way it could be done is through HBO.” And when I met David and Dan, we had the same ideas. When I left, I thought I was in good hands. The show ran for eight seasons and has been one of HBO’s most popular projects in recent years.
4. The Sopranos
There are many people who consider The Sopranos to be one of the greatest shows of all time. Initially, however, the plan was for the story to become one of the greatest movies of all time. The show’s co-creator, David Chase, said Written by that he presented the story as a movie.
He added: “The Sopranos was a feature film – and I call it a pitch because I pitched it as a movie, which was a gangster in therapy having issues with his mother, who is also involved in some sort of gang or mob war. business problem. A few years after coming up with this pitch, I had one of my first encounters at Brillstein-Grey. My manager, Lloyd Braun, walked me to the elevator after the meeting and said, “I want you to know that we think you have a great TV series in you. Huh? I never thought that way. I didn’t care about making a series. Really. But I was, I guess touched is the word. I was touched by that confidence. The TV format ended up working extremely well for the story.
5.Riverdale
Riverdale is based on Archie Comics, so it’s probably not too surprising that the first idea was to make it into a movie. At first, the producers were against the idea of the story turning into a series, but it turned out to be the perfect decision. Riverdale Now in its sixth season, it’s one of the most popular shows on The CW. While a film version may have succeeded, it may not have left the kind of legacy the series built.