Do TV Adaptations Need Big Screen Fans?
Peacock is fighting to bring John Wick fans to its platform ahead of the new prequel series The Continental. But our data says crossover shows often succeed by claiming audiences of their very own.
As a newer streamer in an entertainment world where popular IP is only getting scarcer and more expensive, Peacock secured a significant victory in claiming the rights to The Continental. The upcoming show will explore the world of mega-popular action franchise John Wick, though as a prequel series set decades before the movies, it won’t feature Keanu Reeves’s titular assassin. All the same, Peacock is clearly interested in bringing over fans of the franchise, having secured streaming rights to the first three films ahead of The Continental’s September 22 release.
But even as streaming rapidly integrates the formerly distant worlds of film and television, it’s still difficult to bridge the gap between big screen and small screen. Lucky for Peacock, our research suggests that the producers of many successful TV adaptations haven’t had to. Let’s look over some of the more recent television takes on popular movies to see how their respective success or failure in seizing fans of the films impacted their popularity with TV viewers.
Cobra Kai
Photo: Netflix
Based on: The Karate Kid (1984)
Crossover Success: NO
Nostalgia about the ’80s features prominently in the appeal of Netflix’s Cobra Kai for viewers and critics alike. So it’s surprising that, according to Insights, fans of the show aren’t statistically more likely to enjoy The Karate Kid than the average viewer. They are slightly more likely to vote up The Goonies on our list of The Most Rewatchable Movies (4 million votes), confirming that this fanbase does, in fact, include plenty of ’80s kids who don’t mind rewatching the classics. But the data suggests that this series has for the most part succeeded in building an audience entirely separate from its big-screen predecessor.
Bates Motel
Photo: A&E
Based on: Psycho (1960)
Crossover Success: YES
This Alfred Hitchcock thriller is considered a classic of both the genre and film generally, which is why it still has diehard fans 60 years after its release. Those fans apparently make up a significant part of the audience for A&E’s prequel series Bates Motel — those who vote up Bates Motel on the list of The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years (2 million votes) are 3X more likely to also vote up Psycho on our Ultimate List Of The Best Movies Of All Time (7 million votes).
CHUCKY
Photo: SyFy
Based on: Child’s Play (1988)
Crossover Success: NO
Now approaching its third season, CHUCKY is evidence that Peacock parent company NBCUniversal is capable of converting a successful film franchise into successful television. But Insights tells us that fans of the Child’s Play franchise aren’t statistically more inclined to enjoy specific TV of any stripe, save for Saturday morning cartoons of the ’80s like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There’s one major exception: Child’s Play fans are nearly 2X more likely to love Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series.
But in spite of this audience’s clear ’80s nostalgic bent and the return of original Chucky voice Brad Dourif in the new series, it seems CHUCKY has had to make do with its own fanbase — lucky for Peacock, it’s succeeded at doing just that.
Fargo
Photo: FX
Based on: Fargo (1996)
Crossover Success: YES
This anthology spinoff is more loosely connected to its movie than any series in this blog, with none of the original stars or characters from the 1996 Coen brothers’ film. Yet the fan bases of each seem to be extremely close, with fans of the series 3X more likely to also be fans of the movie. The only shows that fans of the film are more likely to love are Arrested Development and The Sopranos.
What We Do in the Shadows
Photo: FX
Based on: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Crossover Success: NO
The 2014 indie mockumentary film from Taika Waititi was a cult hit, if not quite a pop culture phenomenon. The FX mockumentary sitcom that the movie spawned is one of the most popular new comedies on the air, per TV lists like The Best New TV Comedies Of The Last Few Years (50K votes), The Best Current Dark Comedy TV Shows (3K votes), and The Best Horror Comedy Series (3K votes). With entirely different casts (save for a few cameos from the stars of the film) and five years between their respective release dates, perhaps it’s not surprising that fans of the show aren’t any more likely to love the movie than the average Ranker reader.
The Mandalorian
Photo: Disney+
Based on: Star Wars (1977)
Crossover Success: YES
Like its MCU series, Disney+’s Star Wars shows are designed to appeal to a film franchise’s massive audience, a fanbase so large that any new installment in the franchise has the potential to reach millions. Mandalorian fans are more likely to love each of the three movies of the original Star Wars trilogy than the average voter. They’re 3X more likely to love The Empire Strikes Back in particular, putting A New Hope and Return of the Jedi in second and third place, respectively.
Reacher
Photo: Amazon Prime
Based on: Jack Reacher (2012)
Crossover Success: NO
Amazon Prime’s Reacher series was a surprise smash hit, becoming the first Amazon series to top Nielsen’s SVOD ratings and earning the #4 spot on our list of The Best New TV Shows Of 2022 (11K votes). And despite the popularity of the Tom Cruise-fronted Jack Reacher back in 2012, this new crop of fans has no statistical affinity for that movie. You might argue that’s because the show adapts the material of Lee Child’s novels more closely, or that the second movie, Never Go Back, tarnished the reputation of the first. Whichever way you slice it, Amazon clearly succeeded in finding a new audience for its action-adventure series — and Peacock can do the same for The Continental.