Top 10 – Literary-Inspired Web Series
During quarantine, people are picking up books they’ve been meaning to read or bingeing shows they’ve wanted to watch. But why not have the best of both worlds? On YouTube, there are many web series based on books. Here are ten literary-inspired web series that you need to watch:
1. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a groundbreaking and award-winning web series. It’s based on Pride and Prejudice. Lizzie, a grad student of communications, vlogs about her life using costume theatre. Her sisters and best friend Charlotte also appear in the vlogs. This web series captures the heart of the original book while also feeling relevant to society today.
2. Edgar Allan Poe’s Murder Mystery Dinner Party
The group Shipwrecked Comedy has created a lot of great content on YouTube. Their web series Edgar Allan Poe’s Murder Mystery Dinner Party, is about classic novelists who get invited to Poe’s house for dinner. However, the party takes a turn when a guest gets murdered. Famous writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Charlotte Bronte, and Oscar Wilde go on a wild goose chase to discover which one of them is the killer. This web series is phenomenal, as it manages to be a mystery, comedy, romance, and drama all at once.
3. Nothing Much to Do
Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is the basis of this web series. It’s about Beatrice and Benedick, who hate each other but fall in love when their mutual friends make them believe that the other likes them. This modern version of the tale includes issues like slut-shaming. It also is hilarious and has plenty of loveable characters that make you laugh.
4. Green Gables Fables
All fans of Anne of Green Gables or the Netflix show Anne with an E need to watch this web series. In the first season of Green Gables Fables, Anne arrives at Avonlea and is in high school. The second season Anne goes to college and has to deal with her feelings for her rival turned friend Gilbert. We want a kindred spirit of our own after watching Anne’s vlogs.
5. Emma Approved
Emma Approved is based on the novel Emma by Jane Austen. She is still a matchmaker in this modern version, but Emma also runs her own business with the help of Knightley and her friend Harriet. She makes it her business to get into other people’s business. Her meddling, of course, causes chaos and conflict. We definitely approve of Emma Approved.
6. Kissing in the Rain
Different books and movies inspire each episode of Shipwrecked Comedy’s Kissing in the Rain. The web series is about actors who have to kiss in the rain over and over. Lily and James hate each other in real life but find themselves getting closer in-between scenes. Actors Audrey and Henry also keep getting cast together in films. However, they can’t seem to confess their feelings for each other off-screen.
7. In Earnest
In Earnest is a web series based on the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. It’s about falling in love and mistaken identities. The story fits well into the modern universe while still feeling faithful to the original text. Plus, they find a way to include Algernon’s love of cucumber sandwiches into the series, which we applaud.
8. New Adventures of Peter and Wendy
Take a journey to Neverland by watching this web series. It ages up the Darling family as well as their friend Peter, who may be older but still hasn’t fully grown up yet. There are magical aspects, like the fairy Tinker Bell, but the show is set in the real-world where facing adult problems. The cast and production quality is incredible in this series.
9. Call Me Katie
Call Me Katie is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of The Shew. It touches on themes in the play such as feminism and the patriarchy. It also explores sexuality and struggles young adults encounter. The web series has multiple YouTube channels where the character’s vlog about the drama going on in their lives. This web series strays a little from the play’s plot, but it gives us a happier twist to the tale.
10. Classic Alice
College student Alice decides to live her life like the different books she is reading. This includes classic novels like Crime and Punishment, Macbeth, The Odyssey, and many more. Alice’s friend Andrew makes a vlog style documentary about her, and we see the consequences of her book-inspired actions.
We hope you spend your free time watching any of these literary-inspired webseries. What are your favorites? Tell us in the comments!
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