Even After One Failed Attempt, This Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Thriller Deserves A Proper Adaptation

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Many TV shows and movies are based on popular books, but the adaptation of The Passage didn’t quite do the story justice, and it deserves a better retelling. In 2019, Fox aired a single season of The Passage, which was based on Justin Cronin’s novel of the same name – the first book in a series that combines elements of horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

The show did a good job choosing its main actors – a young girl named Amy Bellafonte and federal agent Brad Wolgast – but it strayed from the source material in the novels. This led to its cancellation, and many fans of both the books and the series were disappointed, hoping for a more faithful adaptation.

Fox’s Adaptation Of Justin Cronin’s The Passage Lasted Only One Season

Sadly, the TV show The Passage wasn’t renewed after its first season, so the full story wasn’t told. That first season only covered about a quarter of the original novel, spread out over ten episodes.

The novels’ unusual handling of time also slowed down the series’ pace, preventing it from getting to the most exciting parts of the story quickly. However, this wasn’t the sole reason the show struggled so early on.

What Went Wrong With Fox’s The Passage

Science fiction is often one of the priciest types of stories to bring to the screen, whether for movies or TV. Although the creators first planned to make The Passage into a film – which might have been a smarter choice for the story – it ended up as a TV series, and it still cost a lot of money to produce.

Fox and other investors put a lot of money into the show, so they were disappointed when ratings started to fall, ultimately hitting a record low for the final episode. This led to the quick cancellation. However, the original story had a lot of promise, and deserves to be revisited with a new adaptation.

Why The Passage Deserves Another TV Adaptation

The 2019 TV series The Passage did a solid job setting up the story, but the last episode’s unexpected jump forward in time felt awkward and didn’t flow well. The books themselves frequently jump around in time, showing events from the beginning of the outbreak, almost a century later, and then again 1000 years into the future.

The story is primarily set in the future, something the previous Fox TV series didn’t fully explore. A new adaptation, starting with those future timelines, could allow The Passage to truly develop and become the captivating series the books deserve.

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2026-02-15 02:58