Netflix’s 10/10 Thriller Based On An Award-Winning Novel Is Another Win For Book Adaptations

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The popularity of The Hunting Wives in 2025 demonstrates that turning books into shows is a profitable strategy for Netflix as they look ahead to 2026. Predicting which shows will become hits on streaming platforms is always difficult. Even having well-known actors, compelling stories, or ties to established franchises doesn’t guarantee success, as some of Prime Video’s lesser-known shows have shown.

Sometimes, shows without famous actors, established stories, or connections to popular franchises still become big hits. A great example is Netflix’s zombie series All of Us Are Dead, which was hugely popular in 2022, and fans are eagerly awaiting its next season.

Netflix’s review of 2025 revealed a clear trend. While highly anticipated shows like Wednesday season 2 and Stranger Things season 5 performed well, some unexpected shows also became popular, such as the British crime drama Adolescence. Throughout all these successes, one thing stood out consistently.

The Hunting Wives Reached Number 1 On Netflix Upon Release

©Lionsgate/Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Based on May Cobb’s novel, the movie The Hunting Wives is a steamy thriller that reveals the hidden darkness beneath the polite surface of Southern life. Featuring Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman, the film quickly became Netflix’s most-watched title and remained in the top 10 for an unexpectedly long time.

In the town of Maple Brook, Texas, Sophie Snow finds herself a bit out of place after moving from Massachusetts. She quickly discovers the local wives aren’t what they seem. While their husbands may be successful, these women are far from typical homemakers – they’re more interested in hunting, partying, and having affairs than traditional domestic duties.

Season one of The Hunting Wives was a wildly entertaining, over-the-top show featuring complicated and intriguing female characters. The season unfolded a scandalous story of sex, drugs, murder, and revenge, ultimately revealing Sophie’s hidden past. Actress Snow gave a relatable and human portrayal of Sophie, and Akerman brilliantly played Margo, the captivating leader of the group.

The popularity of The Hunting Wives really started with the original novel by Cobb. The book was already a hit before it became a TV show, and this pattern of adapting successful books is something Netflix consistently does – you can almost always find an adaptation among their top ten shows.

Book Adaptations Have Been In Netflix’s Top 10 Every Week In 2025

Netflix consistently featured at least one movie or series based on a book in its Top 10 throughout 2025, as reported by Variety. Popular titles like Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Hunting Wives drove this trend, but older book adaptations also continue to attract viewers on the streaming platform.

The popularity of shows and movies like Society of the Snow, Bridgerton, Fool Me Once, and The Queen’s Gambit clearly shows that Netflix makes a good decision by adapting books. They’re continuing this strategy into 2026, starting with a series based on Emily Henry’s The People We Meet On Vacation, which will be released in January.

Later this month, a new Agatha Christie series, Seven Dials Mystery, will feature a large and impressive cast, similar to the popular Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Then, on January 29th, the highly anticipated fourth season of Bridgerton will premiere. However, book adaptations aren’t the only thing bringing success to the streaming service.

Popular K-dramas such as the thrilling The Glory, Squid Game, All of Us Are Dead, and Alice in Borderland have been major successes for Netflix, leading to English-language remakes and increased investment in international shows. But Netflix’s future plans suggest that adapting books may be their most consistently successful strategy.

Book Adaptations Like The Hunting Wives Highlight Netflix’s Strong Suit

Shows like The Hunting Wives do well on Netflix not just because the streaming service chooses good books to adapt, but because limited series are a perfect fit for both book adaptations and the way people watch shows online.

Miniseries have historically struggled to find a consistent audience on traditional television, despite many critically acclaimed shows being structured this way. They’re longer than movies but tell a complete story in one go. Because of this, even popular miniseries usually don’t get continued with additional seasons.

Traditional TV networks tend to stick with familiar formats, creating an opportunity for streaming services like Netflix to stand out by producing high-quality, limited-run miniseries. This approach avoids a common pitfall that has often led to the cancellation of science fiction shows: the financial strain of ongoing renewals.

Because novels tell complete, self-contained stories, streaming services don’t have to worry about the expense of renewing a show for another season. And viewers can be sure they’ll get a proper ending, as the story is already finished in the original book. This is a key reason why adaptations of novels like The

Hunting Wives thrive on Netflix while traditional TV struggles to keep up.

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2025-12-18 23:59