TV shows based on books

You may not realize that quite a few of today's popular TV shows are based on books.  Here are a few notables that Stacy Laatsch of Yahoo featured online:

1. Bones The investigations of Washington, DC forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan is based on the novels of bestselling author, and real-life forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs. Starting with Déjà Dead in 1997, Reichs has written the novels on which the TV show Bones is based. Reichs is also a producer on the show. 

2. Dexter The sympathetic serial killer Dexter Morgan on Showtime's Dexter is based on the main character from Jeff Lindsay's novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Though Lindsay has written five novels featuring the character, the first season of TV show followed the plot of the first novel and has since ventured into its own plot lines.

3. Gossip Girl Gossip Girl was a popular series of young adult books written by Cecily von Ziegesar for almost a decade before the TV show premiered in 2007. The books and the TV show are narrated by an unseen blogger, who gossips about the lifestyles of the students in elite private schools in New York. Both the novels and the TV show have been criticized for their sexually explicit content.

4. Vampire Diaries Another popular young adult book series, The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith, inspired the teen TV show Vampire Diaries on the CW network. First dismissed as an attempt to capitalize on the popular vampire trend, the TV show has enjoyed increasingly positive reviews since its premiere in 2009. Both the TV show and the book series follow the life of Elena Gilbert and the love triangle between her, vampire Stefan, and his brother Damon.

5. True Blood Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries series inspired HBO's True Blood, the adventures of waitress and telepath Sookie Stackhouse and her romance with vampire Bill. After the first season, the TV show diverged greatly from the plot of the book series, introducing new characters and keeping the captivating Lafayette when the book series killed him off.

6. The Unit The Unit follows a fictional, military special-forces unit of the Army and is based on the non-fiction book Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit by Eric Hanson, who also produces the TV show and is a former Delta Force operator. Four seasons of the TV show, which follows the team's missions abroad as well as their domestic lives, ran on CBS and continues to air in syndication.

7. Friday Night Lights Another non-fiction book, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H. G. Bissinger, first inspired a movie of the same name starring Billy Bob Thornton, and then a TV show which premiered on NBC in 2006. Despite low ratings, the TV show's critical success kept the show on the air for five season, and it will continue to air in syndication on ABC Family.

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