Beyond the Source

[Prof. Sky Alton]

The literary nerd in me was super excited and apprehensive that Margaret Attwood will be releasing a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. The book won’t have anything to do with the continuation of the saga as seen in season 2 of the TV adaptation (we’re not even sure if any of the characters from the original book will reappear) and I’m curious to know how people will react to that.

It isn’t the first time this has happened: the TV adaptation of Game of Thrones famously ‘ran out of books’ and had to create original plotlines for its latter seasons. While it’s as popular as ever, it will be interesting to see how people react when the final books eventually come out. Another series we’ve been discussing, The Haunting of Hill House, goes even further by borrowing concepts and (to some extent) characters from a book but not following it in the slightest.

How do you feel about a TV adaptation going beyond its source material? And are those feelings complicated if a sequel to that material eventually appears from the author who started it all? Do you think your enjoyment is compromised by worrying about which version is ‘canon’ or definitive? Or are you happy just to consider them as separate? Or to keep to your favourite and not think about the other?