You’ve binge-watched the shows… but do you know the stories behind them?

Millions of us have watched these shows, but few know the powerful books behind them. Not only that, but many of the original stories actually differ from what we’ve watched on screen. Discover what you didn’t know about your favorite shows and what they’re really all about.

Do you enjoy escaping from your everyday life through epic adventures with mythical creatures? Then you might’ve watched the extremely successful epic fantasy drama, "Game of Thrones", which aired on HBO and is currently available on streaming.

It’s a visual masterpiece based on George R.R. Martin’s novels titled "A Song of Ice and Fire." These books feature complex political maneuvering among families fighting for the Iron Throne, endless supernatural elements such as the mysterious threat from the frozen North, and morally gray characters who are endearing yet disappointing. Some differences from the original story include new characters and, sometimes, entire plotlines being cut out.

Are you one of those people who likes to reflect on how far human cruelty can go? Then maybe you know about "The Handmaid’s Tale", which aired on Hulu. It's an expanded version of the novel of the same name, written by the well-known Canadian author Margaret Atwood.

The original text was published in 1985 and is considered a groundbreaking speculative and dystopian drama. Hulu’s production then became an award-winning adaptation that builds heavily on the book's initial foundation of terror, subjugation, and resilience experienced by the main character, June (Offred), in the theocratic Republic of Gilead, although less centered on June’s famous internal monologues and more on other aspects like the "Colonies" and the Commanders' secret lives.

For those who love spending time with family and friends, this is an all-time favorite. The NBC series "Little House on the Prairie", developed by Michael Landon, is a legendary adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s semi-autobiographical novels (the first of the same name and the follow-up book titled "On the Banks of Plum Creek").

It’s important to note that the original books presented an authentic, grounded look at 19th-century pioneer survival, including more grueling realities and extreme danger, and the TV show leans into a broader family drama, balancing day-to-day country hardship with deeply emotional and heartwarming storytelling focused on romance and community.

Romantic stories tend to be a big favorite. For all those who love love and are open to a bit of fantasy too, "Outlander", which aired on the Starz network, is a fantastic choice. The show is a condensed adaptation of the best-selling novels by author Diana Gabaldon.

These books are an epic romantic fantasy about time-travel, romance, and war. They center around a nurse named Claire in 1945 who visits Scotland. She then touches a magical stone, and suddenly finds herself in the 18th century. As the story develops, referencing real historical events, she shares a deep love with a Scottish warrior named Jamie, and they fight to stay together across time and space.

Have you ever longed to follow clues and solve mysteries? Then you probably love all things Sherlock. The BBC show adaptation of the same name has been a brilliant reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic 19th-century books for modern times, swapping notepads for cell phones.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original texts include four novels and 56 short stories written between 1887 and 1922, creating the modern mystery genre and establishing the famous Mr. Holmes as the ultimate master of deduction; that is, the art of reaching big conclusions from small clues. The stories are famous for the detailed clues that invite the reader to play the detective game alongside Holmes and his close friend, Dr. John Watson.

Money troubles and social class are other issues that affect all of us, and the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" miniseries is a brilliant adaptation of the timeless novel of the same name, written by Jane Austen in 1813.

The show is considered a gold standard of TV adaptations, made up of six episodes that perfectly capture the romance and social rules of the book, which follows the witty and intelligent Elizabeth Bennet as she falls in love with the wealthy and proud Mr. Darcy. The novel is especially famous for showing why people often let their egos get in the way (pride) and judge others too quickly (prejudice).

And for the endless romantics, here we have another option: the Netflix adaptation of "Bridgerton", based on a collection of eight novels written by Julia Quinn, each story focusing on a Bridgerton sibling's search for true love.

While the books are considered entertaining, many fans argue that the TV show offers a richer version of the original stories, maintaining their essence while expanding the narrative into a more exciting on-screen experience, including deeper characters, heightened drama, visual magic, and powerful soundtracks.

Beyond usual crowd favorites, viewers often want to watch something a bit more twisted and are intrigued by exploring what’s behind a murderous mind. For those situations, Showtime’s "Dexter" is perfect.

The show is based on the book "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay. It follows Dexter Morgan, who by day works for the police and solves murders, and by night, he is a vigilante serial killer who hunts other murderers. The first season closely follows the novel, but as the show continues, it begins to differ, presenting deeper character arcs and alternate explanations, such as Dexter’s desire to kill being the result of psychological trauma (instead of the mysterious dark ‘power’ described in the text).

To broaden the scope, let’s look at shows that also cover historical situations and, in this case, a story concerning the game of chess. We are talking about Netflix’s show "The Queen’s Gambit", which is a very faithful and stunning adaptation of Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel of the same name.

Both tell the gripping story of Beth Harmon, an orphan and chess genius who rises to become a chess master, while she battles addiction to drugs and alcohol, the pressures of fame, and sexism in the male-dominated world of chess.

Last but not least, to round out the list with a fantastic show that centers on politics, Netflix’s 2013 "House of Cards", based on the 1989 novel by British author Michael Dobbs, starring Kevin Spacey and Robyn Wright, was extremely popular.

The original story follows a British politician named Francis Urquhart and his thirst for power. In contrast, the TV show focuses on Frank and Claire Underwood, a ruthless and power-hungry couple living in Washington, D.C. After Frank is denied a cabinet appointment, he begins a quest, at any cost, to climb the ladder to the presidency.

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You might not know this about these 10 literary characters

Many literary characters have transcended their stories, a few of them becoming universal archetypes. But despite beign known by all, readers continue to learn new things about their favorite characters. Who was the inspiration for Shelock Holmes? What famous wizard was named after a cabinet drawer? Which famous playwright coined the name "Jessica"? Here are 10 facts about famous characters that you might not know.

While Sherlock Holmes was not the first widely famous fictional detective (that title belongs to Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin), he has become the blueprint for thousands of literary detectives and investigators. It might be surprising to know that his author, Arthur Conan Doyle, didn’t model Sherlock after a detective, but after a surgeon he had met while working as a clerk at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Joseph Bell was a surgeon known for his ability for diagnosis, following an observation-based technique he called "The Method". According to his students, Bell was able to deduce a patient’s ailment, profession, and origin just by looking at them.

Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be one of the most important characters in American literature. Despite being presented as ignorant, neglected, and superstitious, his innate sense of right and wrong makes him constantly challenge the hypocrisy and prejudices of the Antebellum South, and side with those oppressed and mistreated.

Many might think that Mark Twain constructed the character to serve this purpose, but he was actually inspired by one of his childhood friends, Tom Blankenship. According to Twain, he wrote Huck exactly as Blankenship was: the son of a drunkard, unwashed, poorly fed, and uneducated, but also good-hearted, free, and fiercely independent, a fact that caused the envy and the admiration of his peers.

To write The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frank L. Baum drew inspiration from all sorts of places, such as the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, his childhood nightmares, his mother-in-law, and even political debates. Many believe the titular wizard and the land that gives him his name to be a reference to Australia, colloquially nicknamed "Oz", but the name was actually inspired by the most mundane object imaginable.

Years after the publication of the book, Baum explained that he wanted his magical land to have a short and catchy name, easy to remember. Looking around his office, he noticed that his three-drawer file cabinet was labeled alphabetically, and that the third drawer contained the letters O through Z.

We all know that William Shakespeare created hundreds of new words, or was at least the first to record them, but the name Jessica is not a word one expects to find in this category. Yes, "_The Merchant of Venice"_’s Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, was the first Jessica to ever exist.

It is widely believed that Shakespeare drew inspiration for this name from the Bible, where Iscah (meaning "foresight," "sight," or "to behold") is Abraham’s niece and a minor character in the Book of Genesis. The name is spelled "Iesicca" in the First Folio, as "j" and "i" were not distinguished at the time.

Although its cinema portrayals have led many to believe that Frankenstein is the name of the famous monster, readers of the book know that it’s actually the name of its creator, and that the monster is commonly referred to as "the creature", unnamed and unwanted by its maker.

According to some of her contemporaries, Mary Shelley had named her character "Adam" and had referred to it as such during a public reading of the novel. While this was never confirmed by Shelley, Victor briefly considers the name "Adam" in the story as a nod to the "new man" created, and later on the creature compared itself to Adam.

The Professor in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" might not seem an important character in The Chronicles of Narnia. Still, once the reader realizes he and "The Magician’s Nephew"’s Digory Kirke are the same person, he becomes crucial to the story, a fact quite ironic considering that many believe the Professor to be inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, who openly disliked the saga.

Although Professor Kirke was partly modelled on and named after Lewis’ strict childhood tutor, William T. Kirkpatrick, readers have noted many coincidences between the Professor and Tolkien, such as both being young orphans, indirect creators of a fantasy world born from a tree, and having academic and intellectual interests.

Moby Dick has been seen as representing many things, such as fate, the power of nature, evil, human internal struggles, or just maybe the absurdity of reality, while Captain Ahab’s relentless quest for vengeance has been traditionally interpreted as the search for answers in a confusing and deceptive world. But did you know that all this symbolism is built on a real-life whale?

Mocha Dick was a leucistic, or albino, sperm whale that lived in the southeastern Pacific Ocean in the early 19th century, usually sighted near Mocha Island off the coast of Chile. There are at least a hundred skirmishes registered between whalers and Mocha Dick —including the sinking of a whaling ship in 1820. The whale was allegedly killed in 1838, although some sailors claim to have seen him after that date.

If you read Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables or watched the musical inspired by it, you know that the characters of Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert stand on opposite sides of a conflict: Can people change? While Jean Valjean champions the power of compassion and mercy, Javert sees people’s character as fixed and adheres to rigid law and mechanical justice.

This stark contrast starts making sense when we learn that both characters are based on the same person, Eugène François Vidocq, a famous criminal later turned police detective. Jean Valjean and Javert are two faces of the same coin, the reformed criminal and the ruthless enforcer. In the end, however, one side has to prevail, and it is the side of compassion, which also fits Vidocq’s history as an enforcer who, according to the accounts of the time, refused to arrest petty thieves who stole out of necessity.

If Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective of 19th century literature, we can argue that Hercule Poirot is a main contender for that title in 20th century detective novels. The most famous of Agatha Christie’s leads, the Belgian detective starred in 33 novels and over 50 short stories, captivating readers with his personal quirks, his infallible method, and his deep understanding of human nature.

It is not surprising, then, that the death of such a beloved character was a monumental event. Curtain: Poirot's Last Case, which closes the detective’s career with his passing, was written around World War II, but only published in September of 1975, when Christie’s own health began to fail. A month earlier, the New York Times had published a front-page obituary of the fictional detective, announcing his passing in England, an homage no other literary character has received.

The countless cinematic adaptations of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights have come across the same dilemma: How should Heathcliff, one of its tortured protagonists, be represented? Is he Irish? Is he Romani? Is he black? Is his appearance relevant to the story? The answer is simple, and yet incredibly complex at the same time.

Emily Brontë’s description of Heathcliff is deliberately ambiguous. He is described as "dark", characterized as Romani, South Asian, Irish, Chinese, or of mixed heritage, while some hints suggest he is an illegitimate child, but no clue about his parents is given to us. In the end, the correct answer doesn’t matter. Heatcliff could be any of these things, because he is an outsider and a foreigner. His appearance is important because it visually sets him apart from Cathy and Edgar, but how to interpret his background is for the reader to imagine.