Romance novels have a certain stigma to them. They can be thought of as soapy and filled with salacious content to keep fans turning the pages. But there are plenty of romance stories that are much deeper than that. Many of the most successful books of all time have a love angle or aspect to them, which is what helps make them classics.
Plenty of those books have gone on to become wonderful films and TV series over the decades. There are great adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and The Time Traveler’s Wife that have made their way to the screen. There are even a select few adaptations that have proven to be better than the books they are based on. “Better” is a subjective word, as it’s all up to personal preference, but many of the series listed below have stronger legacies than the material they are based on.
Here are 9 romance TV series that are arguably better than the books they’re based on.
‘Poldark’ (2015 – 2019)
Adapted from the book series by Winston Graham, Poldark was immensely popular when it was first brought to TV in 1975 with UK audiences. It stars Robin Ellis as the eponymous character Captain Ross Poldark. He comes home from fighting for Britain in the American War for Independence and realizes that his fiancée, Elizabeth, has married his cousin, having believed he was killed in battle. This takes Poldark by surprise, and he eventually marries Demelza, a servant of his.
The book series was then adapted 40 years later with Aidan Turner playing Poldark. This version covered all eight novels across multiple seasons. Both versions of Poldark as a TV series were met with critical acclaim and have been pointed to as some of the best period-set romance dramas of all time.
‘The Thorn Birds’ (1983)
The Thorn Birds was a TV event, the likes of which had only been seen once before. ABC aired the miniseries, an adaptation of Colleen McCullough’s novel, in 1983. The novel had only come out six years prior and had earned a large following. The miniseries was promoted heavily and aired across four nights, earning the second-most viewers for a miniseries ever at that point, trailing only Roots in its viewership.
The series stars Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph de Bricassart, an Australian priest who has an illicit love affair with Rachel Ward’s Meggie Cleary. The Thorn Birds also features Ken Howard, Jean Simmons, Mare Winningham, Piper Laurie, Richard Kiley, Christopher Plummer, and Barbara Stanwyck. It was nominated for 16 Emmy Awards and won six of them.
‘Sanditon’ (2019 – 2023)
This one is a bit of an outlier, as Sanditon was created from unfinished manuscripts by Jane Austen. Naturally, a fully fleshed-out series is better than that. The series aired from 2019 to 2023 on Britbox and PBS and stars Rose Williams as Charlotte Heywood, a young woman who arrives at Sanditon, a seaside resort during the Regency era. The series is filled with dramatic moments as Charlotte must figure out her feelings towards multiple men during the run.
It also stars Kate Ashfield, Crystal Clarke in a great role as Georgiana, Turlough Convery, Jack Fox, and Kris Marshall. The series was highlighted for its depictions of sex and nudity, which take a more modern approach than other adaptations of Austen’s work. It was initially met with mixed reviews, but the later seasons earned higher grades from critics.
‘North & South’ (2004)
The original North and South was written by Elizabeth Gaskell back in 1855. It was widely regarded as one of her best novels, and it led to multiple adaptations over the years. The most recent adaptation was done in 2004 by the BBC. The story follows Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe), a woman who moves from southern England with her family to the northern part. A social class clash between her family and the Thorntons, a wealthy family of cotton mill owners, leads to conflicts between Margaret’s feelings for the cotton mill workers and her growing attraction to young John Thornton (Richard Armitage).
The BBC did not heavily promote the series, but fans immediately took to it. This helped launch Armitage’s career, as he was lauded for his role as the striking John. It earned him and Denby-Ashe the Best Actor and Best Actress awards from the annual BBC poll that it runs on its website. The series was voted Best Drama, and Armitage was also given the title of Most Desirable Drama Star.
‘Sweet Magnolias’ (2020 – Present)
Sweet Magnolias follows three Southern women as they grow up and tackle all that life throws at them. They’ve been friends since they were kids and try to make their way in the present-day South. JoAnna Gacia Swisher, Brooke Elliott, and Heather Headley as the Sweet Magnolias (the nickname for their friend group). The Netflix series is based on the book series of the same name by Sherryl Woods.
The soapy show has become a big hit on Netflix as a comfort food of sorts for anyone wanting an easy watch. It’s been renewed for a fifth season as of April 2025. Chris Klein, Annaliese Judge, Jamie Lynn Spears, Logan Allen, and Brandon Quinn all costar on the series.
‘Normal People’ (2020)
Normal People was written by Sally Rooney and was a huge hit, ranking as one of the best books of the 2010s. It’s hard to bring a book like that to life on the screen and have it be successful. But that’s just what Catherine Magee did two years after the book premiered. The reason that Normal People, the series, was such a big hit was largely due to the undeniable chemistry of Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal.
The two star as students who start a relationship with one another in their final year of secondary school. They must navigate their own flaws as well as the fact that one of their mothers works for the others. Rooney wrote the series alongside Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe. Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald each directed six episodes. It’s a gut-punching romantic drama that springs to life on screen, thanks largely to its performances.
‘Virgin River’ (2019 – Present)
Another Netflix series based on a series of books, Virgin River has aired for seven seasons and counting. It stars Alexandra Breckenridge as Melinda “Mel” Monroe, a woman who takes a job as a midwife and nurse practitioner in the small town of Virgin River, California. She thinks she’s able to get away from her troubled past, but she finds out that the town also has its own secrets. Martin Henderson plays Jack Sheridan, a local bar owner whom Mel gets to know and starts a relationship with as the show goes on.
Ben Hollingsworth, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Colin Lawrence, Lauren Hammersley, Colin Lawrence, and Sarah Dugdale all costar in the series. The show is a slow-paced comfort show that has made the book series by Robyn Carr more notable than it was to begin with.
‘Bridgerton’ (2020 – Present)
Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels were well-received and acclaimed when they were released in the early 2000s. But nothing could have prepared the series for the fame it would get when Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland production company brought it to Netflix. Created by Chris Van Dusen, Bridgerton has become a worldwide phenomenon. It is set in an alternate history 19th century and follows many in the nobility and high society. The series features King George III granting those of African descent aristocratic titles, as his wife, Queen Charlotte, has African heritage.
The show’s seasons have focused on different main characters during its run. Stars like Rege-Jean Page, Phoebe Dynevor, Simone Ashley, Jonathan Bailey, Adjoa Andoh, Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Golda Rosheuvel, and Julie Andrews have all put on the corsets, suits, and powdered wigs. The cultural hit has run for three seasons so far, with a fourth on the way. The show is as refreshing as Lady Whistledown’s putdowns.
‘Outlander’ (2014 – Present)
Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander book series has been going strong since the early 1990s. But the show has launched the books into a new stratosphere, earning millions of fans and helping to keep the Starz Network alive. The time-traveling tale follows Caitríona Balfe as a nurse from World War II who gets transported to 1743. There, she meets Sam Heughan, a Scottish Highland warrior, and the two try and navigate the tough political climate of an uprising.
The series has brought Scottish culture to new life and features epic family dramas, as well as battles for independence. Outlander’s many great episodes have also spawned a prequel series focused on Heughan’s character’s parents. It also stars Tobias Menzies, Graham McTavish, Duncan Lacroix, Grant O’Rourke, Lotte Verbeek, Steven Cree, Sophie Skelton, and Richard Ranking, among many others. The show has had consistently good reviews and ratings for its entire run, which still continues today.