10 PBS Shows You Didn't Know Were Adapted from Books

Call the Midwife follows the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House, who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care. The first few seasons of the series are adapted from the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, originally published in 2002.

Two lovers follow their hearts in a new adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel, originally published in 1749. The PBS series features Solly McLeod (House of the Dragon), Sophie Wilde (You Don't Know Me), and Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), and adapted by Gwyneth Hughes (Vanity Fair).

Tom Brittney stars as Will Davenport, with Robson Green as his law-enforcement ally, Inspector Geordie Keating, in Grantchester. Although Will lives the life of a clergyman, sometimes he can’t help but fall into more worldly habits as he solves murders in the bucolic village of Grantchester. This series is based on the "Grantchester Mysteries" series by James Runcie.

James Herriot’s adventures as a veterinarian in 1930’s Yorkshire get a glorious new adaptation in a seven-part series based on his beloved books. Exciting newcomer Nicholas Ralph will make his television debut as the iconic vet who became renowned for his inspiring humor, compassion and love of life.

Aidan Turner (The Hobbit) stars as Ross Poldark, a redcoat who returns to Cornwall after battle to discover that his father is dead, his lands are ruined, and his true love is engaged to another. Poldark was adapted from a of historical novels by Winston Graham.

In 1909 London, an American retail tycoon arrives at the unfashionable end of Oxford Street to jettison fusty British tradition and open one of the finest department stores the world has ever seen. Three-time Emmy® winner Jeremy Piven stars as Harry Gordon Selfridge, the flamboyant entrepreneur and showman seeking to provide London’s shoppers with the ultimate merchandise and the ultimate thrill. This series was Inspired by the biography "Shopping, Seduction & Mr. Selfridge," by Lindy Woodhead.

Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) stars as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, in a real-life case that inspired the great author to put down his pen and turn detective. Inspired by the shocking true case of the “Great Wyrley Outrages,” Arthur & George is adapted from Julian Barnes’s acclaimed novel of the same name, which was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize.

Sir Kenneth Branagh, screenwriter, director, and one of the UK’s most remarkable actors, portrays the soul-searching Swedish cop Inspector Kurt Wallander in Wallander, based on the international bestsellers by father of the Nordic Noir genre, Henning Mankell. At odds with his family, friends, and fellow police, Wallander is in his element tracking serial killers across the stark Swedish landscape.

A historical drama for a modern audience, Wolf Hall, the 2016 Peabody Award and Golden Globe winner for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, tells the story of Thomas Cromwell, played by Mark Rylance—a blacksmith’s son who rises from the ashes of personal disaster, and deftly picks his way through King Henry VIII's court, where “man is wolf to man.” This series is based on the Wolf Hall novels by Hilary Mantel.