These monthly lists are primarily focused on general, adult-targeted programming across most broadcast, cable, premium cable, and streaming platforms. With my passion for and background in kids media, I keep an eye on those programs and dates and have included, in the same format, those details in their own section towards the end of the page.

January 1

Call the Midwife

Network, Format: PBS, live action series, Season 12 (midseason premiere)Based on: “Call the Midwife” memoirs of Jennifer Worth

Paul T. Goldman

Network, Format: Peacock, live action limited seriesBased on: Duplicity: A True Story of Crime and Deceit by Paul GoldmanNotable names: producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

The Dog Lover's Guide to Dating

Network, Format: Hallmark, live action filmBased on: The Dog Lover’s Guide to Dating: Using Cold Noses to Find Warm Hearts by Deborah Wood

The Way of the Househusband

Network, Format: Netflix, anime series, Season 2Based on: The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke OonoAdditional notes: The 11-volume series has also been adapted into a live action television series and live action film in Japan.

January 3

New Amsterdam

Network: NBC, live action series, Season 5 (Series Finale)Based on: Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Eric ManheimerNotable names: producer David Foster

Will Trent

Network/Format: ABC, live action series, Season 1Based on: “Will Trent” series by Karin SlaughterNotable names: There’s plenty of runway with ten books and two short stories in Slaughter’s bestselling series of novels.

January 4

Big Sky: Deadly Trails

Network/Format: ABC, Season 3 (midseason premiere)Based on: "Highway" Quartet by C.J. BoxNotable names: Reba McEntire joins the cast! David E. Kelley produces.Additional notes: Not sure why the series suddenly has a subtitle for the third season, but maybe it helps for additional awareness! The simplicity of the book badge is a design win.

The Lying Life of Adults

Network/Format: Netflix, live action limited series, Season 1Based on: The Lying Life of Adults by Elena FerranteAdditional notes: The third literary property to get adapted from the mysterious Italian author. My Brilliant Friend is headed towards its fourth and final season on HBO, expected to bow this year, and the film adaptation of The Lost Daughter from Maggie Gyllenhaal was widely celebrated after its 2021 release.

January 5

Woman of the Dead

Network, Format: Netflix, live action series, Season 1Based on: Woman of the Dead by Bernhard Aichner

January 6

Father Brown

Network, Format: BritBox, Season 10Based on: “Father Brown” short stories by G.K. Chesterton

The Pale Blue Eye

Network, Format: Netflix, live action filmBased on: The Pale Blue Eye by Louis BayardNotable names: Christian Bale, Gillian Anderson, Henry Melling (stars)Additional notes: Henry Melling hive, rise up!!

January 7

The Pioneer Woman

Network, Format: Food, live action cooking series, Season 33Based on: The Pioneer Woman blog and cookbooks by Ree Drummond

The Wedding Veil Expectations

Network, Format: Hallmark, live action film, first in 2nd trilogy (see subsequent Sundays) and 4th in seriesBased on: The Wedding Veil Wishes series by Lori Wilde Notable names: stars Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney, Autumn ReeserAdditional notes: Designed as a major Hallmark Channel crossover event taking place over three Sundays to kick off January, The Wedding Veil films of 2023 is actually the second trilogy of films that follows three best friends sharing a lucky veil; the first trilogy was released to great success in 2022 and included the films “The Wedding Veil,” “The Wedding Veil Unveiled,” and “The Wedding Veil Legacy.” Think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants + 15 years.

January 8

All Creatures Great and Small

Network, Format: PBS, Season 3Based on: “All Creatures Great and Small” series by James Herriot

Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches

Network, Format: AMC, Season 1Based on: “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” trilogy by Anne RiceNotable names: Alexandra D’Addario starsAdditional notes: Part of AMC's Immortal Universe television franchise, based on the 14 novels the network has licensed from the estate of the late gothic icon Anne Rice. AMC has also licensed the Vampire Chronicles and in 2022, launched their new TV franchise with the television adaptation of Interview with the Vampire.

Family History Mysteries: Buried Past

Network, Format: Hallmark, live action filmBased on: Paging the Dead (“Family History Mysteries” series) by Brynn BonnerNotable names: starring Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars)

Vienna Blood

Network, Format: PBS, Season 3Based on: Liebermann novels by Frank TallisNotable names: starring Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer

January 12

All the Queen's Men

Network, Format: BET+, live action series, Season 2 (midseason premiere)Based on: Ladies Night by Christian KeyesNotable names: Tyler Perry (producer, director); Eva Marcille (star, Real Housewife, ANTM winner of Cycle 3)

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House

Network, Format: Netflix, Season 1Based on: Kiyo in Kiyoto: From the Maiko House by Aiko KoyamaNotable names: One of Japan’s most celebrated directors, Hirokazu Kore-eda, serves as director and writer; he won the 2013 Jury Prize and the 2018 Palme d’Or at CannesAdditional notes: The manga series has been collected into 21 volumes and is still ongoing in serialization; this is the second adaptation following an anime series that ran from 2021-2022. It has not yet been translated into English.

January 13

Trial By Fire

Network, Format: Netflix, live action limited seriesBased on:Trial by Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy by Neelam & Shekhar KrishnamoorthyAdditional notes: Part of Netflix's investment into the Indian market, which is part of the global media's shift to prioritize Indian consumers as now both the most populous country in the world and a more accessible market than China.

January 14

The Wedding Veil Inspiration

Network, Format: Hallmark, live action film, second in 2nd trilogy & 5th in seriesBased on: The Wedding Veil Wishes series by Lori WildeNotable names: stars Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser

January 19

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre

Network, Format: Netflix, Season 1Based on: Tomie (series); "The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel," “Mold,” “Layers of Fear,” “The Thing That Drifted Ashore,” "The Hanging Balloons," and “Back Alley” (stories) by Junji ItoAdditional notes: Junji Ito is the prolific Japanese master of horror, and the series is an anime anthology pulling from a number of his previously published and five new stories. His most popular character, Tomie, has previously been adapted into a 9-film live action franchise since 1999. Another adaptation of Ito's works, an adaptation of Uzumaki, has long been in production for release on Adult Swim and also anticipating a 2023 release after long COVID-19-related delays.

January 20

Truth Be Told

Network, Format: Apple TV+, Season 3Based on: Truth Be Told by Kathleen BarberNotable names: Octavia Spencer (star, producer); Reese Witherspoon, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping (producers)Additional notes: The book used to be titled Are You Sleeping but was renamed when the show launched.

January 21

The Wedding Veil Journey

Network, Format: Hallmark, live action film, third in 2nd trilogy & 6th in seriesBased on: The Wedding Veil Wishes series by Lori WildeNotable names: stars Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser

January 25

The Endless Night

Network, Format: Netflix, live action seriesBased on: Todo dia a mesma noite: a história não contada da boate kiss (The Endless Night: The Untold Story of Kiss Nightclub) by Daniela ArbexNotable names: Mariza Leão, Tiago Rezende (producers), Gustavo Lipsztein (writer, producer)Additional notes: As Netflix is investing further into international productions, Brazil is a territory of particular focus. Most notably, the streamer filmed at São Paolo Pride in 2016, and launched their global fan festival in the same city in January 2020, with public attendance of over 50,000 fans over four days. The book is only in Portuguese; Arbex is a prolific journalist and writer of 7 books, celebrated for her investigative reporting, most notably Holocausto Brasileiro.

January 26

Record of Ragnarok II

Network, Format: Netflix, Season 2 Part 1Based on: Record of Ragnarok by Shinya Umemura, Takumi Fukui, and Ajichika (illustrator)Additional notes: Ongoing since 2017, the myth-inspired manga series featuring valkyries, humans, and gods has so far been collected into 16 volumes. There are also two spin-off manga series, the first beginning in 2019 and the second in 2022. The series, in both manga and anime, has faced criticism for its depiction of Hindu gods and Netflix has pulled the program from its library in India.

The 1619 Project

Network, Format: Hulu, limited docu-seriesBased on: “The 1619 Project” created by Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times MagazineNotable names: Oprah Winfrey (executive producer), Shoshana Guy (showrunner)

January 27

The Snow Girl

Network, Format: Netflix, filmBased on: The Snow Girl (Spanish) by Javier CastiloNotable names: David Ulloa, Laura Alvea (directors)Additional notes: Castilo's bestselling novel is one of the most popular novels in Spain, having sold over a million copies. Not yet translated into English.

January 29

Vera

Network, Format: BritBox, live action series, Season 12Based on: Vera Stanhope series by Ann CleevesAdditional notes: The bestselling mystery series is 14 books strong!

January 31

Pamela, A Love Story

Network, Format: Netflix, documentary filmBased on Coordinated with: Love, Pamela by Pamela AndersonNotable names: Pamela Anderson (star, subject, producer)Additional notes: Very notably, the 90s figure was neither impressed nor flattered by last year's Hulu series Pam & Tommy, and has said nothing about Lily James' portrayal of some of her best and worst years. Anderson grabs back control of the narrative like so many other icons of decades past, and her documentary coincides with the release of her most intimate book yet, a true memoir titled Love, Pamela out on the same day as her Netflix release.

I'm biased in expecting impressive prose—the imprint Dey Street is also home to Jessica Simpson, Gabrielle Union, (picket-crossing) Dave Grohl, Jessica Valenti, Molly Bloom, et al.—but long-time fans might also remember Anderson's 2005 bestselling novel Star, and its 2006 sequel, Star Struck, where she mined her own life to tell the rags-to-riches-to-riot story of a small town girl who becomes famous, falls in love, and has her sex tape stolen. Anderson is clearly over the media digging up old stories, but as an indisputable icon of her era, why not mine her unique insight towards an updated cautionary tale of accidentally landing fame and fortune in today's current age of insta-immediate-influencers?

January 13

Dog Gone

Network, Format: Netflix, filmBased on: Dog Gone: A Lost Pet's Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home by Pauls ToutonghiNotable names: Rob Lowe (star)Additional notes: Is there such a thing as too much pet content? The market currently says no, and the licensing of pet products continues to be a growing market that brands ought to take advantage of.

January 20

Shape Island

Network, Format: Apple TV+, Season 1Based on: The Shapes trilogy, by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon KlassenNotable names: Bix Pix Entertainment's Kelli Bixler and Drew Hodges (Amazon's stop-motion delight "Tumble Leaf"); Cartoon Network alum Ryan Pequin co-EPs & is head writer.Additional notes: Based on the charming and globally bestselling picture book trilogy published by Candlewick Press that includes Circle, Square, and Triangle. Barnett and Klassen are long-time collaborators; my favorite of theirs is the 2015 Caldecott Honor Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, which might make for a fun premise with each new episode beginning with a new hole to dig and explore.

January 23

Big Nate

Network, Format: Paramount+ - 2 seasons streaming; Nickelodeon, Season 1 (midseason premiere); animated seriesBased on: Big Nate comics and book series by Lincoln PierceNotable names: voices Ben Giroux, Dove Cameron, and Rob DelaneyAdditional notes: The comics have been syndicated and are still running since 1991, and the program originally premiered on streaming only via Paramount+ February 2022. It began airing linearly on Nickelodeon September last year. There was a long stasis in development hell, nearly 30 years, for the adaptation; in the interim, 44 print collections and novels, 6 activity books, and a stage musical were released.

January 26

Wolf Pack

Network, Format: Paramount+, live action series, Season 1Based on: ”Wolf Pack” series by Edo Van BelkomNotable names: Jeff Davis (writer, producer); Sarah Michelle Gellar (star)Additional notes: Canadian writer van Belkom is both an award-winning horror author and erotica writer. The 4-book series is MG while the series has aged up the protagonists to teens/YA. While original Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis overlaps on both Wolf Pack and Teen Wolf, the two wolf properties do not intersect. On the updated cover: s

January 27

Lockwood & Co.

Network, Format: Netflix, Season 1Based on: "Lockwood & Co." series by Jonathan StroudNotable names: Joe Cornish (creator, Attack the Block); Ruby Stokes (star)Additional notes: Ruby Stokes, previously the wallflower Bridgerton sibling Francesca, departed from the period blockbuster to take the lead of this fantasy series following the adventures of a teen-led psychic detection agency of ghost-hunters.

January 30

Princess Power

Network, Format: Netflix, CG animated series, Season 1Based on: Princesses Wear Pants by Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheim, illustrated by Eve ByrneNotable names: Drew Barrymore (producer); voice cast includes Rita Moreno, Tan France, Jenna Ushkowitz, Ciera Payton, Andrew Rannells

If you've made it this far, thank you for wading through! What did you enjoy? What surprised you? What other details about upcoming books and television programs would you find useful?

I'll be releasing some combination of curated articles, collected lists, and analysis from my decade of working across TV & publishing, and on a monthly basis, Q&As, industry interviews, and a calendar of what adaptations are getting released on the small screen.

If you enjoyed or found this useful, please share with a friend or colleague. And please, I'd love to get your feedback! DM me via @trundlings or email me directly at [email protected].

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view all the books getting adapted in January 2023, please visit this issue's list on Bookshop here, Books on TV: January 2023. To view all the books mentioned in my commentary but not getting adapted, you can find those listed on Bookshop at this second link, Books on TV: January 2023 Mentions.