What If This Book Were a TV Show?

I have read several books that became a feature film or a TV movie not long after I read it e.g. P.S. I Love You, The Secret Life of Bees, Montana Sky, I Do (But I Don’t), Crazy Rich Asians, etc. And sometimes I wonder while reading certain books how it would go if it were developed into another media type, be it a movie or TV show.

Not too long ago, I finished the book The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger of The Devil Wears Prada fame (another book I read that later was transitioned into a movie). In it, a professional tennis player named Charlotte “Charlie” Silver gets swept in the (not so?) “good life” as she ascends the rankings in pursuit of her first major title.

As I read the book, I couldn’t dodge the thoughts of “this could make a good serialized story.” To do it, however, you would have to shift the spotlight away from Charlie somewhat to make it more of an ensemble-driven show. If or when you read the book, you’ll find there might be a limit to Charlie’s presence in the long-term—unless a major plot twist is changed. Fortunately, the book has more than enough supporting characters that, with the development of more backstory, can drive the story forward when Charlie isn’t the main focus if need be.

I imagine the TV show would work best as a Netflix or Hulu-type program, one that is released all at once for the binge-watchers or can be watched one episode at a time, whichever way the consumer prefers. Also, the 13-episode season is still in vogue on the streaming services (like it was once upon a time for broadcast TV), and that feels like the correct length for a TV show with this kind of story. Plus, when shows get 18 or 22-episode seasons show runners often have to create filler episodes which can drag the story down.

The timeline of the book takes you through about 14 months, from Wimbledon, which occurs in early July, through the U.S. Open of the following year (the U.S. Open ends in early September). I only covered the first two-thirds of the book (about 11 months of time) for the first season of my imagined series for the purposes of creating a good cliffhanger for the season finale.

Now, without further ado, my creative thought exercise on how I imagine the first season of a show based off of The Singles Game would play out. Warning: spoilers ahead (I tried not give too much of the story away, but some details were unavoidable).