10 TV shows that are better than movies

When you start thinking about movies that were once TV shows, or TV shows that were once movies, you realize just how many shows are actually related. This has to do with the various ways that shows become movies and movies become shows. Movies can be TV sequels, TV reboots, or simply adapted for TV. Sometimes the cast and characters from the movies return in some way, and sometimes they don’t.

And when a TV show becomes a movie, it can be a feature finale, a prequel, or even a reboot or remake. The following examples are all quite varied, alternating between movies before they became shows, and shows made before movies. But in all cases, All of these big-name titles shone brighter on the small screen than they did on the big screen.However, not all of the associated films are of questionable quality or clearly flawed.

Ten Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)

Movie: The Last Airbender (2010)

Let’s start with the indisputable good stuff. Avatar: The Last Airbenderis an anime show that first aired in the late 2000s and is still beloved after so many years. Since the first three seasons were aired, it has become a franchise and has a sequel series. The Legend of Colaa live-action Netflix adaptation, and the infamous 2010 feature film. The Last Airbender.

This film was a daunting task as an entire season had to be adapted into a movie. Avatar: The Last Airbender Combined into one film, It hasn’t come out since the series ended And it had a dedicated fanbase that expected the best from the big-budget production bearing the franchise’s name. It wasn’t very well received, to say the least, but hey… at least it might make people appreciate the original series even more.

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9 MASH (1972-1983)

Movie: MASH (1970)

Technically speaking, mash It was a novel before it was a film, and a film before it was a TV series. mash American medical personnel who served in the Korean War were stationed at the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. They deal with the challenges of such work through (often dark) humor..

For those familiar with the long-running series, the film comes across as surprisingly cynical and peppered with pointless humor, which the series had traces of in the earlier seasons, but which has become more heartwarming and the characters more rich and complex, and at times quite depressing – in fact, more like a drama-comedy as the series has progressed. mash is easier to tackle, but its complexity ultimately works well and it manages to make a bigger impact than the (flawed but good for its time) film.

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8 Miami Vice (1984-1990)

Movie: Miami Vice (2006)

Miami Vice While the original series is clearly set in the 1980s, the 2006 film of the same name is a rare example of a show being adapted into a film, as it has a strong 2000s feel when it comes to visuals and style. Michael Mann In the end, it came with both, He served as the film’s writer, director and producer, as well as the show’s executive producer..

As for the film, it ended up being better than people gave it credit for at the time (maybe enough years have passed now that we can see how well it captured its time and place), but it’s the show that’s better known and celebrated overall, with its unique style and use of music that summed up the 1980s and brought something genuinely new to the police procedural genre.

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7 Westworld (2016-2022)

Movie: Westworld (1973)

Although it was a sudden cancellation, Westworld The television series is generally perceived as pretty strong… well, I’ll admit, a bit inconsistent. The show started off with a bang and had a generally engaging first season, but got a bit sketchy as it went on, while still remaining impressive, at least technically, and with interesting ideas and themes that it wanted to explore.

Westworld As a show, it’s pretty good at worst, but the 1973 film of the same name is a cult classic at best, intriguing despite its flaws, and explored more effectively in the series decades later. Probably the perfect repetition Westworld Not yetThat’s because it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that the show will be revived after being canceled in 2022.

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6 Sex and the City (1998-2004)

Film: Sex and the City (2008), Sex and the City 2 (2010)

However Sex and the CityAs a series, it has its flaws and shortcomings when viewed today, but it was hugely influential and highly regarded when it first aired. And although it aired quite some time ago, It was one of HBO’s early hits, particularly as a comedy show..

The show follows a group of New York City women who bond over their shared experiences and go through the ups and downs of everything from long-term relationships to casual relationships and, of course, sex. It airs on HBO, so it’s a lot more explicit than the network TV show. The film came out some time later and wasn’t as well-received by the public. The first film received mixed reviews, then… Sex and the City 2 In the end, it was surprisingly harshly criticized.

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Five Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Movie: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

Perhaps the biggest advancement from film to television is Buffy the Vampire Slayerwas originally a flawed film when it was released in 1992, but the series that began in 1997 ultimately morphed into something great. Both followed the title character, a young woman with incredible physical abilities and destined to fight vampires and demons, but the shows were superior for different reasons.

The characters were given more opportunities to grow and shine over the course of the series, and over a longer period, the subversion of tropes felt more natural, allowing the main character, Buffy, to change dramatically over the course of seven seasons. The film depicts the unusual lives of high school students. The show follows her eventually graduating and then dealing with a variety of adult issues, which often get pretty dark.It was funnier, more creative and more moving. Buffy the Vampire SlayerThe show was absolutely fantastic in every way.

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Four The Simpsons (1989-)

Movie: The Simpsons Movie (2007)

The Simpsons It’s a rare example of a work that is both a film and a show. The Simpsons Movie It came out in 2007, when the show was still on the air. The show has been on the air ever since. As of 2024, it’s been 17 years since the movie came out. In 2007, it had been exactly 17 years since the show began airing (the first episode was at the end of 1989). That’s creepy, right?

anyway, The Simpsons Movie It’s still pretty great, and may have served as a good finale to the show overall, but it’s of a higher quality than most of the other entries. The Simpsons The episode aired around that time. The movie pales in comparison to the best of the show’s legendary and beloved first eight or so seasons.; a production that ensured the series’ legendary status as one of the most entertaining shows ever aired on television.

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3 Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)

Movie: Friday Night Lights (2004)

In 2004 Friday Night Lights The movie was a great sports drama, but the show of the same name that began airing in 2006 was ultimately more popular. Broadly speaking, the plot of the movie and the show are the same, but The latter clearly had more time to tell a story and develop compelling characters.and has continued to grow to become one of the top TV drama series.

Both the film and the show were inspired by non-fiction books. Friday Night Lights: A City, a Team, and a Dream (1990) depicts the trials and tribulations of a high school football team’s players and coaches, as well as a variety of other characters. Both the film and the series are critically acclaimed, but if the two went head-to-head in a sports game, the latter would win handily.

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2 The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Movie: “The Newark Saints” (2021)

It wasn’t that important to make a movie or a prequel. The Sopranosbut in 2021 Newark’s Many Saints This movie is a little better than some people give it credit for. It’s about Christopher Moltisanti’s father. Although he died long before the events depicted in the show, he has been mentioned a few times.The film does a great job of conveying who he was as a person and his bond with a young Tony Soprano.

Newark’s Many Saints But it tries to do more than that and as a gangster movie it’s pretty messy. The SopranosOn the other hand, feels effortlessly brilliant in every way: the acting, the writing, the look, and the way it perfectly balances contrasting emotions. It’s one of the greatest shows ever made – and a movie at that. Newark’s Many Saints Or, in any way, anything that comes with this series will never surpass this one in quality.

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1 “We in the Shadows” (2019-)

Movie: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

At first, it was an original and undeniably funny horror comedy, What we do in the shadows The film was spun off into a series of the same name several years after its release, which retained the mockumentary format and a similar overall sense of humor, but What we do in the shadows Naturally, the show has much more depth in terms of its characters and their various storylines.

This is a remarkable achievement, because the film, while very funny, felt like a fairly limited, one joke film with a fairly strong joke exploring what would happen if multiple vampires of different ages and backgrounds shared an apartment in New Zealand. The series remains the same, but it branches out in a variety of interesting and surprisingly fascinating ways.also with a somewhat horror theme. Buffy the Vampire Slayer As an example of how to effectively turn a film into a franchise.

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Next: The best episodes of 24, according to IMDb