Entertainment
The Best Movies Based On TV Shows
List Rules
Top big-screen adaptations of television series
The best movies based on TV shows are those legendary movies that spawned from our favorite TV shows of all time. It's really easy to make a horrible film adaptation of a favorite book, television show or classic film. These great TV shows that became movies are the exact opposite. With numerous successful films to its resume, the Star Trek franchise perhaps saw the best success on the big screen. Based on the classic television series, the science fiction franchise has prompted so many great movies dating back from the original film in 1979 to modern adaptations released as recently as May 2013.
That's not to say that other television shows adapted into movies are not awesome too. The Fugitive, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Traffic, and The Naked Gun are all prime examples of filmmakers taking a TV series and turning it into an equally, if not more, successful movie. In some cases, filmmakers did this simply from a character or sketch from a show such as in cases of Borat, Wayne's World, The Blues Brothers, and Bruno.
But for every great movie based on a TV show, there are also dozens of bad movies adapted from television shows. Thankfully, these are the best of the bunch. Which TV show to movie adaptation is the absolute best? Vote for them below!
Ranked by
- 1Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
When a man (Christopher Lloyd) claiming to be Fester, the missing brother of Gomez Addams (Raul Julia), arrives at the Addams' home, the family is thrilled. However, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) begins ...more - 2Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Andrew Davis
Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by ...more - 3Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Aboard the USS Enterprise, the most-sophisticated starship ever built, a novice crew embarks on its maiden voyage. Their path takes them on a collision course with Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan ...more - 4Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
A comedic send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads ...more - 5William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: Nicholas Meyer
As Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) monitor trainees at Starfleet Academy, another vessel from the United Federation of Planets is about to try out the ...more - 6Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Joss Whedon
In this continuation of the television series "Firefly," a group of rebels travels the outskirts of space aboard their ship, Serenity, outside the reach of the Alliance, a sinister regime that ...more - 7Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Brian De Palma
After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, legendary crime boss Al Capone (Robert De Niro) rules Chicago with an iron fist. Though Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) attempts to take ...more - 8John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: John Landis
After his release from prison, Jake (John Belushi) reunites with his brother, Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) -- collectively known as the "Blues Brothers." Jake's first task is to save the orphanage the ...more - 9Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Henry Czerny
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Brian De Palma
When U.S. government operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his mentor, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), go on a covert assignment that takes a disastrous turn, Jim is killed, and Ethan becomes the prime ...more - 10Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
The members of the odd Addams Family are up to more macabre antics in this sequel. This time around, Gomez Addams (Raul Julia) and his wife, Morticia (Anjelica Huston), are celebrating the arrival of ...more - 11Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe
- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Penelope Spheeris
A big screen spin-off of the "Saturday Night Live" skit. Rob Lowe plays a producer that wants to take the public access "Wayne's World" to the world of commercial television. Wayne (Mike Myers) and ...more - 12O. J. Simpson, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Reggie Jackson
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: David Zucker
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American comedy film. It is the first in The Naked Gun series of films starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and O. J. ...more - 13Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: David Silverman
The combination of Homer (Dan Castellaneta), his new pet pig, and a leaky silo full of excrement triggers a disaster that threatens not just Springfield but the entire world. An angry mob descends on ...more - 14David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Rob Bowman
In a small Texas town, a mysterious black substance emanating from the remains of a prehistoric human engulfs a young boy and his rescuers. Later, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana ...more - 15Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Jonathan Frakes
The Enterprise and its crew follow a Borg ship through a time warp to prevent the Borg from taking over the Earth in a past era. Stuck in the past, Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) helps a pioneer of ...more - 16Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: J.J. Abrams
The crew of the Starship Enterprise returns home after an act of terrorism within its own organization destroys most of Starfleet and what it represents, leaving Earth in a state of crisis. With a ...more - 17O. J. Simpson, Leslie Nielsen, Zsa Zsa Gábor
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: David Zucker
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is a 1991 comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen as the comically bumbling Police Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad!. Priscilla Presley plays the role of Jane, with ...more - 18Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton, Steve Martin
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: James Frawley
After Kermit the Frog decides to pursue a movie career, he starts his cross-country trip from Florida to California. Along the way, he meets and befriends Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and rock ...more - 19George Clooney, Minnie Driver, Isaac Hayes
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Trey Parker
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 American adult animated satirical musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, and produced, co-written by and starring its ...more - 20Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire
- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Brian Henson
The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets -- Miss Piggy, Gonzo, ...more - 21Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Martin Campbell
After being imprisoned for 20 years, Zorro -- Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) -- receives word that his old enemy, Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson), has returned. Don Diego escapes and ...more - 22Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Richard Donner
This film update of the "Maverick" TV series finds the title cardsharp (Mel Gibson) hoping to join a poker contest with an impressive payoff. In order to enter, Maverick must first put up a large ...more - 23Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
When cops Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go under cover as high-school students. They trade in their guns and ...more - 24Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris ...more - 25William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Living in exile on the planet Vulcan, the ragtag former crew of the USS Enterprise steal a starship after receiving a planetary distress call from Earth: a space probe has entered into orbit around ...more
