One of the undisputed action movie classics of the '80s is Lethal Weapon, originally directed by Richard Donner with a script by Shane Black. The movie was rebooted as a modern-day TV series, starring Damon Wayans and Clayne Crawford in the lead roles.
The Karate Kid saga is another fan-favorite from the '80s, with three original films starring Ralph Macchio, a sequel with Hilary Swank, and a reboot with Jaden Smith (which will soon get a sequel titled Karate Kid: Legends, tying everything into the original canon). Its enduring popularity led to the hit series Cobra Kai, set after the events of the first four films, following Daniel-San (Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) as adults training a new generation of students.
The darkly comedic crime film Fargo, written and directed by the Coen brothers, is one of the most acclaimed entries in their stellar filmography—which says a lot. It was adapted into an equally praised TV series that, while not following the same storyline, is set in the same continuity.
Although Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer is itself a film adaptation of a French graphic novel, the TV series draws inspiration from both the movie and the original comic. It features a different storyline and new characters, but retains the central premise: the remnants of humanity survive aboard a perpetually moving train after a failed climate experiment renders Earth a frozen wasteland.
Though the TV show 12 Monkeys carries the name of the 1995 sci-fi classic directed by Terry Gilliam, its roots go back further—the movie was based on the iconic short film La Jetée by Chris Marker. The series follows a similar premise: a time traveler from 2043 goes back to the past to prevent the release of a deadly virus by the "Army of the Twelve Monkeys," which would otherwise wipe out most of the human population.