‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ is one of the best book adaptations of all time

Posted on May 15, 2020

By MARK VIOLA

I’ve often complained about film adaptations not living up to the books upon which they were based. The modern era of television is offering an alternative to that, especially with streaming services like Netflix and Amazon and old standbys like HBO pumping millions of dollars into productions serving to adapt books both famous and obscure.

Having a longer time to tell their stories, television producers have the freedom to let their stories flow more naturally, although with examples like “Game of Thrones,” satisfaction is by no means guaranteed.

However, one recent example of a television series adapting a beloved book franchise into a wonderful experience is Netflix’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

Unlike my recent review of “Locke & Key,” this is not a new release — having aired across three seasons in 2017-19 — but it is also one I have seen in its entirety, so I can unreservedly recommend it, already knowing that we won’t be left with an unsatisfactory conclusion.

Based on the young adult novels by Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler), the story follows the unfortunate lives of the Baudelaire siblings — Violet (Malina Weissman, “Supergirl”), Klaus (Louis Hynes, “The Saint”) and Sunny (Presley Smith) — who become orphans in the opening minutes of the first episode.

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