As the holiday season nears, readers can look forward to unwrapping a host of new book-to-screen adaptations. Watch for Kirkus’ in-depth columns on Nickel Boys, a theatrical film based on the Kirkus Prize–winning novel by Colson Whitehead (premiering Dec. 13), and A Complete Unknown, a Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, based on Elijah Wald’s nonfiction book Dylan Goes Electric! (premiering in theaters Dec. 25). Until then, here are four more book-to-screen adaptations for cozy holiday viewing:

Dec. 1: Earth Abides (limited series premiere, MGM+)

It’s hard to imagine, but at one time, post-apocalyptic fiction—which covers a wide range of popular tales, from Stephen King’s 1975 horror bestseller, The Stand, to the Walking Dead TV franchise—was something a niche SF subgenre. A rather early example was George R. Stewart’s 1949 novel, Earth Abides, which, like The Stand, told the story of the few human survivors of a planetwide plague who attempt to start a new community in the ruins of the old. It lacks The Stand’s supernatural elements (and The Walking Dead’s zombies, for that matter), but it does share their focus on how everyday life would change if humanity came close to extinction. In this new streaming series adaptation, Alexander Ludwig plays Stewart’s protagonist, grad student Isherwood “Ish” Williams, who becomes the leader of the new community. Ludwig is a fine actor whom many viewers know from the popular History show Vikings but really showed his skills as troubled wrestler Ace Spade in the underseen Starz show Heels; fans of both series will be glad to see Ludwig get a lead role. Dedicated viewers of Netflix’s Ozark will be pleased to see Jessica Frances Dukes, who played FBI agent Maya Miller in that show; here, she plays Emma, another survivor who plays an important role in the new society—and in Ish’s life.

Dec. 6: Nightbitch (theatrical film premiere)

Rachel Yoder’s offbeat 2021 novel provides the inspiration for this movie, which stars multiple Oscar nominee Amy Adams as an unnamed artist and mother who, while struggling with her status as a stay-at-home parent of a 2-year-old, begins to believe that she may be turning into a dog. In the book, her spouse, who travels often for work, doesn’t take her concerns seriously—even though she appears to be growing coarse hair on the back of her neck, longer incisors, and what appears to be the beginnings of a tail. She starts to pursue this new persona, which she calls “Nightbitch,” with help from a library book titled A Field Guide to Magical Women. Our reviewer called the novel “a battle hymn as novel about sinking your teeth into the available options for self-determination and ripping them to shreds.” This film, written and directed by Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), should provide an excellent showcase for Adams’ considerable talents, and she’s backed by a supporting cast that includes the great Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire) and Jessica Harper (star of the 1977 horror classic Suspiria).

Dec. 11: One Hundred Years of Solitude (limited series premiere, Netflix)

This two-season limited series adapts Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez’s magical-realist classic, about several generations of the Buendía family in the fictional Colombian village of Macondo—a solitary town that gradually becomes connected to the rest of the country and major social and political events of Colombian history. This ambitious streaming series was co-written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter José Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries); a teaser trailer, released back in April, reveals some of the show’s striking imagery, with a Spanish-speaking narrator intoning the novel’s evocative first line, which in Gregory Rabassa’s English translation reads: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”

Dec. 13: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (theatrical film premiere)

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was, of course, made into a wildly popular film series, directed by Peter Jackson; the last entry, released in 2003, received an Academy Award for best picture. This was followed by a three-film adaptation of Tolkien’s earlier, related novel for children, The Hobbit, in the 2010s. An ongoing Prime Video streaming series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, premiered in 2022, based on material from the trilogy’s extensive appendices; now, this new animated film, helmed by Japanese anime director Kenji Kamiyama, draws on more of that same material. It takes place about two centuries before the events of the original three books and focuses on the kingdom of Rohan—and its horse-riders, the Rohirrim—as they face off against invaders. Succession’s Brian Cox provides the voice of Rohan’s King Helm Hammerhand, and Miranda Otto voices Éowyn, a Rohan noble who narrates the story in the future; Otto memorably played the same part in the live-action films.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.