Like a vampire, this show sucks!
I saw the commercials for this TV series and I about lost my shit. The Passage is a really great trilogy (at least until the last half of the last book), but it is fairly unknown. I knew the potential for this show to be great was huge and so I happily started counting down until it’s premier; I even marked it as a reminder in my calendar!
As my husband and I started binging the show I knew I would encounter the ever present disappointment when they change even the littlest details from the book’s version….but I have come to expect and tolerate these changes. This series, however, makes more and more odd and aimless changes to characters, scenes, and plot lines as it goes forward. I kept screaming at the TV…”WHY!?!?!” Adam has also read the books and felt similarly (albeit without as much shouting at inanimate objects), and so we decided to stop watching the show that has as much potential of giving me an aneurism as it did in disappointing me further.
I think these TV series adaptations are often such disasters based on who has picked up the filming rights. With powerhouses like HBO and Netflix knocking it out of the park nearly 100% of the time, and the weaker cable networks creating half assed amalgamations of great books – I attribute it all to level of commitment. The big dogs know a great story when they see one; one that doesn’t need tweaking, or more robust characters. They also know that a story needs time to bloom and will commit to multiple seasons right out of the gate. These syndicates have better staff, actors, and budgets. All of this while the minor cable networks use more of a “throw heaps of new shows and ideas at the audience and see what sticks” approach. They rush a good thing, change too much, and try to fit it all into the one and only guaranteed season and pray for the best.
TLDR – Leave the good books/trilogies to the HBOs and Netflixes of the world. Don’t ruin book lover’s dreams by bastardizing what we cherish.