Television networks frequently struggle to translate beloved book series to screen, often cramming expansive narratives into too few episodes while discarding the characteristics that originally captivated readers. The gap between source and adaptation widens when productions chase narrative shortcuts or favour dramatic convenience over fidelity to the world-building that made the novels successful in the first place.

Two prominent examples illustrate this pattern: Netflix's Shadow and Bone combined Leigh Bardugo's separate trilogies into a single project that prioritised rushing toward crossover moments rather than letting each story develop, resulting in cancellation before adapting all source material. Similarly, MTV's The Shannara Chronicles production team, despite assembling impressive technical elements and locations, abandoned Terry Brooks' complex mythology in favour of teenage drama tropes—a disconnect that intensified throughout the series' run. Both cases suggest these franchises might benefit from adaptations structured around individual books or series, giving each narrative sufficient space to unfold.