Life Is Strange Is Getting a TV Series (& It’s the Perfect Time)

It perhaps isn’t surprising that television has emerged as a medium to successfully adapt video games, with the likes of The Last of Us and Fallout earning widespread critical acclaim and awards nominations. Games tell longform narratives; even the shortest story-driven game runs much longer than a standard movie. Because of this, TV is arguably a better medium than film to adapt a game, as the creative team will have an opportunity to fully flesh out the characters, world, and story without truncating anything. One streaming service that seems to have picked up on this is Prime Video, which has already reaped the benefits of Fallout and has big plans for more game adaptations. Another one just took a major step forward.

According to Variety, Prime Video is moving forward with a live-action TV series based on Life Is Strange. Based on the official synopsis, it appears that the show is drawing from the first game in the franchise; it’s set to revolve around Max, who learns she has the ability to rewind time. After using that skill to save her friend Chloe, the two work together to solve a disturbing mystery. Charlie Covell, the writer of End of the F***ing World, will serve as writer, producer, and showrunner. No production timeline has been set.

Why Amazon’s Life Is Strange Is Arriving at the Perfect Time

Not only is this becoming the golden era of TV video game adaptations, Prime Video has emerged as the go-to platform for such projects. As Fallout continues to be a hit (with a second season on the way), it was recently announced that Prime will start production on a live-action Tomb Raider TV series in January. Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner is onboard to play Lara Croft and Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the showrunner, giving Tomb Raider a strong creative team.

Several other video game adaptations are in development at Prime. Chief among those is God of War, which recently scooped up The Witcher writer Tania Lotia. Back in June, the Mass Effect TV series scored Doug Jung as showrunner. Prime Video is also working on an adaptation of Warhammer 40K, starring Henry Cavill. However, it may take some time before that project gets off the ground since Cavill is going to be busy with the Highlander reboot for a while.

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Being on Prime Video isn’t a guarantee that Life Is Strange will become a hit, of course, but it’s hard to think of a better home for this series. Prime has already proven its prowess at game adaptations with Fallout (which earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series), and it’s clear these types of projects are a significant part of the streamer’s strategy moving forward. What’s more is that Prime has placed an emphasis on recruiting top tier talent to its game adaptations. End of the F***ing World received universal praise over its two-season run, with the writing and characterization considered highlights. Covell is more than capable of delivering a compelling, intimate character-driven story.

It also helps that Covell and Co. are working from acclaimed source material. Life Is Strange received positive reviews and numerous accolades when it released back in 2015, with particular praise being given to the game’s narrative and performances. Nothing can replicate the actual experience of holding a controller and playing the game yourself, but Life Is Strange seems like a concept that will lend itself well to TV, ideally giving Prime another winner. If the show proves to be successful, the streamer could have a new anthology series on its hands. There are multiple games in the Life Is Strange series, and most of them feature different casts of characters. Each season could adapt one of the games.