The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is one YA fantasy series that is well overdue for an adaptation. The series is made up of four novels: The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King. The cult classic series was optioned for television in 2017, but sadly, the show was never made. Now, almost a decade later, The Raven Cycle has only continued to gain more passionate and devoted fans, so it's about time the series finally got a television adaptation.
What Is 'The Raven Cycle' About?
The Raven Cycle follows Blue Sargent, a teenage girl who comes from a family of psychics. Blue is the only one in her family without powers, but she serves as a strong amplifier. She's also been told her whole life that if she ever kissed her true love, she would kill him. Blue believes this, but it hasn't been a problem before because she's never been in love; her visiting aunt tells her that this will be the year she does. One night, Blue accompanies her aunt to an old church on St. Mark's Eve to visit the spirits of those who will die in the coming year. Blue isn't supposed to be able to see any of them, but she sees the spirit of a teenage boy named Gansey. This means that either Blue is Gansey's true love or she will kill him – or both.
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Soon after, Blue is working at the local pizza place when a group from the nearby all-boys prep school, Aglionby Academy, shows up. She recognizes Gansey there, along with his three best friends, Ronan, Adam, and Noah. Although Blue and Adam spark a romantic connection, the others don't make the best impression on her, especially Gansey, and Blue encounters the boys again the next day when they show up at her house for a reading. For years, Gansey has been on the hunt for the long-dead Welsh king, Owen Glendower, who's been said to grant a wish to whoever wakes him. Gansey has his own reasons for wanting to find Glendower, and his friends have been helping him. They bring Blue in on their hunt, pulling her into a vibrant and magical quest. What the others don't know, though, is that Gansey is set to die by the end of it, with Blue somehow connected to his eventual fate.
'The Raven Cycle' Would Make the Perfect Fantasy TV Series
The Raven Cycle is currently being adapted into a graphic novel series, with the second book set to release later this summer, but it would make for an amazing TV adaptation as well. With complex characters and some of the best-developed lore of any fantasy series ever, each book introduces new elements to the series' worldbuilding that change everything, as well as shocking plot twists that are revealed in phenomenal moments of payoff. From Blue's family's rich backstory to Gansey's quest for Glendower to multiple fantastical reveals, The Raven Cycle is full of fast-paced storytelling that eventually ties everything together in clever and unforeseen ways.
There is a lot to enjoy about The Raven Cycle, but the reason the series is so beloved is the group at its core. Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah are all well-written and captivating characters on their own, but together, they are magic. The four boys are extremely close, but they quickly bring Blue into their found family as if she's always been there. They have hilarious banter, mountains of inside jokes, and a fierce loyalty to one another that comes in handy when the stakes get especially high. Two amazing slow-burn romances build over the course of the series, which TV fans would absolutely fall in love with. The Raven Cycle is a truly delightful fantasy that readers want to live in, and it would be the perfect TV series for any viewer who loves an epic quest as well as a determined group of underdogs who would do anything for each other.
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