Streaming tips

Series adapted from novels: Alias Grace

The Handmaid’s Tale gets all the attention, but Margaret Atwood’s novel about a 16-year-old servant accused of murdering her employer in remote 1840s Canada spawned a six-episode series that was its own kind of riveting—and better than Seasons 2 and 3 of Handmaid. Netflix

The Man in the High Castle This well-rendered take on Philip K. Dick’s terrifying alternate history, which posits the Axis winning World War II and dividing America in two, ran for four seasons starting in 2015— and keeps gaining shades of relevance. Amazon Prime The Leftovers

Ditto this three-season adaptation of a 2011 Tom Perrotta best-seller. The story of a town dealing with the mysterious disappearance of roughly 2 percent of its residents feels as on target as an allegory for the pandemic as it was for the post-9/11 era. HBO Max Catch-22

George Clooney brought admirable gusto to the challenge of adapting Joseph Heller’s dark war satire, and threw in an effective turn as the parade-loving

Lt. Scheisskopf. Christopher Abbott proved a nearperfect Yossarian, the story’s conflicted bombardier protagonist. Hulu Vanity Fair

A strong recent miniseries based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 classic turns on a terrific performance by Olivia Cooke, who nails Becky Sharp’s conniving side. Amazon Prime Watership Down

Richard Adams’ unlikely 1970s best-seller about rabbits fleeing the imminent destruction of their warren earned an absorbing fourpart dramatization two years ago. You will admire the rich culture of these digitally animated lagomorphs without envying their stressful lives. Netflix