Move Over Oprah, Netflix Is The New Book Club In Town

Book clubs have been around for years as a way for people to share discussions on books and key points from the story. Netflix Inc NFLX is upping the book club game with a new social series to share the stories the streaming giant is making into movies and series.

What Happened: Netflix is launching “But Have You Read the Book?” a new social series hosted by partner Starbucks Corp SBUX.

Uzo Aduba, who starred in Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” will host the series.

“Let me tell you a story about London’s most notable family, a prodigy who becomes the queen of chess, or three best friends daring to dream of a better life,” Aduba says in the series trailer.

The show will cover the books before they become Netflix series and hopeful pop culture hits for the streaming company.

The trailer features many popular Netflix series like “Bridgerton,” “Orange is the New Black,” “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” “Firefly Lane,” “Virgin River,” “Maid” and “Sweet Magnolias.

“They were your favorite books,” Aduba said.

Each week, one book that is being adapted for a Netflix movie or series will be featured for the book club. “But Have You Read the Book?” will feature interviews with cast members and the authors and provide a behind the scenes look at how the book becomes adapted.

“Read, watch and then, let’s talk.”

The first book featured in the series will be “Passing,” a novel by Nella Larsen theat centers on two Black women and their racial identities.

“Passing” co-stars Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga will be interviewed for the book club series.

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Why It’s Important: A quick look at the top 10 most viewed shows on Netflix shows how the company’s biggest hits once started as books.

“Bridgerton,” “Lupin,” “Sex/Life,” “Stranger Things,” “The Witcher” and “The Queen’s Gambit” were all adapted from books.

“Sweet Tooth” was adapted from a comic book series.

Over half of the top 10 most watched Netflix series were adapted from a book or book series.

Netflix could gain a new audience for new series and also create more hype for top book adaptations. The streaming company could also see a way to win the rights to content as it could offer the author an opportunity to be included in the series and share their voice on the adaptation.

NFLX Price Action: NFLX shares are trading 0.48% higher at $627.92 Wednesday afternoon.