Including the new Peaky Blinders film!

With Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man now available to watch on Netflix following its cinema release, I decided to take a look at some of the other films based on TV shows, which are worth watching.

Because let's be honest, transferring a show/its characters from the small screen to the big screen is a tall challenge and not one that works all that often.

Thankfully, these nine films, including David Brent: Life on the Road, Downton Abbey, The Inbetweeners Movie, and many more, buck that trend and are definitely worth watching.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

based on I'm Alan Partridge and other shows

A-ha! The character of Alan Partridge was created by Steve Coogan in 1991 for the BBC Radio 4 comedy On The Hour, and after two decades on our television screens, in shows such as Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, The Day Today, I'm Alan Partridge, Mid Morning Matters and Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life, Alan's next outing was on the big screen, in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

Released in August 2013, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa sees North Norfolk Digital taken over by a multinational conglomerate, and when one of Alan’s colleagues is fired, the disgruntled DJ returns to the station during an office party with a gun and holds the station hostage.

The only person he'll talk to during siege negotiations is Alan, who sees an opportunity to stage a triumphant return to the limelight.

There hasn't been a big screen return for Alan Partridge since, but he has returned to the small screen in a second series of Mid Morning Matters, two series of This Time with Alan Partridge, and most recently in How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge).

Starring alongside Steve Coogan are Felicity Montagu, Tim Key, Colm Meaney, Simon Greenall, Phil Cornwell, Sean Pertwee, Anna Maxwell Martin, Darren Boyd, Nigel Lindsay, Karl Theobald, Simon Delaney, Monica Dolan, Paul Blackwell, Dustin Demri-Burns, Simon Kunz, Darren Deans and Jessica Knappett.

David Brent: Life on the Road

based on The Office

When The Office launched on 9th July 2001, little did its creators, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, know that the mockumentary about a general manager in the fictional paper company Wernham Hogg, called David Brent, would be so groundbreaking, with its influence still very much felt today.

The Office ended in 2003 after two series, and whilst there haven't been any new episodes since, Ricky Gervais has brought the character of David Brent back several times. In 2007, he performed in character at the Concert for Diana, in 2011, he appeared in an episode of The US Office, and in 2013, he returned in a Comic Relief sketch called The Office Revisited, in which he performed Equality Street with Doc Brown for the first time.

Released in August 2016, David Brent: Life on the Road sees cameras catch up with David Brent 12 years after The Office. Brent is now a travelling salesman, preparing to take a sabbatical from his sales job at Lavichem to chase his dream of rock stardom by self-financing a UK tour with his band, ‘Foregone Conclusion’.

Starring alongside Ricky Gervais are Kevin Bishop, Roisin Conaty, Diane Morgan, Ashley McGuire, Alexander Arnold and Mandeep Dhillon.

Downton Abbey

based on Downton Abbey

Launching in September 2010, Julian Fellowes' stunning ITV drama Downton Abbey became a global hit, following the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who worked for them at the turn of the 20th century in an Edwardian English country house. The series came to an end on Christmas Day 2015 when 11.22 million people tuned in to the finale.

Released in September 2019, Downton Abbey returned, this time on the big screen as the Crawley family and staff prepare for a new era and a royal visit as King George V and Queen Mary visit to Downton Abbey on their way to Harewood House, where their daughter, Princess Mary, is having trouble in her marriage to Viscount Lascelles.

The film stars many of the series' original cast, including Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Penelope Wilton, and Dame Maggie Smith.

New cast members include Imelda Staunton, Geraldine James, Simon Jones, David Haig, Tuppence Middleton, Kate Phillips and Stephen Campbell Moore.

Downton Abbey later returned to the big screen twice, with Downton Abbey: A New Era in April 2022 and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale last September.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

based on Breaking Bad

Written and created by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad follows chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, who lives in New Mexico with his wife and teenage son, who has cerebral palsy. Diagnosed with Stage III cancer, Walter is given a prognosis of two years left to live.

With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis and a desire to secure his family's financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world, with the help of his former student Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul. Together they form a partnership cooking and distributing crystal meth.

Breaking Bad is widely considered one of the all-time greatest television dramas, and ran for five seasons, ending in September 2013. But thankfully, the story wasn't quite over yet.

Released in October 2019, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie reunites us with Jesse Pinkman, who, in the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, must come to terms with his past to forge some kind of future.

Returning alongside Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were Jonathan Banks, Charles Baker, Matt Jones, Jesse Plemons and Larry Hankin, who were joined by new cast members, including Scott MacArthur, Scott Shepherd and Tom Bower.

The Inbetweeners Movie

based on The Inbetweeners

Written and created by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, The Inbetweeners, a coming-of-age sitcom on E4 about four secondary school pupils, Will, Simon, Jay and Neil in

Released in August 2011, The Inbetweeners Movie picks up where series three ended as Will, Simon, Jay and Neil go on a lads' holiday to Malia in the hope of finding girls, cheap beer and sun, and to celebrate finishing school.

James Buckley, Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison all returned for the film, alongside Emily Head, Martin Trenaman, Alex Macqueen and Greg Davies, and welcomed Laura Haddock, Tamla Kari, Jessica Knappett, Lydia Rose Bewley, Theo James, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Anthony Head and others.

The Inbetweeners Movie was followed by The Inbetweeners 2 in August 2014, and late last year, the show's creators gave fans hope that the show would return. But it's not yet known how or where.

In The Loop

based on The Thick of It

Armando Iannucci's superb satirical comedy The Thick of It, set in the corridors of power, began by following the career of Hugh Abbot, a put-upon MP who is continually harassed by Number 10's foul-mouthed policy enforcer Malcolm Tucker and is dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.

The Thick of It ran for four series and two specials from 2005 to 2012, and from series three, Hugh Abbot was replaced as head of DoSAC by Nicola Murray, played by Rebecca Front.

Released in April 2009, ahead of The Thick of It's two final series, In The Loop sees the US President and UK Prime Minister suddenly fancy a war. But it'll be quick this time. Promise! The US General Miller doesn't think so, and the British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster, agrees with him.

After Simon accidentally backs military action on prime-time TV, he suddenly has a lot of friends in Washington, DC. If Simon can get in with the right DC people, if his entourage of one can sleep with the right intern, and if they can both stop the PM's chief strategist, Malcolm Tucker, from rigging the vote at the UN, they can halt the war.

If they don't... well, they can always sack their advisor Judy, who they never liked anyway and who's back home dealing with voters with blocked drains and a man who's angry about a collapsing wall.

Starring alongside Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, Joanna Scanlan and Anna Chlumsky, who all return from the TV series, were Gina McKee, Steve Coogan, Tom Hollander and James Gandolfini.

The film was even nominated for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category,

Kevin & Perry Go Large

based on Harry Enfield and Chums

One of the standout sketches in the BBC sketch show Harry Enfield and Chums was always Kevin the Teenager, which ran for five series between 1990 and 1998, originally on BBC Two and then on BBC One.

Kevin underwent a major personality change when he turned thirteen, becoming lethargic, stroppy, and overly sensitive. Though no longer hyperactive, he continued to annoy his parents through his constant complaining and refusal to do anything they tell him.

He was often joined by his best friend Perry, played by the inimitable Kathy Burke, who is faultlessly polite to Kevin's parents but rude to his own. Kevin mirrors this attitude by being similarly polite in the presence of Perry's parents, in contrast to his usual horrible behaviour.

Released in April 2000, Kevin & Perry Go Large sees stubborn, spotty Kevin and his equally hopeless best friend Perry return, this time on the big screen as they go on holiday to the party island Ibiza, which they see as their big chance to become superstar club DJs and, more importantly, to lose their virginities.

But they aren't prepared for the interference of top DJ Eyeball Paul, not to mention the embarrassment factor of Kevin's long-suffering parents.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

based on Peaky Blinders

Written and created by Steven Knight, Peaky Blinders burst onto BBC Two in September 2013. Set in the lawless streets of post-war Birmingham on the cusp of the 1920, the epic gangster series follows Thomas Shelby and his family, as they run the most feared and powerful local gang, the Peaky Blinders.

They make money from illegal betting, protection and the black market, but Tommy’s ambitions go beyond running the streets, and when a crate of guns goes missing from an arms factory, he recognises an opportunity to move up in the world. Crime pays, but business pays better.

As rival gangs, Communist revolutionaries and IRA Fenians descend on Small Heath in pursuit of the weapons, Winston Churchill dispatches a ruthless police chief from Belfast to impose order on an increasingly lawless city and recover the guns.

When Peaky Blinders ended in April 2022 after six series, it wasn't certain if we'd ever see Tommy Shelby again. Thankfully, in June 2024, it was confirmed that a feature-length follow-up was coming.

Released today on Netflix and earlier this month in cinemas, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man sees the story move on to 1940, and amidst the chaos of WWII, Tommy Shelby is driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet.

With the future of the family and the country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons and choose whether to confront his legacy or burn it to the ground. By order of the Peaky Blinders…

Written by Steven Knight and directed by Tom Harper, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man sees Cillian Murphy return as the iconic Tommy Shelby alongside Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan and Stephen Graham.

Time will tell if there'll be another film, but for now, we do know that Peaky Blinders is returning to BBC One with two new prequel series, welcoming in a new generation of Shelbys as we jump ahead to 1953 Britain.

The Simpsons Movie

based on The Simpsons

Animated sitcom The Simpsons launched in December 1989 and follows the lives of Homer, Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, and to date, there have been 37 seasons, over 800 episodes, and with seasons 38, 39 and 40 already confirmed, The Simpsons is showing no signs of slowing down.

Released in July 2007, The Simpsons Movie sees Homer accidentally pollute the water supply of Springfield and then attempt to save his family and city, which has been sealed off under a huge glass dome.

It was recently announced that The Simpsons Movie will return for an as-yet-untitled sequel 20 years later, on 23rd July 2027.