Many great TV shows and episodes have found inspiration in the works of classic authors, such as Franz Kafka, and there are memorable episodes from different genres inspired by his stories. While some of the best TV shows of all time are direct adaptations of literary works, such as adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, others were inspired by them. Some were so brilliantly done that those inspirations aren’t obvious, which makes them even better.

There are some cases, however, where a TV show wasn’t inspired by an author or a specific pre-existing story, instead just having some episodes inspired by them. One of the most influential authors is Franz Kafka, best known for the novels The Trial and The Castle, and the novella The Metamorphosis. Kafka’s style mixed elements of realism and the fantastique, which are supernatural elements and uncertainty about their existence, along with protagonists who go through surreal situations.

These characteristics made way for the term “Kafkaesque”, used to describe surreal, disorienting, and senseless situations just like those in Kafka’s stories. While Kafka’s influence is mostly seen in the sci-fi and horror genres, TV shows from different genres and styles have been inspired by his works, with near-perfect episodes that went Kafkaesque in different ways.

“Cicely” – Northern Exposure

Season 3, Episode 23

Northern Exposure is a comedy-drama TV series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey. Northern Exposure aired from 1990 to 1995 on CBS for six seasons, and in its third season, it had an episode featuring Franz Kafka, but with a twist. Northern Exposure follows Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow), who is sent to practice medicine in the remote Alaskan village of Cicely to pay off his state-funded student loans. Despite a rough start, Joel eventually warms up to the town and its eccentric residents.

In the episode “Cicely”, an old man tells the residents the story of the founding of the town through flashbacks. The town was founded by a lesbian couple, Cicely (Yvonne Suhor) and Roslyn (Jo Anderson), who transformed the place into an artists’ colony known as “The Paris of the North.” Roslyn’s friend, Franz Kafka (played by Morrow), arrived in town to cure his writer’s block and migraines, and he ended up coming up with the premise for The Metamorphosis.

“Bugged” – Arthur

Season 8, Episode 3b

Being an animated TV show for children isn’t an impediment to taking inspiration from one of the greatest authors of all time, and Arthur proved it in its eighth season. The classic children’s show Arthur aired for 25 seasons from 1996 to 2022, and it’s one of the best animated TV shows of all time. Throughout its run, Arthur was praised for its tone and how it approached serious themes, such as loss, autism, dyslexia, and more, all through anthropomorphic characters led by the title aardvark.

In the episode “Bugged”, Alan, best known as “Brain”, overhears Francine calling him a “real pest” after correcting her during class and later messing with their game of “capture the flag” during recess with a complicated plan. Those words stay in Brain’s mind, so much so that he has a stress dream of waking up transformed into a giant bug. The episode is a playful, kid-friendly reference to The Metamorphosis, with a moral at the end, fitting with the show’s style.

Season 1, Episode 2

Smallville is one of the best superhero TV shows of all time, and it’s based on DC Comics’ Superman and other characters from his stories. Smallville aired on The WB and The CW from 2001 to 2011 for 10 seasons, and it focused on teenage Clark Kent (Tom Welling), thus being a coming-of-age story. Smallville follows Clark before he officially becomes Superman, exploring his high school life, family dynamics, romance with Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), and his friendship with future nemesis Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum).

In its second episode, Smallville used Kafka’s The Metamorphosis as inspiration while still fitting with the superhero genre. In “Metamorphosis”, Greg Arkin (Chad Donella), a student at Smallville High, is stung by his meteor rock-enhanced insects after a car accident, resulting in his transformation into a half insect/half man creature. Greg then kidnaps Lana to mate with her, but Clark realizes where Greg has gone and sets out to rescue her. Ultimately, Greg accidentally crushes himself under mechanical equipment, and a mass of insects floods out.

Season 1, Episode 4b

Oggy and the Cockroaches is a French animated TV series created by Jean-Yves Raimbaud. Oggy and the Cockroaches debuted in 1999 and ended in 2019, but it was rebooted the following year, and it’s currently preparing for its ninth season. Oggy and the Cockroaches centers on the comedic adventures of a blue cat named Oggy, whose days are always ruined by three cockroaches causing chaos at his home, named Joey, Marky, and Dee Dee. One of the particularities of the show is that it’s a silent comedy, meaning that the characters don’t speak, but use unintelligible sounds and gestures to communicate.

In its first season, Oggy went through his own Metamorphosis moment in the episode also titled like Kafka’s novella. As such, “Metamorphosis” follows Oggy as he eats a piece of glowing chocolate placed by the cockroach trio, and he undergoes an unexpected transformation. Oggy ends up turning into a cockroach, much to the trio’s amusement, but when Oggy’s cousin visits him, he tries to attack him.

“Kafkaesque” – Breaking Bad

Season 3, Episode 9

Of course, one of the best TV shows of all time, Breaking Bad, also had an episode inspired by Franz Kafka. Created by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad aired on AMC from 2008 to 2013 for five seasons, and it introduced the world to Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer. To secure his family’s financial future, Walter begins producing methamphetamine with the help of his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and ends up building a drug empire.

In season 3’s episode “Kafkaesque”, Walter and Jesse are in full production at the new lab, but Jesse takes some of the excess product to sell it among the members of his rehab group. During one of those meetings, Jesse vents about his job at the laundromat, which is the hiding spot for the meth lab, with the group leader calling his situation “Kafkaesque.” The episode doesn’t have a character transforming into an insect, but it has other thematic connections to Kafka’s works.

“The Obsolete Man” – The Twilight Zone

Season 2, Episode 29

Created by Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone is a sci-fi horror anthology series that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1964 for five seasons. Each episode of The Twilight Zone tells a different story, with these characterized by truly unexpected plot twists and surprise endings with a moral. Many Twilight Zone episodes were original stories, while others were adaptations of pre-existing works or were heavily influenced by others, as is the case for “The Obsolete Man”, one of the best Twilight Zone episodes.

“The Obsolete Man” takes the audience into a future totalitarian state, where books have been eliminated, among other things. Because of this, Romney Wordsworth (Burgess Meredith), a librarian, is put on trial for being obsolete, as his occupation is now punishable by death. Romney is found guilty and is sentenced to death within 48 hours, giving him the chance to choose his method, time, and place of execution. “The Obsolete Man” takes a lot from Franz Kafka’s The Trial, where a bank clerk is suddenly arrested for an unknown crime.

Release Date

1959 – 1964-00-00

Showrunner

Rod Serling

Directors

John Brahm, Buzz Kulik, Douglas Heyes, Lamont Johnson, Richard L. Bare, James Sheldon, Richard Donner, Don Medford, Montgomery Pittman, Abner Biberman, Alan Crosland, Jr., Alvin Ganzer, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Joseph M. Newman, Ted Post, William Claxton, Jus Addiss, Mitchell Leisen, Perry Lafferty, Robert Florey, Robert Parrish, Ron Winston, Stuart Rosenberg

Writers

Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Earl Hamner, Jr., George Clayton Johnson, Jerry Sohl, Henry Slesar, Martin Goldsmith, Anthony Wilson, Bernard C. Schoenfeld, Bill Idelson, E. Jack Neuman, Jerome Bixby, Jerry McNeely, John Collier, John Furia, Jr., John Tomerlin, Lucille Fletcher, Ray Bradbury, Reginald Rose, Sam Rolfe, Adele T. Strassfield

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