‘The Five-Star Weekend’ Creator on Changes From the Book, Jennifer Garner’s Input on the Infidelity Story and Wanting to Do More Seasons With the Same Cast
Peacock has released "The Five-Star Weekend", a television adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand's 2023 novel, with showrunner Bekah Brunstetter discussing how she reshaped the source material for the screen. Starring Jennifer Garner as grieving food influencer Hollis Shaw, the series centres on a Nantucket girls' weekend that brings together friends from different chapters of Hollis's life, each carrying their own secrets. Brunstetter frames the show as a celebration of women's stories in their 40s and 50s, arguing that this stage of life is rich with change beyond the recent cultural focus on menopause and perimenopause.
Six months after her husband Matthew dies in a car accident, Hollis gathers childhood friend Tatum (Chloë Sevigny), college roommate turned sports agent Dru-Ann (Regina Hall), "mom friend" Brooke (D'Arcy Carden) and online acquaintance Gigi (Gemma Chan), a pilot secretly grieving an affair she had with Matthew. The exposure of that affair forces Hollis to confront that her marriage was not as perfect as she believed, while her daughter Caroline (Harlow Jane) hides that she is flunking out of college. The interview, which carries major spoilers, sees Brunstetter discuss adapting the novel with Garner's input, her creative changes rooted in female friendship, and her hopes to continue beyond the book with the same cast across future seasons.