Five-Star Weekend author Elin Hilderbrand didn’t mind seeing certain changes in the show — but there was one shakeup she refused to allow.
“In some recent adaptations of other books, there has been brouhaha that it’s different. People get upset,” Hilderbrand, 56, told USA Today on Monday, July 13.
Hilderbrand recalled backlash over changes in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, adding, “What happened with The Perfect Couple is that Netflix wanted a six-episode murder mystery. There are really great love stories in The Perfect Couple, but those did not really get much airtime because that’s not what Netflix wanted.”
After seeing several of her books adapted, Hilderbrand showed support for The Five-Star Weekend.
“I am a person who fully believes in the word adaptation,” she said. “You have to change a book to make it compelling TV. People can go and read the book — and I hope they do — but the show needs to move at its own pace so that every episode keeps you wanting more.”
Hilderbrand credited showrunner Bekah Brunstetter for bringing her story to life. “It’s much more important for me to have a really good show that’s different from the book than have something that sticks to the book and is a mediocre show,” she continued.
The only nonnegotiable for Hilderbrand was location.
“The only thing I was concerned about was Nantucket,” she shared. “I wanted to make sure that Nantucket was done authentically and correctly.”
Hilderbrand’s The Five-Star Weekend follows a grieving food blogger who invites a best friend from each era of her life to Nantucket following her husband’s tragic death. According to the official synopsis, the weekend “spirals into chaos as long-buried secrets, scandalous rumors, and her husband’s hidden infidelity with one of the guests are exposed.”
In addition to Jennifer Garner in the lead role, The Five-Star Weekend stars Gemma Chan, D’Arcy Carden, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Harlow Jane and Timothy Olyphant.
“[Jennifer] leads by example. She is so thoughtful and intentional and inclusive and generous of spirit,” Hilderbrand told the outlet. “She’s everything you think she is from watching her.”
She continued: “And I love it when there’s somebody that is in the cast that’s taking charge of everybody.”
Brunstetter, meanwhile, broke down her approach to the TV series.
“There’s so much change that happens in your 40s and 50s — and I don’t just mean menopause and perimenopause, which has become what we’re talking about recently,” Brunstetter told Variety earlier this month. “Big life changes continue to happen. Some women are still trying to have children. Some women are getting out of their first marriage. Some women are getting their children out of the nest. Some women are just falling in love for the first time. Some women are just where they want to be in their careers for the first time.”
The Five-Star Weekend is streaming now on Peacock.
