CT Jones
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From left: D’Arcy Carden, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Jennifer Garner, and Gemma Chan in Peacock's latest frothy adaptation, 'The Five-Star Weekend.' Seacia Pavao/Peacock A good book does not always equal a great watch. But in the modern streaming era, TV and film executives are ever willing to take that risk.
A solid portion of the most anticipated projects and biggest surprise hits of this year are book adaptations: Wuthering Heights, The Long Walk, Heated Rivalry, Project Hail Mary, and The Odyssey, to name a few. At a time when digital communities like BookTok have helped grow audiences and awareness for all kinds of stories, the major platforms are battling over book IP to corner those built-in fandoms. And while many studios are chasing prestige titles, Peacock is all-in on a less heralded genre: the airport novel.
These are books whose defining quality is a kind of inoffensive banality — engaging enough to distract from turbulence or aggravating delays but easy enough to absorb plot- and theme-wise that they don’t require too much mental energy. Peacock’s aim appears to be translating this pleasant, lightly anesthetizing experience to the screen, with a bunch of name-brand stars plugged in to draw viewers. Case in point: the streamer’s recent release, The Five-Star Weekend.
Based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand, an author whose beach-read oeuvre dominates airport bookstores, the series drops readers immediately into the midst of an ongoing family tragedy. Food influencer Hollis (Jennifer Garner) is devastated when her husband tragically dies in a car accident. After having an on-air meltdown while filming a cooking segment with Jenna Bush Hager (playing herself), she takes the advice of her publicist and heads off for a girls weekend on Nantucket.
Each attendee is a woman from a different part of Hollis’ life. There’s Tatum (Chloë Sevigny), the childhood best friend she calls sister; Dru-Ann (Regina Hall), the driven college roommate; Brooke (D’Arcy Carden), the supportive mom-friend; and Gigi (Gemma Chan), an Instagram follower who’s become a dear friend. It’s a cast so full of stars that even fan favorites like Timothy Olyphant and Judy Greer are relegated to minor background characters.
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Sarah Snook in All Her Fault, a Peacock airport-book adaptation that just earned seven Emmy nominations. Sarah Enticknap/PEACOCK The plot is uncomplicated: The women traipse through an Instagram-perfect itinerary of shopping, pajama dance parties, tequila shots, sunrise yoga sessions, and long walks on the beach, working through their awkward interpersonal relationships and painful secrets in the process. Garner is a master at the tearful longing gaze over the ocean. Hall effortlessly channels protective best-friend energy. Carden infuses heart and anxiety into her performance as a housewife having a midlife sexual awakening. The result is a campy delight that has made The Five-Star Weekend Peacock’s current Number One show.
