If you aren't planning to take a vacation this summer, leave it to the small screen to provide all of the escapism you could ever ask for. From long-running hits to the latest releases, television and streaming services are always one click away from sending us off on a much-needed getaway on our watch lists. It's especially great when these shows are the perfect summer treat.
Peacock's The Five-Star Weekend dropped on July 9 and brought the pages of author Elin Hilderbrand's best-seller to life with an amazing and fittingly star-studded cast. Jennifer Garner leads the ensemble as Hollis Shaw, an online food influencer and cookbook author grieving her husband's death. She invites four friends from different seasons of her life for a weekend on Nantucket.
Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, D'Arcy Carden, and Gemma Chan round out the cast and bring the necessary vulnerability, levity, and just plain star quality The Five-Star Weekend requires for its cathartic exploration of female friendship. After binge-watching the limited series, you'll need another show to dive into. Thankfully, there are plenty more beach reads come to life on every streamer!
The Perfect Couple (Netflix)
Naturally, the best place to start after you finish watching The Five-Star Weekend is with another adaptation of an Elin Hilderbrand novel. If you haven't already, or even if you have, head on over to Netflix and watch The Perfect Couple, the limited series based on Hilderbrand's book of the same name. It's much different than The Five-Star Weekend, chiefly because there's murder.
Also set on Nantucket, The Perfect Couple centers on the wealthy and elusive Winbury family as they prepare to welcome a new member with an upcoming wedding. However, the wedding becomes derailed by the sudden death of one of the wedding party members. With each episode, we begin to suspect every character and their possible motive until the truth is ultimately revealed.
The main cast includes Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Meghann Fahy, Dakota Fanning, Jack Reynor, Ishaan Khatter, and Sam Nivola. The Perfect Couple contains six episodes that leave you on the edge of your seat, but not for long. The opening credits dance number to "Criminals" by Meghan Trainor will have you on your feet and dancing.
Big Little Lies (HBO Max)
While Big Little Lies didn't invent the coastal drama series, it's sure become one of the first you think of when it comes to the niche genre. The Emmy Award-winning HBO series is the ultimate beach read come to life on screen as Liane Moriarty's book of the same name was the blueprint for creating a pop culture moment. The A-list cast sure didn't hurt either.
Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon joined forces for their first real foray into television as producers as series regulars, bringing along Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, and eventually Meryl Streep for Big Little Lies. In Monterrey, California, a group of moms of elementary school children become entangled in a shocking murder investigation.
Because the limited series was such a major success, HBO renewed the series for season 2, expanding the story beyond the pages of Moriarty's book. With a sequel novel on the way, a third season is in the works, making it the perfect time to revisit the ultimate female-led mystery drama series of the past decade. You can never go wrong with the Monterrey moms.
Tiny Beautiful Things (Hulu)
The last two recommended shows diverged from the central themes of The Five-Star Weekend to roll in some murder mystery elements into your beach read dramas. But if you're in search of something a little more grounded but a little less beachy, the underrated Hulu miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things is your next best bet. It's based on book and has amazing performances. What else do you need?
Inspired by Cheryl Strayed's book of the same name, Tiny Beautiful Things stars Emmy Award nominee Kathryn Hahn as Clare Pierce, an advice columnist who is ironically experiencing an especially difficult period of her own life. Sarah Pidegon plays the younger version of Clare, and the cast also includes Quentin Plair, Tanzyn Crawford, and Merritt Wever.
Big Little Lies stars Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern executive produced the project, making another beach read connection. While the eight-episode series might not have gotten all the love it deserved, both Hahn and Wever received Emmy nominations for their performances. For more emotional explorations of a certain time of life, add this to your own five-star weekend watch list.
The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple TV)
Last but certainly not least, we couldn't finish this list without mentioning another Jennifer Garner television series, but Alias didn't feel like the right recommendation (but it's still a must-watch!). The spy thriller also isn't based on a beach read, but Garner's Apple TV thriller The Last Thing He Told Me is based on not one but two page-turning books by author Laura Dave.
The Last Thing He Told Me stars Garner as Hannah Hall, a woodturner who lives in Sausalito with her husband Owen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his teenage daughter Bailey (Angourie Rice). When Owen goes missing, he leaves a note for Hannah warning her to protect Bailey, inciting a cat and mouse chase between Hannah, Owen's past, and the people searching for him.
Despite the show intending to be a limited series, Apple TV renewed the series for a second season, which ended up borrowing from Dave's sequel novel The First Time I Saw Him, though the storylines aren't one-for-one and season 2 isn't a direct adaptation. Also from Witherspoon as a producer, the series offers another great performance from Garner and reunites her again with Judy Greer.
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