After creating quite the splash on Netflix with the smash-hit limited series The Perfect Couple in 2024, best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand's heading back to the small screen. Hilderbrand's signature blend of beach-side drama, crazy plot twists, and grounded emotional stories will next be coming to Peacock. The NBC streaming service has officially ordered the next Hilderbrand limited series!
On Jan. 27, Peacock announced that a limited series adaptation of Hilderbrand's novel The Five-Star Weekend was ordered to series after being in development for about a year at Universal Content Productions. The series was created by This Is Us and Maid writer Bekah Brunstetter and counts Pam and Tommy executive producers Sue Naegele and Ali Krug as fellow EPs.
As Deadline notes, Peacock giving the limited series an official green light after an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning A-lister came on board as the series' star and executive producer. That star quality push came from none other than Jennifer Garner!
Jennifer Garner leading The Five-Star Weekend on Peacock
The Five-Star Weekend was published by Elin Hilderbrand in 2023, the author's second-most recent book in a career spanning 30 titles and counting. Peacock's take on her work will be the second adaptation so far, though there's sure to be plenty more to come given the breadth and quality of her work. Not to mention, her adaptations continue to pull bankable, talented, well-liked stars.
Garner will star in The Five-Star Weekend as food influencer Hollis Shaw, who has cultivated a community based around her recipes and good attitude. However, when Hollis endures a death close to her, the grief chips away at her "picture-perfect life." She plans a getaway on Nantucket with life-spanning friends joining her, but the weekend allows their secrets to come to the surface.
Take a look at the limited series' synopsis via Peacock's press release:
"Hollis Shaw, a famed food influencer known for her delicious recipes, impeccable taste, and warm demeanor suffers a devastating loss. Unable to move forward, the death starts to expose the cracks in Hollis’s picture-perfect life—her strained marriage, her complicated relationship with her daughter, and her growing pursuit of validation from her followers. In an effort to overcome grief and find herself again, Hollis gets the idea to host a weekend away at her house on Nantucket with three friends from different stages in her life: her childhood, her twenties, thirties, and one surprise fifth star. Set against a luxurious and coastal backdrop, they will mature in ways they could never imagine as boundaries are pushed and secrets are exposed."
Beyond Garner, the synopsis seems to tease that there will be plenty more opportunities for more big stars to join her in the supporting cast. The are four additional roles yet to be cast, who will play Hollis' three friends and "one surprise fifth star." If you've read the book, you might have an inkling about that surprise character, but it's going to be exciting to watch the cast fill out.
As of the series' announcement, Peacock hasn't revealed how many episodes there will be, though as a limited series, we can expect anywhere between six to 10 episodes. Netflix's The Perfect Couple featured six episodes, so that could be the case here again. We'll have to wait and learn more details about what's surely going to be one of the most highly anticipated new TV shows.
The beloved movie and television star adds to her busy television schedule, which includes the upcoming second season of the Apple TV+ series The Last Thing He Told Me. The adaptation of novels by Laura Dave comes from executive producer Reese Witherspoon and began production back in November 2024. She's lining up the juiciest roles we want to binge-watch!
Personally, I'm so excited for The Five-Star Weekend. Even though I wasn't the biggest fan of The Perfect Couple (the opening dance sequence aside, of course), Hilderbrand's stories are made for the screen, and the team assembled for this one —especially queen Jennifer Garner — is excellent. Now, it's the right time to start reading, or re-reading, the book before the series eventually premieres.