Is 'The Five Star Weekend' Based On A Book?
I’m so glad that there are so many book-to-screen adaptations happening. I grew up during the YA adaptations phenomenon in the 2010s, and I loved practically every second of it. Now, I get to experience another surge with the success of Prime Video’s Off Campus (2026) and Every Year After (2026). There’s also the upcoming Apple TV adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s Lucky (2026) and the anticipated third season of My Life with the Walter Boys (2023).
There’s just something special about loving a book for years and finally getting to see the characters and stories come to life on screen. Sometimes, those adaptations can make you appreciate different aspects of the book you’ve read before. On the other hand, they can also make you realize the benefits of a story being adapted for a long-form medium. There’s also the exciting thing of being able to seek out a new read after watching the TV adaptation first. I am already eager for that to be true with me and Peacock’s The Five Star Weekend (2026).
‘The Five Star Weekend’ Is Based On Elin Hilderbrand’s Book
Somehow, I haven’t read Elin Hilderbrand’s books, and I want Peacock’s adaptation to be the thing that gets me to seek out her work. The Five-Star Weekend, which has a dash in its title unlike the show, was originally published in 2023. Hilderbrand shared The Five-Star Weekend’s Nantucket-set tie-in cover on Instagram in May. Excitingly, the author will also host the eight-episode The Five Star Weekend Official Podcast. It will release two episodes a week on Thursdays, starting on the show’s release date. I’m sure I’ll see it out as I watch the show.
With this Peacock show, it becomes the second of Hilderbrand’s books to be adapted for streaming TV. The first was her 2018 novel, which was adapted as The Perfect Couple (2024) for Netflix. The show’s second season will be based on Hilderbrand’s 2024 novel, Swan Song. If that sounds confusing to any fans who watched The Perfect Couple as advertised, it’s because Netflix backtracked on it being a limited series and renewed it last March.
As for The Five Star Weekend, it remains to be seen how much of the book the show explores in this season. The medium naturally gives the characters and stories more space and time to develop if the pacing is good. Also, maybe the show will extend beyond the book. Perhaps there is a chance for a multi-season show with The Five Star Weekend. The show’s creator, Bekah Brunstetter, clearly has a vision for the series. “I could instantly see it as a show. I found it to be this incredible combination of lightness and depth, which is really hard to find in a series. I just really believe in TV shows that uplifts but also challenges at the same time,” Brunstetter told Entertainment Weekly. I’m interested to see how those lights and shades come together.
Everything We Know About ‘The Five Star Weekend’ So Far
NBC Insider reported that The Five Star Weekend was originally ordered to series in January 2025, after Jennifer Garner joined as an executive producer and the lead. Garner stars as Hollis Shaw, “a famed cook and best-selling author known for her delicious recipes, impeccable taste, and warm demeanor, who suffers a devastating loss,” per the show’s synopsis. The Five Star Weekend’s trailer shows that Hollis copes with the unexpected loss of her husband by bringing together “a friend from each phase of life” for a three-day girls’ weekend in Nantucket.
The Five Star Weekend pulled me in with Garner as the lead and the trailer, which is set to Florence + the Machine’s “Shake It Out.” Then it won me over with the rest of the cast. Regina Hall stars as Dru-Ann, Chloë Sevigny as Tatum, D’Arcy Carden as Brooke, and Gemma Chan as Gigi. The trailer teases what’s in store for their emotionally wide-ranging weekend, like Tatum getting biopsy results and Brooke wondering if she’s brave enough to be herself. The latter is particularly fun for this A League of Their Own (2022) fan because Carden will reunite with Roberta Colindrez, who played the Rockford Peaches’ star pitcher, Lupe García.
Also, Harlow Jane plays Hollis’s daughter, Caroline, who is less than supportive when she sees her mother with her first boyfriend, Jack (Timothy Olyphant). As someone who likes the (underrated, if you ask me) romantic comedy Catch and Release (2006), which also sees Garner’s character cope with the loss of her significant other and fall for Olyphant, this casting is everything to me. I also like that The Five Star Weekend teases a pajama dance party because I instantly draw a connection to Garner as Jenna Rink in the iconic 13 Going on 30 (2004).
The series also stars Rob Huebel, David Denman, Josh Hamilton, West Duchovny, Judy Greer, Tory Devon Smith, and Morrison Keddie. The executive producers include writer Beth Schacter, director Minkie Spiro, Sue Naegle & Ali Krug for Dinner Party Productions, Elin Hilderbrand, and Merri Howard. It’s worth noting that The Five Star Weekend’s release date has changed from its original date. Now, the eight-episode season will premiere on Thursday, July 9, on Peacock.
