Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 11
Bekah Brunstetter Eyes 5-Season Arc for 'The Five-Star Weekend' as Jennifer Garner Shaped Key Storylines
Updated
Updated · Variety · Jul 11

Bekah Brunstetter Eyes 5-Season Arc for 'The Five-Star Weekend' as Jennifer Garner Shaped Key Storylines

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Jul 11

Summary

  • Five potential trips are already mapped out for Peacock’s “The Five-Star Weekend,” with showrunner Bekah Brunstetter saying future seasons would expand beyond Elin Hilderbrand’s novel and likely introduce a new “fifth Star” each time.
  • Jennifer Garner helped shape several adaptation choices, Brunstetter said, especially Hollis’ bond with adult daughter Caroline, the emotional fallout of infidelity and the split between public and private identity.
  • Brunstetter also detailed major departures from the 2023 book: Gigi’s affair is revealed in the pilot, Brooke discovers it first, Hollis sends Gigi away more coldly, and Tatum’s diagnosis becomes more ambiguous.
  • Those changes were designed to deepen the ensemble over a 72-hour weekend, giving Brooke, Dru-Ann and Caroline fuller arcs around sexuality, career reinvention, grief and female friendship.
  • Brunstetter said any continuation would be her own invention with Hilderbrand as a sounding board, and could move the women to new settings after what she called a difficult but complete Nantucket shoot.

Insights

In a brutal 2026 streaming landscape, can a drama about mid-life friendship survive Peacock's recent cancellations?
Did adapting the novel's key secrets and character arcs ultimately improve or undermine the original story?