Elin Hilderbrand Blocked 1 Change to Nantucket in 'Five-Star Weekend' Adaptation
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 11
Elin Hilderbrand Blocked 1 Change to Nantucket in 'Five-Star Weekend' Adaptation
2 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 11
Summary
Peacock’s new "Five-Star Weekend" got broad creative freedom from Elin Hilderbrand, but she said Nantucket’s portrayal was the one element she refused to let change.
Hilderbrand said she accepts major book-to-screen rewrites—including Netflix turning "The Perfect Couple" into a 6-episode murder mystery—because a strong TV series matters more to her than strict fidelity.
Nantucket was non-negotiable because the island shaped her career: after a miserable stretch at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, therapy pushed her to write about it, leading to her first novel, "The Beach Club."
The 56-year-old author also said "Five-Star Weekend" draws on her own grief, including a line from daughter Caroline after her father’s death that echoed what Hilderbrand told her mother at 16.
The adaptation arrives after Hilderbrand ended her Nantucket summer-novel run with 2024’s "Swan Song," though she said she still hopes a successful show opens doors for more authors’ books to reach the screen.