Overview of The Five-Star Weekend
The Five-Star Weekend, adapted by Bekah Brunstetter from Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling novel, is the perfect beach watch. It blends schmaltz, melodrama, jokes, and genuine feeling in perfect proportions throughout its eight episodes. This escapist entertainment follows five female friends unwinding and spilling secrets over a faultlessly curated long weekend in Nantucket.
Plot and Characters
The weekend is organized by tradwife-inflected culinary influencer Hollis (Jennifer Garner), who has recently lost her husband, Matthew (Josh Hamilton), in a car crash. The event occurs off screen; after police arrive to break the news, the story cuts to six months later. Hollis's publicist, Chelsea (Vella Lovell), concerns herself with Hollis's recovery from the sudden death of her husband and father of her child.
Chelsea advises Hollis to pick a friend from each phase of her life and spend three days with them at her holiday home to heal and prepare for launching her new cookbook. Hollis begins choosing color palettes and tablescaping, though it seems like an awful lot of work.
The Guest List
Among the guests is childhood friend Tatum (Chloë Sevigny), abrasive but good-hearted, awaiting results of a breast biopsy. College mate Dru-Ann (Regina Hall), a hard-bitten sports agent with a zest for life, competes with Tatum over who knows Hollis best. Dru-Ann faces cancellation after her bracing words to a doleful young client were captured on camera.
Brooke (D'Arcy Carden), a pal from early motherhood, is nervy but endearing, and her controlling husband reluctantly lets her attend alone. Finally, Gigi (Gemma Chan), a pilot and social media follower of Hollis, meets her in person for the first time. Gigi is mysterious, British, and very interested in photos of Matthew, raising questions about Hollis's perfect marriage.
Hollis's daughter, Caroline (Harlow Jane), a medical student who disapproves of her mother's grief response, also appears. Hollis's first love, Jack (Timothy Olyphant), arrives, setting the stage for emotional support and sexual reawakening, drinking, raucous sex talk (about pegging), revelations, and a widening emotional support circle before a tidy resolution.
Visual and Thematic Appeal
The show is beautiful to look at. While the narrative offers nothing new, it feels refreshing to watch a group of female characters and actors of a certain age given the run of themselves in a story that doesn't require one of them to be murdered or become murder suspects. The Five-Star Weekend is not a five-star show, but it is the pleasantest three-star time you could wish for.
The Five Star Weekend airs on Sky Atlantic and is available on Now in the UK, on Binge in Australia, and Peacock in the US.
