By early August, “The Five-Star Weekend” was Peacock’s most-watched scripted series ever and had a Season 2 renewal to prove it. The cast is mostly women 40 and older. Turns out audiences don’t mind.
Madeline Di Nonno, president and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute, recently sat down with the two people behind the show: novelist Elin Hilderbrand, whose 32 novels have sold more than 20 million copies, and screenwriter Bekah Brunstetter of “This Is Us.” The conversation is called “From Page to Screen: Bringing ‘The Five-Star Weekend’ to Life.”
A few things they get into:
- Casting for real friendship. The team picked actors who hadn’t worked together much, so the bonds between Jennifer Garner, Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, Gemma Chan and D’Arcy Carden would build on set instead of being faked.
- Women on both sides of the camera. Jennifer Morrison and Minkie Spiro directed four episodes each, and a writers’ room of women shaped the series.
- Staying authentic. Hilderbrand held the line on Nantucket details because she has to keep living there.
- Leading for the first time. Brunstetter explains what running a show taught her, including admitting when you don’t know what’s going on.
We wrote up the highlights in a new Spotlight: [Read The Five-Star Weekend: A Unique Adaptation Journey →] Or skip straight to the source and [watch the full conversation on YouTube →] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXBYackRbY8).
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