The Five Star Weekend Review: Jennifer Garner’s “Big Little Lies Lite” Beach Drama Is Forgettable Escapist Fun

Though many associate the arrival of summer with warmer weather, longer days, and the end of school, the truest indicator of the sunny season is the premiere of yet another Big Little Lies-influenced TV series. Debuting in 2017, Big Little Lies introduced a winning TV recipe: take a handful of famous actresses, cast them as obscenely wealthy women, add a dollop of scandal, pepper in a luxurious coastal setting, and voila! — television magic is made.

The HBO series proved so addictive that, almost a decade later, myriad shows are still trying to be the next Big Little Lies, and the latest is Peacock's The Five Star Weekend. With all eight episodes releasing on July 9, The Five Star Weekend sees Jennifer Garner stepping into the role often assumed by Nicole Kidman, the gorgeous, put-together protagonist with a seemingly perfect, enviable life. Garner's Hollis Shaw is a highly successful cook, author, and food influencer whose fairytale existence is destroyed when her renowned surgeon husband Matthew (Josh Hamilton) is killed in a car accident.

Unable to cope with his death, Hollis retreats to her Nantucket home and decides to host a "five star weekend" in which she invites four friends from various stages of her life: her childhood best friend Tatum McKenzie (Chloë Sevigny), her college roomate Dru-Ann Jones (Regina Hall), her fellow Wellesley-based mom friend Brooke Kirtley (D'Arcey Carden), and Gigi Ling (Gemma Chan), a follower whom Hollis formed a close-knit online connection with after Matthew's passing despite never having met her in person.

Intended to be a weekend of healing and reconnection, Hollis and the stars get more than they bargained for as old grudges and well-kept secrets are brought to light. Further adding to the drama are Caroline (Harlow Jane), Hollis's college-age daughter who has grown increasingly distant in the wake of Matthew's death, and Jack Finnigan (Timothy Olyphant), Hollis's high school sweetheart whom she still carries a torch for.

The Five Star Weekend is based on the book by "queen of beach reads" Elin Hilderbrand, who's written many bestselling Nantucket-set novels, including The Perfect Couple, which was adapted into a limited Netflix series in 2024. Led by Kidman, The Perfect Couple was a Big Little Lies imitator that understood the assignment, and leaned into the story's inherent camp and salaciousness.

By comparison, The Five Star Weekend is low on stakes and light on juicy secrets, ultimately feeling like Big Little Lies if it had been left out in the sun too long. However, while it may not have much flavor, The Five Star Weekend still gets some of the ingredients right, making it just fun enough to snack on.

The Five Star Weekend’s Uneven Main Cast Is Saved By One Standout Performance

Unlike Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and other members of Big Little Lies' all-star cast, do not expect the leading ladies of The Five Star Weekend to rack up any Emmy nominations or other awards-season love. Most of the titular five stars are either wildly miscast (Sevigny) or are doing the best they can with undercooked material.

Garner does a solid job of anchoring it all. Her likable everywoman presence helps bring Hollis down to earth when she's a character who could so easily float away. Gorgeous summer home and delicious food aside, it's easy to see why anyone would want to be friends with Hollis, who lights up every room she's in while ushering those she's with to join her in the spotlight.

Unfortunately, anyone who's ever seen a TV show or movie about grief can see Hollis's story beats coming a mile away, dulling the impact when they inevitably land. What's much more interesting are Hollis's messy emotions and drama regarding her friendships, particularly with those who feel hurt by her need to constantly keep things light and breezy.

This is particularly seen with Tatum and Dru-Ann, who have known Hollis the longest and carry a decades-long rivalry of competing for her platonic affection. Sevigny and Hall have strong adversarial chemistry, spicing up the tension in their scenes without ever devolving into tired cattiness.

However, on their own, their characters are considerably less compelling. Hall brings her typical sparkle to the role of Dru, a high-powered sports agent facing scrutiny after her old-school "play through the pain" attitude publicly clashes with her young client's mental health struggles. Though it could be an interesting storyline, it doesn't even try to penetrate beneath its surface-level buzzwords.

Fans of Sevigny's may wonder what the indie queen and "it girl" of the '90s is doing in a mainstream show like The Five Star Weekend, and they're right to scratch their heads. Tatum is a born-and-bred Nantucket local who refuses to put on airs, especially for those richer and more successful than she is, and Sevigny brings out her edginess nicely. However, the actress doesn't quite tap into Tatum's massive insecurities and fear of change, dampening what should be poignant moments. An illness storyline comes across as little more than a cheap attempt to deepen the character.

As Gigi, Chan does what she can with the role, an impossible task considering how bonkers it is. Gigi's sordid past, her connection to Hollis, and the fact that they've never met are obviously supposed to be how The Five-Star Weekend checks the Big Little Lies titillation box, but this is a storyline better suited to a pulpy stalker thriller, not a heartfelt beach drama.

Finally, there's Carden, who's pulling double duty as not only the show's comic relief but also its beating heart. Brooke's eager-beaver desire to fit in endears her to the viewer even faster than the group of stars, and in many ways she's the audience surrogate — who wouldn't gush at a palatial Nantucket home like Hollis's?

Though some parts of Brooke's storyline are predictable, particularly with regard to her cartoonishly selfish and toxic husband Charlie (Rob Huebel), others are pleasant surprises, and watching her earn her glow-up is a delight to watch. Brooke is even easier to root for than Hollis, and of all the women, it's Carden who deserves five stars.

Too Many Subplots Spoil The Five Star Weekend’s Idyllic Nantucket Beach Vibes

It's no surprise that Hilderbrand serves as an executive producer of The Five-Star Weekend, as the Peacock series is such a love letter to Nantucket that some might dismiss it as a tourist ad. Like in the year-round island resident's novels, iconic Nantucket hotspots are featured in the show's eight episodes, including popular waterfront restaurant Cru, proudly unpretentious bar the Chicken Box, and historic cobblestoned Main Street.

These locales aren't just bucket-list items on a vacationer's checklist, though; they're integral to The Five Star Weekend's story, giving it a distinct sense of place that other vaguely coastal-set series lack. Any show can plunk some interpersonal drama on a beach, but by making Nantucket the sixth star, The Five Star Weekend becomes a definitive escapist watch.

However, while the vibes are spectacular, like Hollis Shaw herself, The Five Star Weekend tries to pack too much in. In addition to the five stars, their personal issues, and conflicts with each other, Caroline also gets plenty of screen time, and it's to the show's undeniable detriment. Sure, she gets sympathy for having lost her dad, but that hardly makes her an interesting character. Her generic summer love plot clashes with the unique, character-specific problems of the main cast of mostly fifty-somethings who deserve the screen time much more.

Then there's the Olyphant of it all. Olyphant is a phenomenal actor who typically brightens up every project he's a part of. On paper, his natural affability makes him an obvious choice to play Garner's love interest, but on screen, there's absolutely no spark between them. It's a shame because it seems like the actors should have chemistry reading the phone book together, but since Jack is such a bland and thankless role, Olyphant's presence makes it all the more obvious that it's a waste of his talents.

Besides, Hollis has enough going on that her story doesn't need a shoehorned love plot, even if it's in the book. Watching her laugh and fight with her friends as she learns to live life as a widow provides plenty of drama, and the fact that it plays out on Nantucket is a big win for The Five Star Weekend. Throughout the weekend, Hollis learns that she doesn't need to be everything to everybody, and it's a lesson I wish the show would have learned.

All eight episodes of The Five Star Weekend release Thursday, July 9, 2026, on Peacock.

Release Date July 16, 2026

Network Peacock

Cast

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  Regina Hall

  Dru-Ann Jones