Big Little Lies Meets Gilmore Girls In Peacock's New Series With One Of Its Best Casts

Beach read TV is a beautiful thing. Juicy, sordid secrets combined with gorgeous oceanside locales are appealing enough, but the shows under this umbrella are almost entirely female-driven, often featuring protagonists well into middle age. While Hollywood is notorious for sidelining mature women in feature films — a recent study by the UK’s Age Without Limits campaign found that movies are more likely to star a talking animal for an actor named Chris than a woman over 60 — actresses of a certain age frequently headline some of the most addictive shows on television.

Big Little Lies was instrumental in moving this needle forward. When the HBO series premiered in 2017, Peak TV was in its prime, with the most acclaimed series often centered on the exploits of antihero male protagonists. With Big Little Lies‘ A-list cast, led by middle-aged A-list actresses such as Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Laura Dern, the show not only proved that female-centric series could be considered prestige TV, but that people would watch in droves.

When a show breaks the mold that successfully, imitators are guaranteed to follow, and indeed, many subsequent series tried to capture Big Little Lies‘ magic by incorporating its winning elements. While none of them have been able to top it, every one of these shows is worth a watch, not just because they pass the Bechdel test on practically a scenely basis, but also because they’re just so darn entertaining, with Peacock’s The Five Star Weekend being the latest.

With all eight episodes releasing this Thursday, July 9, The Five Star Weekend stars Jennifer Garner as affluent food influencer Hollis Shaw, who is left spiraling after the sudden death of her husband, Matthew. In an effort to shake herself out of her grief, Hollis hosts the titular “five star weekend” at her jaw-droppingly beautiful Nantucket home, inviting four of her closest friends — played by Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, D’Arcy Carden, and Gemma Chan — from various stages of her life. Of course, the first champagne bottle is barely popped before secrets and conflicts immediately come spilling out.

In my review of The Five Star Weekend, I dinged the show for feeling, at times, like a pale imitation of Big Little Lies. I stand by that sentiment, but that doesn’t mean the series isn’t still entertaining, especially if expectations are metered going in.

Furthermore, The Five Star Weekend, which is based on the novel by prolific beach read author Elin Hilderbrand, packs a lot more heart than straight-up Big Little Lies copycats, giving it much in common with another hugely popular female-led show: Gilmore Girls. So, while The Five Star Weekend may not be perfect, it has huge watercooler potential.

The Five Star Weekend’s Winning Formula Could Make It The Show Of The Summer

Jennifer Garner toasting sparkling wine with a group of women in The Five Star Weekend

The new Peacock series will let down audiences specifically craving the sharp bite of Big Little Lies — though they may wish to check out another Hilderbrand adaptation, Netflix’s The Perfect Couple. However, there will inevitably be viewers who want the escapist drama and glamorous settings without any murder or Big Little Lies‘ other heavier themes, and they’ll find a lot to enjoy in The Five Star Weekend.

TV Adaptations of Elin Hilderbrand Novels
Title	Streaming Platform	Cast
The Perfect Couple (2024)	Netflix	Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Dakota Fanning, Meghann Fahy, Jack Reynor, Sam Nivola
The Five Star Weekend (2026)	Peacock	Jennifer Garner, Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, D’Arcy Carden, Gemma Chan, Timothy Olyphant, Judy Greer

The show isn’t without its weightiness — Hollis’s grief drives the entire plot, after all — but The Five Star Weekend‘s more hopeful tone will be catnip to the feel-good-seeking crowd. Not only that, but there are plenty of laughs to be had too, particularly from Carden’s Brooke, Hollis’s friend from the “mom” stage of her life. Much of the humor comes from Brooke’s awkwardness and desire to fit in with the group, yet The Five Star Weekend never makes her the butt of the joke. Rather, the laughs come from how relatable she is.

For all their flaws, the five stars are people you’d want to hang out with, with one obvious exception. (You’ll know who I’m talking about at the end of the first episode.) In a society that judges women for every imperfection, the Five Star Weekend’s main characters remind us that it’s okay to be messy because that’s what makes us human. In that regard, they’re incredibly similar to Lorelai and Rory Gilmore — it’s easy to imagine Lorelai and Tatum (Sevigny) sharing a private chuckle at the bougier elements of the weekend.

Whereas Gilmore Girls is synonymous with fall, The Five Star Weekend is all about the summer vibes, making it the perfect show of the season. It’s walks on the beach, it’s ice cream, it’s pool hangs, and most importantly, it’s a reminder to have fun with friends — a simple lesson so easily forgotten in adulthood.

So, while The Five Star Weekend didn’t fully work for me — I much prefer the book for its deeper character nuance and superior ending — it’s easy to see the “Big Little Lies meets Gilmore Girl” show catching on. It comes at the perfect time during the perfect season.