Jennifer Garner says grief can look completely different for two people who lost the same person.
In Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend, based on Elin Hilderbrand’s novel, Garner plays Hollis Shaw, a woman reeling from the death of her husband, with Harlow Jane as her daughter, Caroline. With the series renewed for Season 2, Garner spoke with BLKCinema.com in an FYC conversation about the show’s portrayal of grief and what she’s looking forward to next.
Jennifer Garner on the many sides of grief in ‘The Five-Star Weekend’
Asked about a moment where Hollis tells Caroline they’re grieving differently, Garner credited the writing.
“Elin Hilderbrand, who wrote the book, and Bekah Brunstetter, who was our showrunner, wrote so beautifully about grief for me to play, especially with Harlow, who played my daughter,” Garner said. “It is amazing that you can be a mother and daughter, you’ve lost the same person, and moment to moment, you are in just a totally different place about it. You’re missing different things. You imagine different futures. To lose a dad is different than losing a husband, even if it’s the same person.”
“Someone who has disappointed you as a husband is not the same as someone who is the knight in shining armor as the dad, right? So to see those juxtaposed off of each other was really just super gratifying to play,” she continued. “And it reminded me always, you just always, always, always have to remember that what someone is presenting is not the whole story. On any given day, you have to just give each other grace, because nothing is as simple as what you see in front of you.”
What Jennifer Garner is excited about for ‘The Five-Star Weekend’ Season 2
Garner said reuniting with co-stars Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny and D’Arcy Carden is what she’s most looking forward to, and offered a few small hints about what’s ahead for each of them.
“Just being with these women again, being together again. I know a little bit. I know some ways that Regina’s story is centered that make me really excited and happy to watch her work, that I love. Some parts of Chloe’s storyline will be really deep for her, and some stuff that D’Arcy’s character is going to go through,” Garner said. “So it’s really just everything I learn and love about working with these particular women on this very rich material together, because they make me better, and they’re really entertaining.”
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