Jennifer Garner is stepping into what may be her most personal role yet. The actress, beloved for everything from “13 Going on 30” to Marvel’s Elektra, says she’s never related more deeply to a character than the one she plays in the upcoming miniseries “The Five-Star Weekend.”
The new Peacock drama, which premieres July 9 on BINGE, dropped its full trailer this week and gives fans a closer look at Garner as Hollis Shaw, a famous cook and bestselling author whose seemingly perfect life begins to unravel after a devastating personal loss.
For many fans, the role already feels strikingly similar to Garner herself, especially given the actress’ wholesome online persona filled with cooking, baking, and gardening videos. And according to Garner, she felt that connection immediately while reading the script.
“The more I read, the more it surprised me, and the more it resonated with me, and all of the ways that Hollis and I are alike were kind of shocking to me,” Garner told Hello! magazine.
Garner Found Comfort In Bringing Real-Life Passion To New Role
While Garner has spent decades in Hollywood playing wildly different characters, she admitted this role felt uniquely natural because it allowed her to incorporate something she genuinely loves off-camera: cooking.
“All of the ways we are different were really fun for me,” she explained. “And I have found that cooking in front of a camera, this is the first time I’ve ever used something that I love, which is cooking and baking, on camera as a character.”
Jennifer Garner Says Cooking On Camera Felt ‘Perfectly At Home’
The actress said the experience ended up becoming unexpectedly comforting during filming. “And I found it to be, like Hollis does, really calming, really settling,” she continued.
Garner also admitted that acting can sometimes leave her questioning herself, but this project felt different. “Acting for me is always like, ‘Do I know what I’m doing?’” she said. “And in that [setting] I was like, ‘Oh no, I know how to do this. I am perfectly at home here. I know this character.’ It’s really been a blast.”
‘The Five-Star Weekend’ Centers Around Grief, Friendship, And Reinvention
In the series, Hollis’ life is shattered after the sudden death of her husband, forcing her to confront painful truths hidden beneath her carefully curated life. “The death starts to expose the cracks in Hollis’s picture-perfect life, her strained marriage, her complicated relationship with her daughter, and her growing pursuit of validation from her fans,” the official logline reads.
As she struggles to move forward, Hollis invites four friends from different periods of her life to her Nantucket home for a healing weekend getaway. But as emotions boil over, old wounds resurface and long-buried secrets begin to emerge.
“In an effort to overcome grief and find herself again, Hollis gets the idea to host a weekend away at her house on Nantucket with three friends from different stages in her life: her childhood, her twenties, her thirties, and one surprise fifth star,” the synopsis continued. “Set against a luxurious and coastal backdrop, the stars will mature in ways they could never imagine as boundaries are pushed and secrets are exposed.”
Jennifer Garner Says The Story Resonated Deeply With Her
The series also stars Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, Gemma Chan, and D’Arcy Carden as Hollis’ close friends, while Harlow Jane, daughter of Patricia Arquette and Thomas Jane, plays Garner’s on-screen daughter Caroline. For Garner, the emotional themes of friendship, aging, and reinvention ended up being some of the most meaningful parts of the project.
“I think this is a role about friendship. It’s a role about growing at this stage in your life,” Garner explained. “It’s women who are in the middle of this – what is their next chapter going to be? What’s their next story going to be? Their story is not done.”
The actress also made it clear that the experience of filming the project left a lasting impact on her. “I just can’t think of anything I’ve enjoyed more than being with this group and doing this role this summer,” she added.
