For Jennifer Garner, nothing beats a classic girls\u2019 weekend away\u2014complete with sweatpants, pizza, and dancing like no one is watching.<\/p>\n
In her new series, The Five-Star Weekend<\/em>, which is streaming on Peacock as of July 9, the archetypal girls\u2019 trip is taken to the next level. Adapted from the 2023 novel by Elin Hilderbrand, Garner plays Hollis Shaw, a famous food blogger who suffers a life-changing loss and plans a weekend away by the coast in an attempt to process her grief, inviting four friends from different phases of her life and greeting them each with a gift basket. None of these women had met each other before the trip and, of course, not everything goes quite to plan: characters clash, secrets are spilled, and new bonds are forged over the course of the eight 45-minute episodes.<\/p>\n The series\u2019 all-star cast\u2014also including Chlo\u00eb Sevigny, Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, and D\u2019Arcy Carden\u2014had also never met prior to filming. \u201cI was so nervous to meet Chlo\u00eb,\u201d Garner tells me. \u201cOur careers circled each other, but we\u2019ve never been in anything together. She\u2019s been on a pedestal for me.\u201d Gemma Chan agrees, confirming that Sevigny is \u201cthe ultimate cool girl.\u201d They needn\u2019t have worried. After filming scenes playing a game of \u201cNever Have I Ever,\u201d running into the sea, and a \u201cpajama dance party in the freezing cold,\u201d (\u201cThere was no actual alcohol involved, but it looks like there was,\u201d Garner says), the five women bonded in no time.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n On the small screen, it\u2019s still relatively rare to see stories about female friendship\u2014especially midlife female friendship\u2014portrayed with depth and nuance. This is something Garner, who is also executive producer of the series, hopes will change going forward. \u201cI hope people watch this and have a blast,\u201d she says. \u201cYou have women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, talking about perimenopause and menopause, but it\u2019s not pedantic and it\u2019s not an eye roll. It\u2019s just [presented as] part of life: talking about kids, comparing kids, success and failure, marriage being hard.\u201d<\/p>\n That honesty is partly what makes this story feel refreshing. \u201cWe\u2019re all fed this idea that this has to happen by this age, this has to happen by then, and it just isn\u2019t that way,\u201d Garner says. \u201cIt\u2019s all so much more open. I\u2019m 54 and I was told forever I would never work after 40. Knock on wood, and we\u2019ll see, but I\u2019m still here.\u201d<\/p>\n If she were to give her younger self advice at the start of her career? \u201cDon\u2019t stop learning other things,\u201d Garner says. \u201cDon\u2019t make this your whole world. It\u2019s kind of impossible sometimes, but stay open to the rest of the world.\u201d For Garner, that\u2019s cooking as much as she can, much like her character, Hollis\u2014she even has her own \u201cpretend cooking show\u201d on Instagram\u2014and spending time with her three children, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Ben Affleck.<\/p>\n D\u2019Arcy Carden, Regina Hall, Chlo\u00eb Sevigny, Jennifer Garner, and Gemma Chan in The Five-Star Weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Now, two decades after filming the original 13 Going on 30<\/em> (it\u2019s been reported that she is on board as an executive producer for Netflix\u2019s official reboot<\/a>), it feels as though Garner is enjoying the next chapter of her career. This one, perhaps, feels more closely aligned with The Five-Star Weekend<\/em>, which asks what happens to women\u2019s friendships and identities as we age.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a question that resonates with the rest of the cast, too. When asked what it takes to sustain those long-term friendships, Chan responds: \u201cI would say a lack of judgment and a bit of forgiveness.\u201d Garner concurs, adding: \u201cThat\u2019s something that you learn as you get older; just don\u2019t let those things get in the way of a real friendship. Even if you haven\u2019t spoken in forever, just pick it up. Don\u2019t get your feelings hurt by life happening.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"hollis](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/033d479b-7f99-4361-ba57-3475aa0d5b78.jpg?resize=980:*\" "\\"The")
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