NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Jennifer Morrison directed four of the eight episodes of The Five Star Weekend<\/em>, the Peacock adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s 2023 novel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n\n
“It really just started from me loving the book and loving the concept, and then just kind of fighting my way to get in there because I really believed in it,” she tells PEOPLE of how she got involved<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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The Once Upon a Time<\/em> star also reflects on the month-long shoot on Nantucket, finally meeting Jennifer Garner and whether she’s still interested in working in front of the camera<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhether or not Jennifer Morrison<\/a> was involved in The Five Star Weekend<\/em><\/a> adaptation, she was eager to see one of her favorite books come to life on screen.<\/p>\nThe Once Upon a Time<\/em><\/a> star, 47, directed four episodes of the Jennifer Garner<\/a>-led Peacock series and tells PEOPLE she was already a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand<\/a>‘s 2023 novel when getting involved.<\/p>\n“I had read the book and loved it, because I just thought the concept of putting these five friends together from different times in your life was just so relatable and immediately gripped me. So when I heard that there was a show being made of it, I was all over it,” Morrison says. “It really just started from me loving the book and loving the concept, and then just kind of fighting my way to get in there because I really believed in it.”<\/p>\n
In the series, Garner plays famous chef Hollis Shaw, who, amid her grief over her husband’s sudden death, invites her dearest friends from throughout her life to her Nantucket beach house for a weekend getaway. Those pals include her first friend, Tatum (Chlo\u00eb Sevigny<\/a>); her college bestie, Dru-Ann (Regina Hall<\/a>); her mom friend, Brooke (D’Arcy Carden<\/a>); and new pal Gigi (Gemma Chan<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\nJennifer Morrison and Jennifer Garner attend the Good Ideas Dinner on July 7, 2026
Credit: Chelsea Lauren\/Shutterstock<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Morrison had never worked with any of the actresses before, but had “always wanted to work with all of [them],” she says. “They’re all incredible. Everybody brought such specific and unique talent to the character.”<\/p>\n
“Jen Garner and I have several friends in common,” she adds. “We were one degree of separation for a very long time, and have heard about each other and heard of each other, so it was exciting to really get to meet and be together on set and collaborate. Everyone’s like, ‘You guys would love each other,’ and then we loved each other.”<\/p>\n
The cast and crew spent a month on Nantucket to film, making the series the first production to film on the island for so long. “I think they had one other production that was there for two or three days once. So it’s a very untouched place to see on camera, and so that was incredibly exciting as a filmmaker to be in a space that just hasn’t been captured over and over again on camera,” she says.<\/p>\n
There were challenges, of course, and Morrison says the crew was “always chasing the sun” and navigated some “really tricky” scenes \u2014 particularly on the ferry \u2014 but the benefit of being in the real place outweighed the uncertainty.<\/p>\n
“Nantucket is very much a character in the book, and it’s very much a character in the show,” Morrison says. “So to be able to actually be there, and have all of the texture and detail of the reality of authentic Nantucket, was huge.”<\/p>\n
Jennifer Morrison directed four of the eight episodes of The Five Star Weekend<\/em>, the Peacock adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s 2023 novel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n “It really just started from me loving the book and loving the concept, and then just kind of fighting my way to get in there because I really believed in it,” she tells PEOPLE of how she got involved<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The Once Upon a Time<\/em> star also reflects on the month-long shoot on Nantucket, finally meeting Jennifer Garner and whether she’s still interested in working in front of the camera<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Whether or not Jennifer Morrison<\/a> was involved in The Five Star Weekend<\/em><\/a> adaptation, she was eager to see one of her favorite books come to life on screen.<\/p>\n The Once Upon a Time<\/em><\/a> star, 47, directed four episodes of the Jennifer Garner<\/a>-led Peacock series and tells PEOPLE she was already a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand<\/a>‘s 2023 novel when getting involved.<\/p>\n “I had read the book and loved it, because I just thought the concept of putting these five friends together from different times in your life was just so relatable and immediately gripped me. So when I heard that there was a show being made of it, I was all over it,” Morrison says. “It really just started from me loving the book and loving the concept, and then just kind of fighting my way to get in there because I really believed in it.”<\/p>\n In the series, Garner plays famous chef Hollis Shaw, who, amid her grief over her husband’s sudden death, invites her dearest friends from throughout her life to her Nantucket beach house for a weekend getaway. Those pals include her first friend, Tatum (Chlo\u00eb Sevigny<\/a>); her college bestie, Dru-Ann (Regina Hall<\/a>); her mom friend, Brooke (D’Arcy Carden<\/a>); and new pal Gigi (Gemma Chan<\/a>).<\/p>\n Jennifer Morrison and Jennifer Garner attend the Good Ideas Dinner on July 7, 2026 Morrison had never worked with any of the actresses before, but had “always wanted to work with all of [them],” she says. “They’re all incredible. Everybody brought such specific and unique talent to the character.”<\/p>\n “Jen Garner and I have several friends in common,” she adds. “We were one degree of separation for a very long time, and have heard about each other and heard of each other, so it was exciting to really get to meet and be together on set and collaborate. Everyone’s like, ‘You guys would love each other,’ and then we loved each other.”<\/p>\n The cast and crew spent a month on Nantucket to film, making the series the first production to film on the island for so long. “I think they had one other production that was there for two or three days once. So it’s a very untouched place to see on camera, and so that was incredibly exciting as a filmmaker to be in a space that just hasn’t been captured over and over again on camera,” she says.<\/p>\n There were challenges, of course, and Morrison says the crew was “always chasing the sun” and navigated some “really tricky” scenes \u2014 particularly on the ferry \u2014 but the benefit of being in the real place outweighed the uncertainty.<\/p>\n “Nantucket is very much a character in the book, and it’s very much a character in the show,” Morrison says. “So to be able to actually be there, and have all of the texture and detail of the reality of authentic Nantucket, was huge.”<\/p>\n
Credit: Chelsea Lauren\/Shutterstock<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n