Jennifer Garner says Ben Affleck helped her take The Five Star Weekend after she nearly passed on the Peacock series.
The actress told Entertainment Weekly that the adaptation was first expected to film for about four months in Nova Scotia. Garner liked Elin Hilderbrand’s novel and Bekah Brunstetter’s script, but she said that much time away from her three children was not workable.
The production later changed to a schedule built mostly around Los Angeles, with one month of filming in Nantucket. Garner said Violet, Fin and Samuel could stay with Affleck during the location shoot, calling her former husband “wonderful” and “a great partner” in raising their children.
Garner and Affleck married in 2005, separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2018. Her new comments were about the co-parenting arrangement that helped her take the role, not about their former marriage.
Jennifer Garner Said the First Schedule Was Too Long
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Garner said she had been prepared to walk away from the series when the plan involved four months outside Los Angeles. “I have three teenagers, and I can’t leave for four months,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s just not worth it to me.”
The actress said she loved the book and the script, but the original schedule did not fit her family life. The project became possible only after producers reworked the location plan and moved most of the shoot to Los Angeles.
Ben Affleck Took Over at Home During the Nantucket Shoot
The revised schedule still required Garner to spend about a month in Nantucket. She said the shorter location shoot worked because her children could stay with Affleck while she was away.
“They can stay with their dad,” Garner said. “He’s wonderful. He takes care of them. He’s a great partner in that way. And so that’s very freeing.”
Garner shares Violet, Fin and Samuel with Affleck. She told Entertainment Weekly that being able to rely on him during the Nantucket portion of the production helped her say yes to the job.
The Five Star Weekend Shifted Most Filming to Los Angeles
The Five Star Weekend stars Garner as Hollis Shaw, a food personality and cookbook author who gathers friends from different periods of her life after the sudden death of her husband. Garner also serves as an executive producer on the eight-episode series.
The cast includes Gemma Chan, Regina Hall, D’Arcy Carden and Chloë Sevigny. Timothy Olyphant, Harlow Jane, West Duchovny and Josh Hartnett also appear.
The series kept Nantucket as a major setting, but the changed filming plan meant Garner did not have to spend the full production away from home. Peacock released all eight episodes on July 9.