I recently listened to the audiobook of Nine Perfect Strangers so have now decided to compare with the show which I have now caught up on.
There are some big actors in this series! Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy are the main stars and lead characters. Nicole plays Masha who owns the retreat and Melissa plays Frances, an author who is struggling with her career. I won’t repeat my review of the plot as you can read that for yourselves!
There are some major and minor differences such as Masha’s back story and some interactions are held between different characters to those in the book. This increases the sinister atmosphere and tension. I found Lars and Tony more easy to distinguish as they kind of merged/felt like filler in the book. The drama and action are more forceful to maintain interest over the 8 episodes.
There is no initial silence at the retreat which plays a big part in the book, creating unease amongst the characters and allowing us to get to know them as individuals. I can completely understand that this would make rather dull TV but it prevents us understanding the charaacters with any depth.
Overall, I much preferred the book as it felt more subtle and nuanced in terms of plot and character development.
