Hulu has released yet another comedy-drama; this is a book-to-screen adaptation. Tiny Beautiful Things is based on the Cheryl Strayed book of the same name. Little Fires Everywhere’s Liz Tigelaar has adapted it for television as a miniseries and is produced by Best Day Ever Productions, Simpson Street, Hello Sunshine, and ABC Signature.
The cast for the miniseries includes Kathryn Hahn as Clare (with Sarah Pidgeon playing the younger version of Clare), Quentin Plair as Danny, Tanzyn Crawford as Rae and Merritt Wever as Frankie. With a total of eight episodes, each with a runtime over half an hour, the series has Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Lauren Neustadter, Stacey Silverman, Jayme Lemons, Kathryn Hahn and Cheryl Strayed as executive producers.
– Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Tiny Beautiful Things: It is an Emotional Ride to Be On
Signing up to watch Tiny Beautiful Things will be a task the viewers have to be up to. It is not a show for the light fleeting weekends but, the one that pulls up back and keeps you up as you introspect and reflect on your life. Coming from the book by Cheryl Strayed, who is a compelling writer and based on the stories of so many people she met dealing with grief, loss, addiction and abuse, the book in itself is a beautifully tragic piece of work that has found its wings and voice on a louder level through this series.
Centrally, the series revolves around Clare Pierce, played by Kathryn Hahn. She is an advice columnist where she gives out solutions to people and the much-required pep-talks as her own world spirals out and falls apart. With her 50th birthday approaching, Clare’s life only seems to get worse, with too many firsts gone uneventfully and too less ones left to be explored and enjoyed in the future she is going to live. Mid-life crisis, existential dread- you can call this overflowing dose of the idea that boosts the show anything you want.
Clare seems to have a lot on her plate, be it regret or frustration- you name it, she has it! The death of her mother still lurks in the corners of her mind pushing her just enough to lose it all in an instant, her approaching birthday itself- yes, the relationship she shares with her husband (Danny by Quentin Plair) and teenage daughter (Rae by Tanzyn Crawford) alongside her rapport with her brother (Lucas by Owen Painter).
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But most importantly, it is Clare’s relationship with herself that gets affected the most as she is unable to deal with the various aspects of her life and emotions. Tiny Beautiful Things takes us on a journey with Clare, threading on these lines and giving us more- in an emotional way.
Tiny Beautiful Things: Final Verdict
There was never a doubt how Tiny Beautiful Things would fair, given how Little Fire Everywhere and Wild (another book by Strayed with Reese Witherspoon in the lead) were extremely good as a show and a film, respectively. The screenplay is perfect as it expands on everything the book touches, without dramatizing it in the sense that it loses a sense of itself.
However, it will have to be the performances put forward by Kathyrn Hahn and Sarah Pidgeon that really steal the show. It is so nuanced, restrained yet beautiful that almost hurts to see their heartbreak and tears fall on the screen. Plair and Crawford are amazing support cast members who aid the plot in an instrumental way.
Overall, Tiny Beautiful Things tell us a lot, help us learn a lot. But most importantly, it never loses sight and gives out the message of cherishing life and relationships, loud and clear.
You can watch Tiny Beautiful Things, now streaming on Hulu. The series will release on Disney+ Hotstar on April 9, 2023.