The story of best friends Tully and Kate may feel familiar for some viewers.

By Flora Carr

Published: Tuesday, 02 May 2023 at 12:00 am

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Netflix series Firefly Lane stars Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) as Tully and Kate, best friends from childhood.

The pair first meet as teenagers when Tully moves in across the street, and the two girls quickly bond despite their differences. Tully is popular and confident, while wallflower Kate is witty but shy. The series chart the ups and downs of their friendship over the course of several decades, with the second season being as emotional as ever.

With the heartfelt ending of season 2 part 2 still being talked about, many viewers are wondering whether the tender tale of female friendship is one that is based on a book and if so, where to get their hands on it. Keen to learn more?

Read on for everything you need to know about whether Netflix‘s Firefly Lane is based on a novel.

Is Firefly Lane based on a book?

Yes, Netflix series Firefly Lane is based on Kristin Hannah’s New York Times best-selling book of the same name.

The streamer describes the series as a “sweeping story of two inseparable best friends and their enduring, complicated bond, spanning four tumultuous decades”.

Katherine Heigl plays the glamorous Tully, whose troubled upbringing means that she is constantly looking for external validation. She becomes a famous talk-show host, but craves connection and becomes jealous of her best friend Kate’s family life.

Also leading the Firefly Lane cast is Sarah Chalke as Kate, a bookish, lonely 14-year-old when she first meets her new neighbour Tully. Both girls harbour ambitions of becoming journalists, but as an adult Kate decides to prioritise family over her career. She’s also insecure about her relationship, convinced that her husband is embroiled in a love triangle with her and Tully.

While season 1 veered very close to the book’s subject matter and plot points, the second season (which is Firefly Lane’s last) makes several changes to open up the story to viewers. Speaking about the new second season, Hannah said: “A large part of this season is not from the book.”

Lovers of the book may be concerned whether the series changes the ending or not, but the Netflix series finale is largely the same as the original novel’s. Hannah admitted in an interview for Netflix’s Tudum: “I think what’s cool is that: we changed just enough, so that readers who are watching the show – who haven’t seen it all – don’t know how it’s going to end because we’ve changed just enough.

“I like the idea that it’s going to unfold for them and they’ll still be guessing – and they’ll get to have that fresh experience with it.”

Is Firefly Lane based on a true story?

In a way, it most certainly is. While the characters are fictional, the events of the novel that inspired the series are inspired by Kristin Hannah’s own life, including her mother’s death from cancer.

Hannah has also explained that her feelings about being a working mother and her belief in the importance of women’s friendships are what inspired the tale of Firefly Lane.

Speaking about the way that the character of Kate is inspired by her own mother, Hannah said: “My mother died of inflammatory breast cancer when I was 26 years old. It was always the closet door that you never open because you know the pain that’s back there.”

She continued: “Many people would do therapy for this, but as a writer, I go into my own head and create her. So she is the character of Kate. It allowed me to talk about things that I really care about, like the importance and the fulfilment that comes from being an at-home mom, even when you feel that you’re not being taken seriously, that you aren’t accomplishing enough.

“I think I wanted to say on her behalf that what she did in raising us three kids was magic. I don’t know if she ever knew that.”

The idea of framing the tale of Firefly Lane through the lens of a decades-long friendship is one that was inspired by Hannah’s wish to “look at my mom through the years” and the need to showcase a story about her particular generation. She said: “That’s why Kate’s my age. We grew up in the same house — which by the way was totally freaky when I saw it on Netflix. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my house.’

“I was able to relive all of these magical, confusing, frightening things that had happened to myself and my friends through the years, as we came of age.”