{"id":32637,"date":"2023-05-02T17:15:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T15:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1071880"},"modified":"2023-05-03T03:14:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T01:14:26","slug":"is-firefly-lane-based-on-a-book","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/is-firefly-lane-based-on-a-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Firefly Lane based on a book?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of best friends Tully and Kate may feel familiar for some viewers. <\/p>

By Flora Carr\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 02 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Netflix series Firefly Lane<\/a> stars Katherine Heigl (Grey\u2019s Anatomy) and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) as Tully and Kate, best friends from childhood.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

With the heartfelt ending<\/a> 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?<\/p>\n

Read on for everything you need to know about whether Netflix<\/a>\u2018s Firefly Lane is based on a novel.<\/p>

Is Firefly Lane based on a book?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Netflix<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Yes<\/strong>, Netflix series Firefly Lane is based on Kristin Hannah\u2019s New York Times best-selling book of the same name<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The streamer describes the series as a \u201csweeping story of two inseparable best friends and their enduring, complicated bond, spanning four tumultuous decades\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s family life.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s also insecure about her relationship, convinced that her husband is embroiled in a love triangle with her and Tully.<\/p>\n

While season 1 veered very close to the book\u2019s subject matter and plot points, the second season (which is Firefly Lane\u2019s last) makes several changes to open up the story to viewers. Speaking about the new second season, Hannah said: \u201cA large part of this season is not from the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s. Hannah admitted in an interview for Netflix\u2019s Tudum<\/a>: \u201cI think what\u2019s cool is that: we changed just enough, so that readers who are watching the show \u2013 who haven\u2019t seen it all \u2013 don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to end because we\u2019ve changed just enough.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI like the idea that it\u2019s going to unfold for them and they\u2019ll still be guessing \u2013 and they\u2019ll get to have that fresh experience with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Firefly Lane based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Sarah Chalke as Kate and Katherine Heigl as Tully in Firefly Lane.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

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\u2019s own life, including her mother\u2019s death from cancer.<\/p>\n

Hannah has also explained that her feelings about being a working mother and her belief in the importance of women\u2019s friendships are what inspired the tale of Firefly Lane.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the way that the character of Kate is inspired by her own mother, Hannah said<\/a>: \u201cMy 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\u2019s back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cMany 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\u2019re not being taken seriously, that you aren\u2019t accomplishing enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I wanted to say on her behalf that what she did in raising us three kids was magic. I don\u2019t know if she ever knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of framing the tale of Firefly Lane through the lens of a decades-long friendship is one that was inspired by Hannah\u2019s wish to \u201clook at my mom through the years\u201d and the need to showcase a story about her particular generation. She said: \u201cThat\u2019s why Kate\u2019s my age. We grew up in the same house \u2014 which by the way was totally freaky when I saw it on Netflix. I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, that\u2019s my house.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>