Firefly Lane is the new Netflix drama series that has got everyone talking. The ten-part show, starring Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl and Scrubs star Sarah Chalke, focusses on the 30-year friendship of Kate and Tully and the many ups and downs they face in their lives.
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The series is based on Kristen Hannah's book of the same name, but there are some major differences between the show and the novel.
Intrigued to find out more? Here's how the book differs from the TV series – but be warned: major spoilers ahead!
WATCH: Firefly Lane on Netflix - official trailer
The series only covers half the story
The novel, written in 2008, consists of 500-plus pages exploring Tully and Kate's intricate lives. Ten episodes can only cover so much, and the show mainly covers the first part of the story. However, it perhaps means good news for fans of the TV show, as more seasons could be on the horizon.
The book also runs in a linear format, whereas the Netflix series seemingly jumps around in time. Fans have a mixed response on this aspect of the show. One person tweeted: "One of my favorite books was made into a tv series and I'm so disappointed... they didn't even put it in the right order!"
However, a fan disagreed, writing: "Pleasantly surprised that series is expanding on Kate and Tully from book, fleshing them out. Each episode is a theme where various moments of their past show some variation on said theme. So far, liking it. #FireflyLane."
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© Photo: NetflixAre you watching the Netflix show?
The love stories are covered very differently
At the beginning of the TV drama, Johnny and Kate are in the midst of a divorce. In the novel, the two never separate. However, that doesn't mean the troubles they face aren't present.
Much like in the book, the show touches upon the jealousy that Kate feels when it comes to her love-interest and her best friend, who once spent the night together before Kate and Johnny's marriage.
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© Photo: NetflixThe show is quite different to the book
Kate and Tully's rift in the book might explain the show's cliffhanger
The final episode of Firefly Lane sees the two best friends come to blows at the funeral of Kate's father. Kate tells Tully: "No one wants you here," before Tully adds: "Don't you think you've punished me enough?"
However, the book not only explores the rift, but explains it in detail. When Kate turns to Tully for advice regarding her troublesome teenager daughter, Marah, Tully has an idea.
The TV host decides to bring the mother-and-daughter-duo onto her talk show, The Girlfriend Hour, to discuss the issue. But during the segment, Tully somehow ends up putting her foot in it, and makes out her friend to be a bad mother. Could this explain the show's tense moment? Or is the rift something new altogether? Time will tell...
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© Photo: NetflixKatherine Heigl as Tully in the Netflix show
The book's ending is heartbreakingly sad
As the book covers far more ground, it's, again, unclear whether a potential season two might touch on the heartbreaking ending. Towards the end of the novel, Kate and Tully have gone a long time without speaking, but Kate reaches out to inform Tully of her Stage IV breast cancer diagnosis.
Tully then rushes back to her hospital bed and the two make amends, before it's too late. Before her sad death, Kate leaves Tully a note asking her to look after her husband and kids.
The novel's author, Kristen Hannah, then wrote a sequel Fly Away, five years after the release of Firefly Lane, which explores life after Kate's death. Netflix are yet to confirm more seasons, but either way, there's plenty of material to use.
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