Top 10 Differences Between Conversations with Friends Book & TV Show

As a faithful retelling of its source material, some of the greatest differences are the results of slight tweaks. For example, the change made to Bobbi’s discovery of Frances’s affair is small, but carries a lot of emotional weight. The college students are on holiday with the married couple when Bobbi begins looking for Frances in the middle of the night. In the book, she finds her room empty before knocking on Nick’s door. He answers Bobbi and reveals that her best friend is inside. In the show, Bobbi enters Frances’ room unannounced and finds the other two in bed together. While the timing and impact remain the same between two versions, the discovery is undoubtedly made more dramatic by her walking in.

In both versions of the story, Frances receives an alarming phone call from her father. On screen, she actually listens to a voicemail left by her dad. She immediately calls her mother to ensure her father is okay. On the page, however, she answers his call late at night and attempts to get in touch with him after he hangs up, but she doesn’t bring it up to her mother until later. She’s arguably more active about ensuring her dad’s safety in the show. But Frances is in a less stable place when she receives the call in the novel, which could explain the shift in her reaction.

Frances and Nick’s first kiss sees one technical difference after another, though the meat of the occurrence remains intact. While both happen at Melissa’s birthday party, the discrepancies begin once Frances opens the door. In the show, Frances has been at the event for a little while before she finds her way upstairs. She encounters Nick alone in a bedroom and they kiss before she leaves the party. In the book, she finds him very soon after she arrives. The two meet in the utility room and kiss there, after which Frances rejoins the party before eventually retiring to the guest room. Nick later reveals he waited for Frances in the bedroom all night, adding further context to both versions.

In the third act, Frances faces crisis after crisis with her family, finances, friends and lover. Bobbi confronting her about her short story is the beginning of everything falling apart in the novel. In the show however, their fight is one of the last things to happen before the protagonist starts making amends. Bobbi is upset with Frances for not being able to communicate her feelings properly, but her offense at the fictional depiction of her is unique to the screen. So is her recitation of Frances’s words. In the book, Bobbi tears a printed copy of the story in half before moving out. Even Frances’s apology is different in the adaptation, proving to be more coherent than the email sent in the source material.

As a contemporary story, much of the communication that happens between the characters is done through text, email, or instant message. These methods don’t always translate well in cinema however. So it’s not surprising that Melissa’s email to Frances after she learns about her affair with Nick altered to better suit the adaptation. Instead of confronting Frances entirely through email, her message to the student just reads “Can we talk?” It results in a conversation between the two, giving Frances a voice where she didn’t have one in the book. The scene is more dynamic than it might have been if Melissa’s concerns had stayed confined to an email.

As the founding reason behind her bond with the college students, it’s significant that Melissa’s work differs between the two versions. In both cases, the relationship between the three starts with Melissa viewing one of Frances and Bobbi’s slam poetry performances. But in the novel, she’s a photographer in addition to being an essayist. She takes pictures of the slam poets and ultimately decides to write a profile on them. All of this happens before Frances and Nick have their first proper conversation. In the Hulu series, it’s not until after their affair has begun that Melissa asks to use a quote from Frances’s poem. Given the show’s visual nature, it’s somewhat of a shame that we don’t get to see Melissa's photographs realized.

Despite what the title might suggest, this story is about a convoluted love web among the four main characters. Frances and Bobbi are ex-girlfriends in addition to being stage partners and friends. As they individually explore romantic possibilities with the older couple, the unresolved issue of their breakup resurfaces. Lingering feelings between the two are apparent earlier on the page than on the screen, partially thanks to Frances’s first person perspective. Their kiss on holiday is a crucial point in the novel, and confirms that the amoristic affection goes both ways. Yet in the show, they don’t share that tender moment, instead holding hands. The onscreen absence of both the smooch and Frances’s inner monologue keeps the nature of the students’ relationship ambiguous for longer.

While Frances still faces money problems in the show, Nick’s assistance is cut completely. In the original story, the actor buys groceries for the student when her refrigerator is sparse, and even gives her a €200 cash loan. Frances eventually pays him back, but the interaction introduces another layer to the complicated power dynamic between the two. Interestingly, the couple discuss Nick giving Frances money in the novel before he actually does so, and both admit being bothered but tempted by the idea. So it’s not a surprise that Nick offers to help her out when he discovers the financial stress she’s under. By removing this plot point, the show takes the attention away from their age gap and vastly different socioeconomic statuses.

Melissa is notably British in the show, as opposed to Irish like in the book. But an even more noticeable deviation is Bobbi’s racial and national identity. A Black American woman in the series, she’s seemingly white and Irish in the novel. On screen, Bobbi is played by Sasha Lane, an American actress with African and Māori ancestry. As part of an immigrant family, the character faces international complications during her parents’ divorce. As a woman of color, her political stances take on a more personal meaning. And Lane perfectly embodies the personality and alluring aesthetic that are key to Bobbi in the book. Thus, she demonstrates that a faithful casting of a pre-existing character doesn’t need to be a literal one.

The most noticeable difference between the two versions is the change in location during their vacation. Tensions flare when the college students join the married couple on a holiday in a house near the beach. However, the Hulu series finds them in Croatia instead of the north of France. Political conversations ensue in both versions, but they take place at different points, and are tailored to fit the realities of each area. In addition, Nick is unable to demonstrate his proficiency in French in the series. He’s also shown drinking more during the getaway than he does in the book. While the overall effect remains the same, nearly every single part of the trip in the show differs from the novel in some way.