Us: How does the BBC series differ from David Nicholls’ book?

Viewers have been praising the BBC for its adaptation of David Nicholls’ Us.

The four-part mini series, which is available to stream as a box set on BBC iPlayer, has been popular with viewers who have highlighted Tom Hollander for his performance as a man on the brink of divorce.

Based on One Day author Nicholls’ book of the same name, Us tells the story of Douglas Peterson (Hollander), who is trying to save his marriage after wife Connie (Saskia Reeves) says she wants to leave him.

Giving the relationship one last try, the pair head out on a family holiday across Europe with their teenage son Albie (Tom Taylor). However, Albie runs away, before eventually being tracked down in Barcelona with the help of musician Kat (Thaddea Graham).

Once reunited, Douglas learns that his son his gay, but soon suffers a heart attack at the hotel. Connie visits him in hospital, leaving Douglas hopeful that his wife will stay with him.

However, the pair still end up going their separate ways after dropping Albie off at university. In the future, Connie and Douglas are seen having a good relationship as friends, with Douglas seemingtly moving on with Freja (Sofie Gråbøl), who he met in Venice.

Despite Nicholls adapting Us for TV himself, there are some key differences between the adaptation and the original.

Because Us is written as a monologue, certain references are left out of the TV show. One key omission is that Douglas’s own father had died of a heart attack, a clue which may have foreshadowed his own health problems in the final episode.

In the book, it is also revealed that Connie had a short affair early on in her marriage to Douglas. In general, the TV show gives the two leads more clearly defined happy endings than those they have in the book.

In Nicholls’s text, Connie starts dating a former partner after her split from Douglas, which causes a lot of tension for the family.

Additionally, the book ends with Douglas researching Freja’s contact details online, leaving their chance of reunion open to interpretation as opposed to the more concrete ending of the show.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of Us here

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