{"id":239128,"date":"2026-01-18T04:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T04:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/239128\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T04:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T04:37:10","slug":"his-hers-the-biggest-differences-between-netflixs-no-1-binge-worthy-series-and-the-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/239128\/","title":{"rendered":"His & Hers: The biggest differences between Netflix\u2019s No 1 binge-worthy series and the book"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When it came to adapting Alice Feeney\u2019s bestselling 2020 psychological thriller His & Hers for the screen<\/a>, Netflix took a few creative liberties.<\/p>\n

While mostly minor, the changes made to the six-episode limited series \u2014 starring Tessa Thompson <\/a>and Jon Bernthal as estranged spouses who each suspect the other of murdering a woman from their complicated past \u2014 are still significant.<\/p>\n

From altered character arcs to new motivations, here are the biggest differences between the book and the show, which is currently topping Netflix\u2019s Top 10 list. <\/p>\n

*Warning: this article contains major spoilers for His & Hers*<\/p>\n

Anna\u2019s triumphant return to work<\/p>\n

\"Tessa<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal star as estranged partners grieving the death of their young daughter in \u2018His & Hers\u2019 (Courtesy of Netflix \u00c2\u00a9 2025)<\/p>\n

In the show, Thompson\u2019s Atlanta news anchor Anna shows up to work unannounced, requesting her previous evening time slot back after an unofficial, year-long hiatus following the death of her young daughter. When her boss tells her she\u2019s been tentatively replaced by rising star Lexy Jones (Rebecca Rittenhouse), Anna concedes and requests to be sent as a field reporter to cover the murder of childhood friend Rachel in her hometown of Dahlonega, Georgia. Her boss agrees to send her along with Lexy\u2019s cameraman husband, Richard (Pablo Schreiber), to report on the case. There, Anna reunites with her estranged husband, Detective Jack Harper (Bernthal), who is the lead investigator on the case.<\/p>\n

Not only does the series change Lexy\u2019s name from Cat Jones, but the novel also depicts Anna\u2019s demotion a bit differently. In the book, Anna was actually covering Cat\u2019s news anchor position while she was on maternity leave, and once Cat returns, she\u2019s the one who slyly suggests Anna cover the murder. <\/p>\n

In both versions, Anna is unaware that her rival co-worker is, in fact, Catherine, a vengeful girl who was in the woods on the fateful night of Anna\u2019s 16th birthday. <\/p>\n

Rachel\u2019s much older husband\u2019s role as a potential suspect<\/p>\n

Following the discovery of Rachel\u2019s body in the book, her frail, bedridden and wealthy, 82-year-old husband is immediately ruled out as a potential suspect, due to his age and failing health. Readers don\u2019t even meet him directly. <\/p>\n

The series, however, decides to make Rachel\u2019s widower, Clyde (Chris Bauer), considerably younger and physically capable of committing the crime. Thus, putting him in the pool of potential suspects. <\/p>\n

Anna\u2019s struggle with alcoholism<\/p>\n

\"Bernthal<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Bernthal as Detective Jack and Thompson as news anchor Anna in ‘His & Hers’ (Courtesy of Netflix \u00c2\u00a9 2025)<\/p>\n

The book cleverly paints Anna as an alcoholic, commonly unaware of the previous night\u2019s events due to routine blackouts. Because of this, readers are cautioned against accepting her accounts as fact. This is expertly played out in one scene, in which Anna emerges from a drunken state to find that her room has been cleaned. Anna innocently believes she must have tidied up the space in her intoxicated haze, but it turns out her mother, Alice (played by Crystal R. Fox in the series), came over and straightened up the space. The unreliable narrator trope comes into play toward the end, when Anna wonders whether she\u2019s really the killer and simply can\u2019t remember because of a big bender.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the show makes Anna\u2019s alcoholism a moot point. While in an early episode, she is shown guzzling half a bottle of wine, her drinking is never portrayed as excessive. So by the time the major plot twist arrives in the final scenes, she is of a clear mind when she reads her mother\u2019s letter confessing to the murders of Anna\u2019s childhood friends.<\/p>\n

The final deadly confrontation<\/p>\n

In Feeney\u2019s novel, Anna is only lured into Cat\u2019s parents\u2019 secluded lake home after hearing Richard\u2019s screams. Inside, she discovers Richard on the brink of death with multiple stab wounds and a severe head injury. She also finds Cat hanging from a noose, but soon realizes that Cat has faked her own death to trap Anna. Anna manages to escape from the house, where she finds her supposedly dementia-ridden mother bumbling around outside in the dark.<\/p>\n

Amid the chaos, Jack arrives at the lake house, followed closely by his partner Priya (Sunita Mani), who has grown suspicious of his involvement in the murders after finding out about his affair with Rachel. <\/p>\n

Cat chases Anna and Alice and ultimately stabs Alice. Still, Anna manages to get her mom into a getaway car, and just as Anna drives away, she runs Cat over. Yet, miraculously, Cat survives. But just as she raises her knife to attack Anna, Priya fatally shoots her.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s later inferred that, in the aftermath of the night\u2019s traumatic events, Anna comes to believe Cat is responsible for the murders of Rachel and her friends \u2014 Helen Wang (Poppy Liu) and Jack\u2019s sister Zoe (Marin Ireland) \u2014 as revenge for the gang rape they orchestrated against her at Anna\u2019s 16th birthday. In the series, it\u2019s Anna who ends up being raped after saving Lexy from the attack. <\/p>\n

\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Rebecca Rittenhouse as Lexy Jones in ‘His & Hers’ (Courtesy of Netflix \u00c2\u00a9 2025)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the adaptation removes all of the additional gore and opts for a more straightforward retelling: Richard brings Anna to his in-laws\u2019 home, and after the two get into it, Anna locks him in the basement just as Lexy arrives. Anna and Lexy then face off, and once they\u2019re both bloodied and exhausted, with Lexy capturing Anna\u2019s gun, Priya manages to shoot her dead, saving Anna. Unlike in the book, there is no Alice, and Richard survives and is arrested for aiding Lexy.<\/p>\n

Alice\u2019s jaw-dropping confession <\/p>\n

In the TV show\u2019s conclusion, Anna learns the shocking truth \u2014 that her mom indeed killed Rachel, Helen and Zoe. In her mother\u2019s confession letter, she reveals that her killing spree began after coming across old footage from Anna\u2019s 16th birthday of her daughter being raped.<\/p>\n

The novel\u2019s twisted ending is a bit more muddled than that. While Alice similarly confesses to the murders, her motives are much more layered. Since it was Cat who was raped in the book, Alice assumes that the guilt of not intervening weighs heavily on her daughter\u2019s conscience, which caused her to flee Dahlonega. Blaming Rachel, Helen and Zoe for her daughter\u2019s disappearance, Alice decides to kill them and pin it on Cat. <\/p>\n

His & Hers is available to stream on Netflix. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-239128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}