Aaahhh! So many things I want to say about this book’s adaptation… it was not good at all. But I’ll start with talking about the book because it was so sweet and cute, and I cannot wait to read more from the same author!
The Flatshare is the debut novel written by Beth O’Leary, published in 2019, before the world changed. I miss those simple days when we didn’t talk daily about wars, politics, and pandemics. But I digress. The Flatshare is the story of Leon and Tiffany, two English people who are pushed by circumstances to share a flat in London.
I have to be honest, it was a bit hard to get hooked by the story as the first few chapters felt a bit slow, but it was really worth the wait – so to speak. The story evolves into a very sweet romantic comedy, very real and with beautifully-constructed characters (both leading and supporting) and it was very easy to fall in love with Leon and Tiffy.
I appreciated how the book touches on very important subject matters like toxic relationships, trust, and the importance of friendship. It made me think of what Alina Sorescu (Romanian singer) has gone through in her marriage which she recently opened up about, here. I didn’t expect the book to be more than just a good time, a light read, but I promise you this is more than that. It has a depth to it which you won’t find in many romcoms, and especially in a debut. The Flatshare was enough to make me want to read the rest of Beth O’Leary’s books. (Hint: I already own The Wake-Up Call ☎️)
Life is often simple, but you don’t notice how simple it was until it gets incredibly complicated.
Now, about that adaptation… I’ll start by saying that I didn’t like it. It was almost painful to wait for it to be over (and it’s only 6 episodes long). The Flatshare was produced by 42 M & P Ltd and VIS for Paramount+ and it premiered in December 2022. In the UK, the series is currently available on multiple platforms and it can be also streamed for free on channel5.com (until December 2025). Starring Jessica Brown Findlay (as Tiffany) and Anthony Welsh (as Leon), The Flatshare has so many plotholes and is so cringe and unrealistic, that it makes it impossible for me to find one thing for which I could say it is worth your time. Trust the book, but don’t waste your time with the adaptation – it’s truly just bad. And also, I understand making the wardrobe and make-up of Tiffy’s character colourful, bright etc., but I also expect you to tone it down enough so that the audience can actually look at Tiffy. She just looks ridiculous in this series. Where to add that they kept almost nothing from the book (which in this case is a huge mistake). Just no, on all fronts.
Book vs. tv series *spoiler alert* ⤵
· Tiffy is not a red head in the series
· Leon has longer hair in the book
· When she is first in the flat, Tiffy doesn’t reject the call from prison like shown in the series
· We know from the book that Tiffy is an editor, not a journalist
· Kay and Tiffy met from the start, not randomly as shown in the series, and she doesn’t go through Tiffy’s belongings (wtf?!)
· Justin brinrgs a housewarming gift only in the series
· Tiffy doesn’t write an article about Richie in the book, she actually doesn’t get too involved with his case – she just asks for help from her best friend
· The sheets of the bed are not being changed every time, as shown in the series, this is a one-off thing in the beginning until Tiffy realizes there is no need to keep doing that
· Leon and his mother don’t argue in the book
· Tiffy goes on dating apps just in the series
· Leon doesn’t invest in crypto in the book (seriously, again, wtf?!)
· Tiffy doesn’t visit Richie in the jail, in the book they only talk on the phone and through letters
· The awkward “walk-in” encounter from the flat’s bathroom is poorly executed in the series (like many other things…)
· Leon doesn’t get a visit from the landlord agent in the book, that entire plot of Justin trying to get Tiffy removed from the flat is purely script (again…)
· Leon and Tiffy do not repaint the flat walls in the book
· The whole Mr. Prior – Johnny White plot is changed (for the worse)
· Rachel is a very good friend in the book, not a half-bitch as shown in the series (who finds redemption in the end just for being plain stupid… wtf?!)
· I’m not too sure, but I believe Mo and Gerty (called Maia in the series) don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in the book
· Tiffy never rekindles her relationship with Justin (aka sleeping with him) in the book (and for good reason, ffs)
· Leon’s mother is shown in a relationship and being a step-mother to two younger children, but in the book she is single and trying to get better when it comes to her dating habits
· Tiffy’s parents show up in the flat, but in the book they are not even mentioned – let alone being part of the plot (and no, it didn’t help the plot at all, it just made it worse)
· Leon goes to the barbers only in the series (why, why, whyyy did you have to make it so cringe…)
· In the book, Tiffy doesn’t argue with her bestfriends, but hello script – again!
· Mr. Prior doesn’t crochet in the series, this entire plot being completely scrapped
· Leon doesn’t try to date another girl just to realize he doesn’t actually want to sleep with her, this is just in the series
· Holly, Leon’s patient, doesn’t set Leon and Tiffy up (because in the book she is normal)
· Justin talks to Tiffy’s bestfriends only in the series
· That entire (huge part of the plot from the book) where Tiffy gets injured is – you guessed it! – ruined and changed
· Another, probably one of my favourite scenes from the book, where Tiffy and Leon are almost ready to be intimate with each other and Tiffy freezes is changed in the series and it’s just cringe and doesn’t even hold up to Beth O’Leary’s writing
· Holly gets better in the book, but in the series she dies (wtf was the point of this?)
· Maia (Gerty in the book) has way more confidence and experience relating to her job, in the series feels like she is delivering closing arguments for the first time ever
· The book’s epilogue is not included in the series
Trailer:
