I Read "Nine Perfect Strangers" Before I Watched The Show — Here Are All The Changes I Noticed

    Namaste!

    Morgan Murrell
    by Morgan Murrell

    BuzzFeed Staff

    For the most part, the Nine Perfect Strangers series adaptation stuck to the core of Liane Moriarty's book, but that doesn't mean there weren't any differences.

    Hulu

    There are quite a few, so let's jump right into it:

    🚨 Obvious spoilers ahead 🚨

    If you haven't seen all eight episodes of Nine Perfect Strangers, don't hurt your feelings by scrolling!

    1. Tranquillum House gets a location change.

    The interior features geometric shapes throughout the flooring and high cielings
    Vince Valitutti / HULU

    In the book, Tranquillum House was set in Liane Moriarty's native Australia, but in the series the wellness center is relocated to Northern California.

    2. What happened to silence?

    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    The characters were originally written as taking a vow of "noble silence" for the first five days at the retreat. It's described as a mandatory period of silent reflection. For obvious reasons, the series decided to leave this component out.

    3. Origin story with a twist.

    Masha standing inside the house
    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    In the series, when Masha introduced herself to the bunch, she was shot in the chest while walking in the parking garage of the lucrative corporate business she headed — a near-death experience that ultimately led her to become a wellness guru.

    In the book, Masha suffered through a different near-death experience: a seizure, which then led to her going into cardiac arrest. A trainee paramedic named Yao helped her recover.

    4. The graveyard shift.

    A woman sitting in a grave she dug
    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    This digging exercise where the retreat-goers literally dug their own graves and then proceeded to lie in them was completely made up for the show.

    5. Tranquillum love triangle.

    Yao looking at someone offscreen as Masha looks at him
    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    In the series, Yao and Delilah are romantically linked to each other. But that's not all: Yao and Masha also have a history together, AND Delilah ends up kissing Masha.

    In the book, none of these romantic relationships exist. Yao has a crush on Masha, but that's about as far as it goes.

    6. Pool problems.

    Tony floating in a pool
    Vince Valitutti/Hulu

    Remember when Tony decided to toss a grape into Frances's mouth while she was relaxing in a floaty, and she ended up choking? Well, that never happened in the book. Instead, Tony actually helped her with a nosebleed.

    7. Earth Day gets cray cray!

    A man carying a goat around his shoulders
    Vince Valitutti / HULU

    One of the wildest differences was the addition of Earth Day — which isn't acknowledged at all in the book. After being instructed to "live off the land" when it came to their meals, the men returned with a dead goat, which happened to be Masha's pet.

    8. Lars is a liar.

    Lars meditating on the floor
    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    In the book and series, Lars is referred to as a "wellness junkie." But the series took it one step further, revealing that he was actually an undercover reporter looking to expose Masha and her unusual practices at Tranquillum House. In the book, he's actually a family lawyer who went to the retreat to get space from his partner, Ray, who won't stop bugging him about having kids.

    9. Character quarrel.

    Carmel lunging over a table at Lars as people trying to pull her off
    Vince Valitutti / HULU

    Ever since Lars and Carmel were introduced in the show, there was an uneasy tension between them. Most of their interactions weren't in the book, including their meeting at the store, him pointing out all of her alleged flaws, and Carmel lunging for him across the table.

    10. "Sometimes I feel like somebody's watching me."

    Masha looking out of a window with a small smile on her face
    Vince Valitutti/ Hulu

    Throughout the series, Masha reveals that she's been receiving threatening messages from an unknown number. She also believes someone is watching her. This storyline was not in the book.

    11. Tony's football fight.

    Tony sitting in a bar as a man looks at him
    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    Because the series was set in California, Tony was said to be an American football all-star as opposed to an Aussie-rules football player in the book. Writers for the series also added a dark past to Tony's background story, as viewers learn that he not only has a drinking problem, but he also unintentionally killed a drunk man in a bar fight.

    12. More money, more problems,

    Ben and Jessica sitting at a candlelit dinner table
    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    High school sweethearts Ben and Jessica Chandler's background story isn't explored that much in the show, but we know that there's trouble in their marriage from the first time they grace the screen. We see Ben getting annoyed that she always wants to do things for social media, but their issues go a little deeper.

    In the book, it's revealed that after they won the lottery, Jessica got a ton of plastic surgery done. This was presented as a major issue in the book. Ben missed his wife's beautiful face, and hated that he didn't recognize her anymore.

    13. Microdosing, plus more.

    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    Heather learns that Masha has been drugging the group with psilocybin by microdosing — putting small doses of the drug in their smoothies. This happens in the book as well, but Masha also gives the attendees LSD.

    14. Revelations come to light.

    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    Carmel is a divorced mother of two, still heartbroken over the fact that her husband cheated on her and took their kids on a dream trip to Paris with his new wife. During Carmel's therapy session on the show, Masha admits to having an affair with Carmel's husband. 

    Carmel later reveals that she knew it was Masha all along and that she was the person who shot her that day in the parking lot. Carmel went to Tranquillum House to scare Masha. Because Masha didn't actually get shot in the book, this entire storyline was also not in the book.

    15. Other offsping.

    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    In the show, Masha is mourning the life of her 7-year-old daughter, who was involved in a fatal bike accident. She finally gets to see a hallucination of her daughter while microdosing with the attendees.

    In the book, Masha actually had an 11-month-old son. He died after accidentally strangling himself with a curtain string, while under her watch. He called out for her, but she ignored him because she was preoccupied with work-related things.

    16. Missing Marconis.

    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    In the book, the Marconi family was locked inside the yoga room with the rest of the guests. In the series, they were tripping in the woods with Masha.

    17. The great escape.

    Vince Valitutti / Hulu

    In the series, Yao helps the guests escape from the room after the smell of gas causes them to panic. Yao tells them it's a simulation — a near-death experience that helps guests connect to themselves on a deeper level.

    In the book, the guests figure out it's a simulation on their own. During the simulation, Masha appears on a big screen, clearly higher than she should be. They also see Yao passed out in the background — Masha injected him with a syringe after he announced that she'd gone too far and wanted to save the guests. When the guests escape the room, they run into Masha. Heather insults Masha, then Masha lunges at Heather, and then Frances hits Masha over the head with a candelabra.

    Did you notice a difference in the series that I missed? Tell me about it in the comments!