‘Firefly Lane’ Star Katherine Heigl Found It ‘Difficult’ to Deviate From Source Material
With memorable roles in movies like Knocked Up and TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Katherine Heigl has been a Hollywood mainstay for over two decades. And her latest project, the Netflix series Firefly Lane, has prompted plenty of buzz since premiering in early 2021. Much of Firefly Lane‘s success is due to Heigl’s passion for the project. And as she admitted in a recent interview, her commitment to the source material has made deviating from it “difficult.”
[Warning: This article contains spoilers from Firefly Lane Season 2.]
Katherine Heigl ‘fanned-out’ over ‘Firefly Lane’
Firefly Lane follows two teenage best friends who form a tight bond in the ’70s. Their relationship evolves as they grow to adulthood and face the changing expectations of society and their families. Heigl plays Tully Hart, a daytime talk show host, and Sarah Chalke (Scrubs, Roseanne) portrays Kate Mularkey, Tully’s best friend.
The TV series is based on a novel of the same name. And in a recent interview, Heigl discussed her abiding affection for the source material.
“I’m a giant reader,” the actor told Salon. “I have been since I learned to read, and fiction is my favorite, so once I got over my initial fanned-out behavior, I started being able to have real conversations with [Firefly Lane author] Kristin [Hannah] about character, about maintaining the integrity of her story and the integrity of these women in their friendship.”
Heigl also admitted that translating a story from the page to the screen isn’t her “forte.”
“It did mean at times … we were going to deviate from the book, which is always very difficult for me. I always want to stick right to the material,” she said. “I want to tell exactly what’s on the page of the book. So I had to be able to back off and let [series creator] Maggie [Friedman] do her thing.”
What happened in ‘Firefly Lane’ Season 2?
The first part of Firefly Lane Season 2 dropped on Netflix in December 2022, giving fans even more drama and intrigue. The first few episodes provide more context regarding the history of Kate and Tully’s friendship, including insight into the rift that caused their estrangement.
According to Netflix Tudum, two cliffhangers happen at the end of the first part of season 2. One involves Kate discovering she has breast cancer. The other shows Tully and Johnny preparing for their wedding day — a shocker because Kate and Johnny had been romantically involved.
When will new episodes come out?
Fans will have to wait a few months before seeing both cliffhangers’ resolutions. The second half of Firefly Lane Season 2 is set to drop on Netflix in June. Viewers will likely see how Tully and Kate resolve their conflict and how Johnny and Kate mend fences. Until then, fans can binge the entire first season and the emotional first few episodes of season 2.
