Book to Screen: The Flatshare

In a unique situation where to save money, two strangers share a flat on a schedule where they never meet each other. They communicate via post-it notes while navigating their unusual agreement, relationships, and lives.

Today's article will review both Beth O'Leary's original novel and the Paramount+ TV series starring Jessica Brown Findlay and Anthony Welsh. In comparing both, I will be giving my verdict of which version of this story works better.

The Book

Although Beth O'Leary has rightfully made a name for herself as a romantic comedy novelist, this was a strong debut novel. As I often listened to the audiobook, I heard in the bonus interview that she wrote this whilst commuting between Winchester and her job in London.

Told between alternating chapters, the reader is quickly introduced to protagonists Tiffy and Leon. What immediately stuck out to me was how O'Leary adopted two totally different styles for the characters. While Tiffy's narration follows a more traditional prose style, Leon's is similar to a screenplay. Tiffy's narration will be much more descriptive; Leon's was much shorter and to the point.

I liked this unique take on dual narration, and O'Leary's prose choices for both characters matched their characteristics perfectly. While the concept of keeping both characters separated by altering times in the flat and restricting their communication to post-it notes, I did feel that conflict dragged a bit too long for my taste.

There were a lot of moving parts in this book. Both protagonists are dealing with toxic exes at different stages, dealing with PTSD, Leon’s brother being in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and both are trying to balance their personal lives with their careers — Tiffy is an editor for a very niche publishing company, and Leon is a nurse.

Tiffany’s career choice was definitely unique — I preferred the change made in the adaptation — and I feel it only added to her quirky personality traits. Still, the ensemble cast of her colleagues and author clients added interesting dynamics. Leon's work life actually complimented his quiet personality traits.

This book has darker themes as Tiffany realises that her ex-boyfriend was emotionally abusive and had been trying to control aspects of her life even after their breakup. Meanwhile, Leon is dealing with an emotionally distant girlfriend and the strain of his brother's impending trial. I went into this expecting a fluffy romance and was surprised by the more serious undertones. However, I do feel the ending was a bit too rushed and wrapped up a bit too nicely in the epilogue. But that was my personal preference.

Narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune, both voice actors were great choices for their respective characters. My only criticism of the audiobook is where Fletcher breaks the fourth wall and admits to the listeners that she cannot do a specific accent twice. I'd have advised her not to draw attention to it if I directed this audio production. Truthfully, I probably wouldn't have noticed if the narrator hadn't drawn attention to this herself.

Rarely do I seek out romance-specific novels - usually, I prefer it as a subgenre to horror, fantasy, crime or sci-fi. However, I really did find this a welcome reprieve from my usual reading material.

My rating for The Flatshare book is ★★★.

The TV Show

The six-episode limited season follows the same plotline as the book. Tiffany and Leon are two cash-strapped twenty-somethings who share a bed but have never met. The question is, can you fall in love with someone you’ve never set eyes on?

Originally slated to be adapted by the BBC under the production company 42, in January 2022, Paramount+ officially commissioned the six-part series, marking the platform's first British comedy. The writing room includes executive producer Rose Lewenstein as a lead writer with Sarah Simmonds, Ryan Calais Cameron, and Alex Straker. Peter Cattaneo and Chloë Wicks directed the first and second blocks, respectively. Executive producers included Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran of 42, with Rhonda Smith producing.

Taking on the roles of Tiffany and Leon were Jessica Brown Findley (Downton Abbey) and Anthony Welsh (The Great), with an ensemble cast that included Bart Edwards, Shaq B. Grant, Shaniqua Okwok, and Jonah Hauer-King.

As an adaptation, this is a very faithful take on the source material. However, the creative team behind this show does a great job of expanding the world outside of the central pairing's pen-pal relationship. As much as this is Leon and Tiffany's love story, I appreciated that the series explored their lives away from the flat.

Findley and Welsh have nice chemistry. While I thought the latter had a much better stage presence, it took a few episodes to warm up to Welsh as the leading man. I found it a bit unrealistic that Leon and Tiffany went as long as they did without meeting in the book, so I found their obstacles in the show more believable. Their friends-to-lovers arc is nicely done, and both actors have some great scenes in the latter heart of the series.

While Leon is still a night nurse, Tiffany is now an aspiring journalist instead of a book editor for knit-wear readers. This was a better creative decision and naturally brought her into Shaq B's storyline as she wants to help Leon's brother's wrongful conviction. As she plans to write an article to raise awareness, and her researching the case to bring to her lawyer friend (played by Shaniqua Okwok) as a potential client was much more effective storytelling. Her asking for a favour in the book felt a bit too easy, but going out of her way to get the details as a journalist made her an active participant in that storyline. Similar to Leon, we get to see his relationships with his patients and the heart-breaking outcomes for some of the people he's cared for and how that impacts him.

This series still tackled Beth O'Leary's themes of emotional abuse, and Bart Edwards captured his character's narcissistic and controlling traits well. As a romantic comedy, I enjoyed this much more than I expected, and I found it a charming show to binge-watch.

My rating for The Flatshare TV adaptation is ★★★½.

My Final Verdict: Which is Better? - The Adaptation.

This is a tough one. Both have surprisingly good merits, but I'd recommend the show in this case. It looks good, it's written well, and there are some genuinely charming performances from its leads.