TV
The Hulu series takes inspiration from Cheryl Strayed’s book.
If you’ve ever read anything by Cheryl Strayed, you already have some idea of what to expect from the new Hulu series Tiny Beautiful Things. Especially if you read the 2012 book of the same name that the series was based on, a deeply moving collection of essays, advice, and personal stories. Strayed managed to turn her own life experience into excellent advice delivered with empathy and kindness. Something fans can expect to be played out in the new television series. And as if that wasn’t enough reason to tune in, how about the exceptional cast that has been chosen? You really couldn’t ask for any better.
The Hulu series Tiny Beautiful Things takes inspiration from the book but is, of course, not an exact representation of Strayed’s story. In the series, a character based on Strayed is going through a divorce and trying to raise her teen daughter. She’s also still grieving the loss of her own incredible mother, who died far too young, when she is asked by a fellow writer to take over an advice column. It is through giving this advice that she manages to reconnect to the people she loves in her own life, past and present. And we get to go along for the ride.
Here’s a look at the cast we’ll meet in Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things.
Kathryn Hahn as Clare
Kathryn Hahn plays Clare Kincade in Tiny Beautiful Things, a writer who is struggling to find her footing as she goes through a divorce and tries to stay connected to her daughter. Hahn has really come to embody a certain kind of mom character in movies like Bad Moms, The Visit, and television series like Mrs. Fletcher. Tough but vulnerable, funny and wise. Perfect for Tiny Beautiful Things.
Hahn’s character is loosely based on Cheryl Strayed, who was invited to dole out advice in the massively popular Dear Sugar column for several years on the Rumpus before migrating to The New York Times. “We knew Clare isn’t going to be [me exactly], but many of her experiences had to be mine,” Strayed said of Clare in an interview with Glamour UK. “She had to have a mother who died young of cancer, who got married young and then divorced. She had to grow up in a rural environment like I did. Those are the things that made me, those are the things that make Clare. So those are the pieces that come from my life.”
Tanzyn Crawford as Rae
One of Clare’s biggest sources of stress in Tiny Beautiful Things is her increasingly distant relationship with her daughter Rae, played by Tanzyn Crawford, who you might recognize from Servant on Apple TV+. Rae is going through her own identity crisis as a teenager dealing with a potential divorce, discovering her own sexuality, and trying to disengage from her mother. But Clare and Rae will hopefully find their way back to each other.
Quentin Plair as Danny
As Clare’s husband and Rae’s dad Danny, Quentin Plair (The Good Lord Bird) has a big emotional burden to carry. He and Clare are going through a potential divorce, he and his daughter are struggling with their own relationship, and he is floundering as he tries to decide what to do with his life.
Merritt Wever as Frankie
In flashbacks to Clare’s own youth, Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie, The Walking Dead) plays her freespirited mom Frankie. Much like Rae and Clare, Frankie is finding her own way with an adult daughter who is trying to find her own identity. And trying to find her own way after years of raising her kids with very little money or support. Strayed’s own mother Bobbi died of cancer when she was 45 years old, when Strayed herself was a senior in college. Frankie is based on Bobbi, so get ready for some emotional scenes.
Sarah Pidgeon as Young Clare
Clare had to learn how to be a mother without her mother around, and we see that in flashbacks where young Clare is played by Sarah Pidgeon (The Wilds, Gotham). Clare is newly married to Danny and trying to raise baby Rae while also grieving the loss of her mom in these flashback scenes. Again, get the tissues ready.
SteVonté Hart as Young Danny
As young Clare is trying to figure out how to be a mom to baby Rae, so too is young Danny, played by SteVonté Hart (Little Fires Everywhere). And when I say they are young, they are really young. And really stressed. And really wanting to be good parents.
Owen Painter as Young Lucas
Owen Painter (The Handmaid’s Tale) plays Clare’s brother Lucas in flashback scenes. The two are dealing with their mother’s illness, and Lucas retreats in his own fog of pain as young Clare tries to make sure he has the chance to say goodbye to their mom before she dies.
Michaela Watkins as Amy
Michaela Watkins (Wanderlust, The Back-Up Plan) plays Clare’s friend and fellow writer Amy, who encourages her to keep going with her career. Amy is successful in her career in ways that leave Clare feeling less than great about herself, but they head off to a writer’s retreat together anyhow.
Tijuana Ricks as Mel
As Danny and Clare try to work on their marriage, they seek out therapist Mel Green, played by Tijuana Ricks (Luke Cage). Mel has a lot to unpack with the couple, and does her best to try to help them find their way back to each other.
Aneasa Yacoub as Montana
Rae’s own life as a teenager naturally revolves around her friendships, most especially her closest friend Montana, played by Aneasa Yacoub (Young Sheldon, Selena: The Series). The two experiment with a threesome in Tiny Beautiful Things, and get caught by Clare. Which makes things a little uncomfortable.
Tim Roth as Hayes MacKeown
Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction, Lie To Me) plays Hayes MacKeown, a writing friend of Clare’s who has been answering questions in the Dear Sugar advice column and would like her to take over. This character is loosely based on the real writer Steve Almond, who was indeed writing the Dear Sugar advice column before he eventually asked Strayed to step in to help him. The two friends wrote the column together and even hosted a deeply satisfying podcast of the same name for several years. Almond, like MacKeown, changed the course of Cheryl/Clare’s life.
The cast of Tiny Beautiful Things has a lot of emotional work to cover in this eight-episode limited series, which debuts on Hulu on April 7. So who are we to do anything other than sit down with a box of tissues and go deep with them? Just like the book and the podcast and everything else in the Cheryl Strayed universe, it’s always worth it.
