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Little Disasters took viewers on a wild ride before revealing who was at fault for Betsey’s shocking fall — and that involved multiple book to screen changes.
Based on Sarah Vaughan’s novel of the same name, Little Disasters, which premiered on Paramount+ on Thursday, December 11, followed an accident and emergency doctor Liz (Jo Joyner) treating an unexplained head injury on the child of one of her best friends: Jess (Diane Kruger). She then had to face the dilemma of whether to make a report to child social services.
The finale revealed that Betsey’s head injury wasn’t caused by Jess. It was Mel’s husband, Rob (Stephen Campbell Moore), who was at the house when the infant fell, which he scared Jess’ son Frankie from revealing it to anyone else.
“The book and the show changed so much that in the process of making the show, it’s really quite a different entity. It means that people can still read the book and enjoy and find different things,” Joyner exclusively told Us Weekly about joining the project in the lead role. “As far as Liz is concerned, there isn’t quite as much depth on screen. For me, it was really valuable to have the book and to know what the depth was.”
Joyner was grateful she had the novel as a reference.
“I felt really rooted and grounded because I knew Liz very well from the book. I didn’t feel like anything in the show was a diversion of that character. I really fell in love with Liz in the book,” she recalled. “She’s got no time for herself, she hasn’t got time to eat properly or look after herself. She’s literally last on her own list, which I think is the case for so many working women that I really identified with it. Consequently, I knew that I wanted people to feel like they really feel like they could trust Liz and that they could see a bit of themselves in Liz.”
Diving into the role was all about the details. “I wanted her to come off as something unattainable at all, and in fact, she was something or somebody that reminded the viewers of themselves a little bit,” she added. “Hopefully they had sympathy for her and therefore had a bit more sympathy for themselves. It was about trying to find moments where I could put that in.”
Joyner also has a personal connection to hospital employees.
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“I personally had an operation a couple of days before we started filming, which I never mentioned to anybody. I didn’t want to worry anybody. It was a little emergency operation that I wasn’t expecting. I went in on the Saturday morning and I flew out on the Monday,” she recalled. “It was about finding those moments that really, really felt like Liz from the novel. Even if they’re tiny moments, putting them into the show because they couldn’t be there in words. You’ve got to give yourself over to the story and the main arc of the thing. My job is trying to find those elements to just really ground it and root it in and keep Liz true.”
While reflecting on the message behind the show, Joyner shared what she hoped viewers took away from the series.
“I hope that they take away a little bit more kindness for themselves and for other mothers. That understanding that we’re all going through something. Certainly in those early days, you’re so exhausted that no one’s thinking straight and no one’s their best selves. There’s this lovely friendship and relationship between all the women. Ultimately, they really understand like no one else,” she told Us. “You find your people and you’re really grateful for them. I hope that people come away from this with a bit more understanding about the stresses upon young mothers and new mothers and a little bit more kindness for themselves and those around them.”
Little Disasters is currently streaming on Paramount+.
