(Credits: Netflix)

The catalogue of mystery crime thrillers on Netflix is second to none. So, when His & Hers, the latest streaming adaptation of Alice Feeney’s 2020 novel, dropped on Netflix and made itself right at home, it was not so surprising.

Although this adaptation is undoubtedly a success story, viewers must be obviously familiar that the versions made for the screen often come with their fair share of differences from the original source by now. The idea is to maintain the shock element, not just for new spectators, but also for those who have previously read the book.

While these discrepancies sometimes backfire for various reasons, His & Hers is officially a hit on Netflix. The new six-part limited series stars Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson as the titular him and her, Jack and Anna, and takes viewers on a gripping journey of gruesome murders and revelations that cancel out all our predictions.

So, in case you’re a fan of His & Hers, here are five key differences between the book and the Netflix adaptation which you may have overlooked.

Five discrepancies between His & Hers book and the Netflix series

How Anna returns to work

In Alice Feeney’s novel, Anna, the series protagonist of His & Hers, is a BBC news anchor who has been covering for her colleague, Cat Jones, as the lunchtime anchor during her extended maternity leave. So, when Cat returns to work, Anna loses a piece of her world, the dream job that was never really hers to begin with. Subsequently, Cat suggests that Anna take charge of the news coverage of the body found in Blackdown, despite her reluctance to return to her hometown, which could trigger tragic memories.

In the Netflix series, Anna herself travels the extra mile to get permission to cover the murder in Dahlonega after Lexy replaces her at the job. In fact, she appears to know much more about the victim even before she reaches her hometown. Another point about Anna is that she took a considerably smaller amount of time off after the death of her baby in the book, whereas in the film, she returns after a year-long break. Since she has been absent for an extended period, she cannot return to her old news anchor role just yet. So, she ends up convincing her boss to let her on the on-field gig even though the latter is unwilling.

Netflix additionally takes the liberty to change Cat’s name to Lexy Jones to conceal the fact that Lexy is Anna’s former schoolmate, Catherine Kelly. However, in neither version does Anna have an idea that the co-worker she despises is Catherine, another girl who was in the woods that fateful night of Anna’s 16th birthday. Not to forget that the first time Anna sees Jack in the movie is at the crime scene. They are estranged but still married. But in the book? They are divorced.

Anna’s alcoholism

His & Hers on Netflix also shows a visible departure from the book in terms of Anna’s alcoholism. In the book, she is seen carrying bottles of liquor in her purse and sipping white wine with breakfast, which is also partly why she usually has a blurry memory of whatever happened the night before. This amplifies the conviction of the unreliable narrator of the book. However, the alcoholism is not as extreme in the Netflix adaptation. If anything, when she does chug half a bottle of wine early in the season, it serves as a distraction. This is why there’s no room for ambiguity in her thoughts during the finale.

Rachel’s husband and his significance

In Alice Feeney’s novel, Rachel has tied the knot to an old guy for his riches, whom the readers don’t even meet. Detective Priya Patel tells Jack that Rachel’s husband is not a potential suspect since he’s 82 years old and bedridden. But the Netflix version doesn’t make Rachel’s better half so insignificant. Instead, it directly shines the spotlight on her middle-aged, rich husband, Clyde, who tries to misdirect Jack by offering another person of interest.

Anna’s relationships

The Netflix version of His & Hers has Anna making quite the impulsive choices, including sleeping with cameraman Richard Jones, after their first broadcast together. Anna believes she has killed two birds with one stone in this as a revenge against Richard’s wife, Lexy, who she thinks has stolen her job and by hurting Jack as well. However, in the novel, Anna slept with Richard long before the present-day events, and they don’t get intimate again. But the Netflix limited series dials up the tension with a reunion.

Now, coming to Jack, the couple divorced after the tragic death of their baby in the book, and Anna stayed in London while Jack returned to Blackdown. They had no point of contact until the murder, and it’s quite late in the novel that they make amends. However, His & Hers on Netflix shows them confronting, confiding, and then one thing leads to another. When the show ends, they are together and expecting a baby.

Alice and the ending

In the novel, Anna’s mother, Alice, confides in the readers about the crimes, revealing the source of her drive for revenge. According to the book, Alice had discovered a suicide note Anna wrote during her teenage years about what really happened in the woods back in the day. Rachel, Zoe, and Helen tricked Catherine into going to the forest, where she was sexually assaulted. Anna was guilt-stricken for not trying to prevent and intervene, so she left town.

Consequently, Alice saw Rachel, Zoe, and Helen as the main culprits behind her daughter’s estrangement, which led to that murderous streak, making her pin the blame on Catherine. As a result, Anna is not convinced in the book whether Catherine is truly the killer. Instead, for a hot minute, she thinks that there’s a possibility that it could be her. Feeney ultimately leaves viewers with an ambiguous conclusion in the literary edition as Alice wonders whether Anna knows the killer’s true identity.

On the contrary, the Netflix version doesn’t take that road. Alice does discover something in Anna’s room, but it’s a tape with the events of her 16th birthday recorded. The tape, however, shows her own assault, not Catherine’s, triggering the cycle of vengeance by Alice. The finale also reveals that the killer’s identity is clear to Anna, thanks to the letter Alice wrote confessing her crimes.