Sisters, secrets, and a shared past that refuses to stay buried: The Better Sister dropped on Prime Video on May 29, 2025, and it’s every bit the page-to-screen thriller fans of crime drama series live for.
Starring Jessica Biel as Chloe and Elizabeth Banks as Nicky, the eight-episode limited series adapts Alafair Burke’s bestselling novel into a tangled web of betrayal, courtroom tension, and family dysfunction.
The show centers around the murder of Chloe’s husband, Adam (Corey Stoll), who just happens to be Nicky’s ex and the father of Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan), the teen they raised together.
When Adam is found dead in their summer home, the story that develops risks not only destroying reputations but also making Ethan the prime suspect. What follows is a cold-blooded courtroom drama with decades of pain, addiction, and sisterly tension. The show dares you to guess who’s lying!
Let’s break down the book it’s based on, how closely the series follows it, and what to expect from this adaptation.
Is The Better Sister Based on a Book?
Yes, and it’s a horrific one.
Adapted from Alafair Burke’s 2019 book, The Better Sister, about the journey of two estranged sisters caught in the aftermath of a murder. Focusing on Chloe, a career woman who marries her sister’s ex-husband and raises her nephew as her own, the book plays with unreliable narration.
When Adam dies, the boundary between guilt and loyalty fades, particularly when the case against Ethan grows.
In the book, Chloe begins to question everything she thought she knew about Adam’s work, her sister’s past, and even her own power for deception. While the show keeps much of this anxiety, it heightens the procedural aspects, particularly the trial at the heart of the story, and inclines toward a female-driven plot.
As noted in People Magazine, the adaptation leans into the messiness of familial betrayal and public scandal, with Banks and Biel landing the emotional mess.
This Prime Video limited series sees Chloe and Nicky forced to reunite as the death of Adam exposes cracks in every part of their lives.
Biel’s Chloe is a media executive, apparently living the dream until her world collapses. Banks’ Nicky, once ignored as unstable and unreliable, returns during the trial to live with Chloe, as both try to support Ethan and weather the media frenzy. Chloe whispers affirmations to herself as she spirals while Nicky’s past resurfaces in odd headlines.
The show also tackles Adam’s shady dealings at his law firm, with a subplot in the book involving a client named Gentry, and ends with a twist that redefines what the sisters thought they knew.
The Cast & Episodes of The Series
The Better Sister is an eight-episode limited series that premiered with all episodes at once on Prime Video on May 29, 2025.
Alongside Biel and Banks, the cast of The Better Sister includes:
- Corey Stoll as Adam
- Maxwell Acee Donovan as Ethan
- Kim Dickens as Detective Nancy Guidry
- Bobby Naderi as Detective Matt Bowen
- Gloria Reuben as Michelle Sanders
- Matthew Modine as Bill Braddock
- Gabriel Sloyer, Lorraine Toussaint, and Michael Harney round out the ensemble.
