The Husbands: Kristen Wiig stars in thriller compared to The Stepford Wives

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Author Chandler Baker's thriller novel The Husbands won't be reaching shelves until August 3rd (you can pre-order a copy HERE), but a film adaptation is already in the works. MGM has landed the rights and the project has Kristen Wiig attached to star, with the folks at Plan B Entertainment producing. Plan B is owned by Brad Pitt, with Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner serving as co-presidents.

Baker will be handling the adaptation herself, making this her screenwriting debut. She will also be executive producer on the film.

The Husbands centers on 

an overworked mother who, while house-hunting in a nice suburban neighborhood, meets a group of high-powered women with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to take on a legal case involving the untimely death of one resident’s husband, she risks exposing not only the secrets at the heart of her own marriage, but the true secret to having it all, one worth killing for.

Here's the description of Baker's novel: 

Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too… but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?

When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women?a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author?with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren’t hanging on by a thread.

But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for. 

The story has been compared to The Stepford Wives, but with the genders swapped. A reviewer at Crime Reads called the book "a delightful and furious take on Stepford Wives".