MEET THE NEWMANS
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Niven, a novel about America’s favorite TV family, whose perfect façade cracks, for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
“I loved Meet the Newmans!” —Judy Blume, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Warm, witty, and wise.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author
For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favorite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless,
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Niven, a novel about America’s favorite TV family, whose perfect façade cracks, for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
“I loved Meet the Newmans!” —Judy Blume, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Warm, witty, and wise.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author
For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favorite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves. But now it’s 1964, and the Newmans’ idealized apple-pie perfection suddenly feels woefully out of touch. Ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans themselves. Del is keeping an explosive secret from his wife, and Dinah is slowly going numb—literally. Steady, stable Guy is hiding the truth about his love life, and the charmed luck of rock ‘n roll idol Shep may have finally run out.
When Del—the creative motor behind the show—is in a mysterious car accident, Dinah decides to take matters into her own hands. She hires Juliet Dunne, an outspoken, impassioned young reporter, to help her write the final episode. But Dinah and Juliet have wildly different perspectives about what it means to be a woman, and a family, in 1964. Can the Newmans hold it together to change television history? Or will they be canceled before they ever have the chance?
Funny, big-hearted, and deeply moving, Meet the Newmans is a rich family story about the dual lives we lead. Because even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.
- Flatiron Books
- Hardcover
- January 2026
- 400 Pages
- 9781250372444
Buy the Book
$29.99
About Jennifer Niven
Jennifer Niven is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of thirteen books, fiction and nonfiction, including the massive breakout All the Bright Places, which she also adapted for film. Her award-winning books have been translated into more than seventy-five languages and have sold upward of 3.5 million copies worldwide. Jennifer has loved television and film her whole life and has been lucky enough to develop projects with Netflix, Sony, ABC and Warner Bros. She divides her time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles with her husband and literary cats.
Praise
“A love letter to TV and its history.” —People
“A delightful, moving, and compelling tale that will resonate in these changing times.” —Booklist
“I loved Meet the Newmans! The characters jump off the page. I appreciated the subtle feminist twist and the humor. Jennifer is always good but this is one of her best.” —Judy Blume, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Tapping into a keen sense of family fault lines, Jennifer Niven gives us the Newmans—a seemingly perfect television family who, once the cameras stop rolling, are barely holding it together in a rapidly changing world. Warm, witty, and wise, this is a novel about reclaiming the narrative when the cost of pretending becomes too high to bear.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
“Wonderful in every way, Meet the Newmans held me spellbound from the first page. Wildly addictive, thought-provoking and funny, and with a stellar cast I fell in love with on the spot. I adored it.” —Rosie Welsh, New York Times bestselling author of Ghosted