You may have heard of the best-selling romance author, Emily Henry. Her books are easy to spot in bookstores around the world, thanks to their bright colors and big, bold titles. Currently, 5 of her 6 “rom-com” books are set for TV or movie adaptations! The first movie is set to be released in January 2026: People We Meet on Vacation.
People We Meet on Vacation (aka PWMOV) has a stacked cast, and my hopes are high. Emily Bader, of My Lady Jane fame, will be starring as Poppy. Tom Blyth, aka young Snow in Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is starring as Alex. The movie is being produced by Netflix and written by Yulin Kuang. Kuang recently wrote Goodreads’ 2024 Reader Favorites Debut Novel, How to End a Love Story. I read the novel earlier this year, and I find her humor to complement Emily Henry’s wit and jokes very well. Henry and Kuang also sat together for Hello Sunshine’s new book-themed podcast, “Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club”. The pair seems to play off each other very well, and this is all very promising to witness as a huge Emily Henry fan. Kuang is also set to write/direct the Beach Read adaptation.
I am very interested to see where they will take this screenplay. I trust Kuang to keep the style of writing and relationship growth that makes Henry such a beloved author. These are romance stories with the perfect mix of comedy and emotional growth.
If you don’t know the plot of PWMOV, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Poppy is a travel writer, and has been best friends with Alex since college. And for the past decade, they have taken a summer trip together every year. That is, until two years ago, when their friendship blew up and they haven’t spoken since. Poppy decides she must convince Alex to take one last trip with her to make everything right again, and now they have one week to rekindle their decade-long friendship. What could possibly go wrong?
The novel features time jumps, flipping from “present day,” where Poppy and Alex’s relationship is very strained, and they are on a very awkward trip together in hopes of becoming BFFs again. We also look back at the 10 trips they took before that. The reader gets to see their relationship bloom while also watching it all fall apart (in hopes that by the end, it can all be pieced back together).
My excitement for this film started in the summer of 2024. Almost all of Henry’s adaptations were announced to be in the works: Beach Read, Book Lovers, Happy Place, and Funny Story. The adaptations are being handled by different production companies. And it was starting to seem that PWMOV would be the first to be released. Soon, it was announced that Bader and Blyth had been cast in leading roles. This was huge news! (As of September 2025, none of the other projects have announced casting). Bader and Blyth are two huge up-and-coming stars. Tom Blyth’s performance of Coriolanus Snow earned him the title of “the internet’s boyfriend”. My Lady Jane had just come out on Prime Video and became a BookTok sensation. Jamella Jamil (known for The Good Place), Sarah Catherine Hook (Season 3 of The White Lotus), and Alan Ruck (Succession and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) are also tied to the project.
Set and location began to be posted in late summer and early fall of 2024. Two main photos were going around the internet. Tom and Emily are posing on a beach, an homage to the cover of the novel. This later turned out to be the official film poster’s photoshoot.
Next, videos of the couple walking through New Orleans, one of the trips Alex and Poppy take, began to circulate. Around the same time, Emiy Henry is also hanging out with the cast, posting on Instagram and sharing photos and IG stories. (Her involvement is very promising to see as a fan.) An early screening of the movie occurred in early March, mostly to good reviews!
By September 2nd, 2025, we had the official first look with promo photos posted by Harper’s Bazaar. Then, it was officially announced that the movie would be coming to Netflix on January 9th, 2026.
I cannot wait for this film! I believe the success of PWMOV will directly influence the other adaptations, and if it is a big hit, it will benefit these productions immensely. I am very interested to see how this adaptation will do and if it can live up to the hype it has garnered!