Emily Henry’s books never seem to miss, and now, some of her bestsellers are being adapted for live-action movies and one TV series. Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, and Book Lovers are being adapted into film in the coming future, while Happy Place was recently picked up by Jennifer Lopez and her production company, Nuyorican, to create a Netflix TV series. Henry is also the author of When the Sky Fell on Splendor and A Million Junes, her most recent novel, Funny Story, was released in April of this year.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Happy Place was released in 2023 and tells the story of Harriet and Wyn, college sweethearts who were described as having the perfect relationship and complimenting each other well until they did not, and they do not talk about it. After meeting in college and becoming roommates and best friends, they formed a connection strong enough to date, even getting engaged later.
The relationship took a turn, leaving Harriet and Wyn heartbroken and unable to tell their best friends. Five months later, they have not told anyone, so when they take a summer trip with their best friends, they share a bed and pretend to still be madly in love. It is all like a friend-to-lovers-to-strangers-to-fake dating-to-lovers. Can they keep the charade up for their friends, or will it all come tumbling down as old feelings resurface?
Happy Place is a sweet and genuine love story about growing up and the changes that come with growth. It is about finding yourself and rediscovering your passions and interests while finding what makes you happy. It speaks volumes on adult life and the challenges of making a relationship work for both parties by making each other happy and also individual happiness.
Nuyorican Productions and Jennifer Lopez
On June 25, Jennifer Lopez took to Instagram to announce her production company, Nuyorican, was joining forces with Netflix for the series adaptation of the young adult novel Happy Place. Henry also shared a post via Instagram over the excitement of this news and assured fans and readers that it will be a great production featuring a cast of actors in their late 20s or early 30s to be true to the book, but casting has not started for the production yet.
Nuyorican Productions is run by Lopez and her partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. They were offered a multi-year first deal in June 2021 with Netflix to create films and television series, both scripted and unscripted. Along with Lopez and Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina was also brought on to focus on projects with diverse female actors, writers, and filmmakers. Recently, Lopez had her third project under this deal released on Netflix in May, Atlas. Another popular film brought on by this deal was The Mother.
Natalie Haack Flores is the VP of Development at Nuyorican Productions and is responsible for bringing this project to the producers which are Lopez, Goldsmith-Thomas, and Medina. Producers are currently meeting with writers for the Happy Place series.
Henry will be involved in the project, assuring fans of the book that the series will not be featured as a YA because “Hollywood just doesn’t understand what that term means. Don’t worry, it’ll be late 20s to early 30s. I’m very lucky Nuyorican wants me involved (a lot of production companies don’t like having the authors included) so I’m going to do my best and fight my hardest to make it something you will all love,” she wrote.
It is unsure what and how much will be changed from the book to the series, but fans are excited to see this development along with Henry’s other upcoming adaptations.
Check out more articles about Emily Henry’s upcoming projects on Bookstr.
To find more books being turned into movies, check out Bookstr’s Book to Screen Adaptations for Your Viewing and Reading Pleasure book list on bookshop.org.
