Even though summer is beginning to wind down, Netflix is serving up one last dose of sunshine by dropping the first look at its new sun-drenched rom-com, "People We Meet on Vacation."
Based on Emily Henry’s novel of the same name, this upcoming romance flick follows two best friends, Alex and Poppy, reuniting for one last vacation after a two-year freeze in their dynamic. As they revisit years of summers and silences, their bond slowly reveals itself as something far deeper than friendship.
Playing the lovers are Tom Blyth (known for the “Hunger Games” prequel) and Emily Bader, and judging by the first-look photos, there seems to be plenty of unresolved tension between them. Director Brett Haley told Tudum: "This is a movie that doesn’t just tell a love story. It makes you feel like you’ve gone on vacation right alongside Poppy and Alex."
"People We Meet on Vacation" arrives on Netflix on January 9, 2026, and though we’ll be well into winter by then, it already sounds like the perfect sun-soaked escape to warm you up. In the meantime, here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming adaptation.
‘People We Meet on Vacation’ on Netflix — here’s what we know
Along with the release date and first look-images, we also have an official synopsis: "Free-spirited Poppy (Bader) and routine-loving Alex (Blyth) have been unlikely best friends for a decade, living in different cities but spending every summer vacation together.
"The careful balance of their friendship is put to the test when they begin to question what has been obvious to everyone else — could they actually be the perfect romantic match?"
Bader shared with Tudum that what she loves most about the movie and Henry’s book is that, at its core, it’s "quite a simple slice-of-life story about two people just being able to love themselves and therefore love each other."
Rounding out the cast alongside Bader and Blyth are Sarah Catherine Hook, Jameela Jamil, Lucien Laviscount, and Lukas Gage.
Released in 2021, "People We Meet on Vacation" shot straight to No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list and has sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., cementing it as Emily Henry’s best-selling novel to date. The movie adaptation marks the first time one of her books has been brought to the big screen.
Viewers can expect more than a typical love story with Alex and Poppy. Their connection develops over nearly ten years of friendship, summer trips, and life milestones.
Haley describes this kind of romance as both rare and timeless: "My hope is that fans of the book see the care we put into bringing Poppy and Alex to life on screen, and that new audiences fall for them just as deeply."
There’s no full trailer yet (it will likely be released closer to the end of the year) but a short teaser dropped at the beginning of July, giving us the first chance to hear Bader and Blyth’s voices as Poppy and Alex in the date announcement video.
Haley said: "We used to joke that this is the James Bond of rom-coms when it comes to locations. We brought a lot of the vacations from the book to life and focused on the ones that felt most important to the story."
"People We Meet on Vacation" is confirmed to move from the lively streets of New Orleans to a sun-drenched destination wedding in Barcelona. Romance movies set in beautiful locations around the world almost feel like a fun, travel vlog you get to watch from the comfort of your couch. And that’s exactly what I’ll be doing when this rom-com hits Netflix on January 9.
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