The Netflix adaptation of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation dropped on January 9, but the real scene-stealer is how the author and director first locked eyes-on a Barcelona nude beach.
> At a Glance
> – Emily Henry met director Brett Haley for the first time on a nude beach during a Barcelona set visit
> – The friends-to-lovers rom-com, led by Emily Bader and Tom Blyth, premiered on Netflix January 9
> – Henry calls Bader and Blyth “phenomenal talents” and praises their on-screen chemistry
> – Why it matters: Fans finally see Henry’s bestselling 2021 novel come to life with a production story as quirky as her fiction
Emily Henry and Brett Haley had texted for years while developing the film, yet their first in-person hello unfolded amid sunbathers in the buff-an anecdote straight out of a Henry rom-com.
The Beach Encounter
Henry recalls arriving jet-lagged in Barcelona:
> “They drive me straight to the beach where they’re shooting… I walk out onto the sand and the loungers are set up for Tom and Emily to come do the scene that’s recreating the book cover. And 15 feet on either side of that shot… there’s a lot of naked men because it is a nude beach.”
Haley adds pressure-cooker context:
> “It was one of the most pressurized directing moments of my life, surrounded by naked people.”
Cast Praise
Henry gushes over the leads:
- Bader’s tears make her “want to weep”
- Blyth nails “the straight man in the funniest way”
- Both actors “brought a lot of themselves to it and were super brave”
Key Takeaways
- January 9 Netflix debut brings Henry’s page-to-screen dream alive
- The Barcelona nude-beach meet-cute now rivals any chapter she’s written
- Henry’s fandom can expect faithful, heartfelt adaptation
- More Henry novels are in various film-development stages
If the premiere buzz is any clue, People We Meet on Vacation is set to become the season’s most-streamed winter warmer.
