The First People We Meet on Vacation Movie Set Teaser Already Has Our Hearts Racing

Author Emily Henry has become synonymous with contemporary summer romances. Since her adult debut, Beach Read, Henry has released a new contemporary romance every year. Not that I’m counting (I totally am). Several of her incredibly popular romance novels have been optioned, but all signs point to People We Meet on Vacation being the first out of the gate. And now, we have a better idea of what the movie version of the friends-to-lovers romance is going to look like.

The movie adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation (PWMOV) was announced back in 2022. Since then, we’ve had casting announcements and even the first teaser from Netflix to get us excited. Plus, Henry went on the new Reese’s Book Club podcast to talk about transforming her novel into a movie. But we haven’t seen our Poppy and Alex in true force… until now. New on-set photos from the PWMOV adaptation have arrived, and the book community has thoughts.

People We Meet on Vacation Photos Bring The Summer Romance Vibes

I’m going to put it all out there before we dig into my and the broader book community’s thoughts on these images. PWMOV is my favorite Emily Henry novel. As a friends-to-lovers addict, I couldn’t not fall in love with Poppy and Alex’s story. So, the fact that it’s the first screen adaptation of Emily Henry’s work has me nervous. Can they capture the slow-burning goodness that makes friends-to-lovers my favorite trope?

It’s hard to say from images alone, but the consensus seems to be that things are looking good. Recently, Deadline shared a series of images, focused on our leads Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) and Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth). And even in the stills, you can feel the essence of the characters.

Given that not every book-to-screen adaptation manages to capture the heart of the story, the fact that I can immediately recognize Poppy from her laugh or her slightly high-maintenance airport attire is excellent news.

And then, there’s my favorite image. One of Poppy falling asleep on Alex’s shoulder on the plane. If that doesn’t scream slow burn, I don’t know what does. I mean, look at his face. It makes me want to go reread People We Meet on Vacation right now. And not just because that’s basically my resting state, either.

Of course, pictures don’t tell us everything. The adaptation still needs to capture the essence of the story while translating it to the screen. But first signs point to a solid adaptation, and I’m feeling more hopeful after seeing these stills. I still have questions about why a movie that is so very summer coded is setting its sights on a January release date, but I suppose I’ll chalk it up to a cute nod to one of Emily Henry’s other characters.

The Netflix adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation will begin streaming on January 9th, 2026. So if you’re planning to need me that day, maybe don’t.

Looking for more bookish goodness? Check out our monthly most anticipated book release roundup. No new Emily Henry in September, but don’t worry, there’s a ton of great contemporary romance coming up.

About the Author

Amanda Kay Oaks

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Amanda Kay Oaks is a writer, book witch, and video game enthusiast based in Latrobe, PA. She writes about books, games, and more from an office packed with crystals and Pokemon plushies. When not engrossed in work or fictional worlds, Amanda can be found in the kitchen, on her yoga mat, or walking her dog, Azula.

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