Talk about worlds colliding! As a romance girlie, I’m always obsessing over the best rom-coms, impatiently waiting for new seasons of Bridgerton, reading romance novels, or grabbing onto any piece of news that I can regarding the book-to-screen adaptations of Emily Henry's novels. Well, now we’ve gotten a lot of exciting news that kind of revolves around all of these things! The adaptation of Emily Henry’s Happy Place, which is being produced by rom-com darling Jennifer Lopez, has hired some serious Bridgerton talent to write and showrun, and it’s rendered me speechless.
Leila Cohan worked on Bridgerton's first season as a co-executive producer and writer, and in 2021, she and the team at the Netflix romance received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. That’s a massive accomplishment, and as the wait for Bridgerton Season 4 begins, it’s impossible not to reflect on the cultural phenomenon the show has grown into. So, landing Cohan as the showrunner and co-writer, which Deadline reported, for this upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of Emily Henry’s beloved book is a big, big deal.
Along with Bridgerton, Cohan has produced episodes of Santa Clarita Diet, The First Wives Club and Awkward. So her range speaks for itself.
For some context, Happy Place is a second-chance romance about Harriet and Wyn. The two were together for a long time before breaking up, however, the catch is they haven’t told their friends that they aren’t together. So, the book follows them on a trip with their pals, and they pretend to be a couple. So, it’s a messy story about love, loss and friendship, and it sounds perfect for a TV show! Mix in some Bridgerton flair, and it becomes even better!
Adding to the fun of this update, Jennifer Lopez will be producing the series.
JLo will be producing the show through Nuyorican with Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina. Along with the singer/actress producing a lot of her own movies – like Hustlers, Marry Me, Shotgun Wedding and Atlas – she’s also been part of some successful TV shows. She was the star and an executive producer on Shades of Blue, which ran from 2016 to 2018. The Fosters and Good Trouble were also two popular and long-running shows on Freeform that she was an EP on.
So, all around, I think we’re in good hands.
As a massive Emily Henry fan, I’ve been chomping at the bit for updates about the adaptations of her books. Currently, all five of her novels have movies -- and in Happy Place’s case a show -- in development. For Funny Story, we know Henry herself will pen the film. We know Book Lovers and Beach Read are also getting movies. Plus, People We Meet On Vacation took a big step forward by casting Emily Bader and Tom Blyth as the leads.
Notably, Happy Place is the only one of Henry’s books that’s getting the TV treatment, which is fascinating. However, I can’t wait to see it! This team sounds like a perfect fit, and Netflix is a great home for it, considering the success of romances like Bridgerton and One Day.
As of right now, we don’t know when Happy Place will come out or who will play Harriet and Wyn. However, this latest news about Leila Cohan joining the team with Jennifer Lopez is a massive, exciting step forward!
When we learn more about Happy Place, we’ll be sure to keep you posted, because you better believe that every update will be exciting! In the meantime, you can go back and get to know Cohan’s work by streaming the first season of Bridgerton (as well as the other two installments) with a Netflix subscription.
