Book To Screen
Our ‘Happy Place’ Dream Cast: Who Should Play Harriet, Wyn & More in Emily Henry Series
It’s a wonderful time to be an Emily Henry fan. We’re getting Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, and Funny Story movies, and Henry herself is involved in producing a Happy Place limited series for Netflix. The latter is what we are here to talk about today.
As of right now, we don’t know much about the series except that it is being co-produced by Jennifer Lopez‘s Nuyorican production company. Happy Place is Henry’s fourth adult romance novel and the one that deals with her darkest themes to date. The book follows Harriet and Wyn, a broken-up couple forced to pretend they are still together while vacationing with their friends at a home in Maine. The close proximity brings up unresolved feelings, but the two have to decide if they will figure out their issues or come clean about their breakup before their happy place is lost forever.
The book switches back and forth between the current day vacation in Maine and flashbacks to how Harriet met her best friends in college and then, subsequently, how she and Wyn fell in love over multiple summers at the beach house. It tackles depression and loss as these close friends realize that maintaining these adult friendships requires more work than it ever did in college.
Netflix and Henry haven’t announced any cast for the series yet, so we at Swooon thought we would give them a helping hand with who they should add to the roster. See below for who we think would make the perfect cast for the Happy Place series.
Margaret Qualley as Harriet Kilpatrick
Qualley recently told Jimmy Fallon that it’s been a rough year for her family to see her work. Her latest trio of films – Drive-Away Dolls, Kinds of Kindness, and The Substance – are too intense to show the people closest to her. We think that a nice rom-com could break that pattern for her, and why not the Happy Place limited series? The key thing about Harriet’s character is that she needs to able to telegraph a lot of information with her face because she’s otherwise so reserved about her feelings. Qualley’s award-worthy turn in Netflix’s series Maid proved that she has the ability to act without a ton of dialogue. We know that she has the range to play Harriet at her wittiest and most outgoing self, but also has the depth to make Harriet’s low points feel real and palpable.
Brandon Sklenar as Wyndham Connor
If you are one of the few people that haven’t been sucked down the Yellowstone universe rabbit hole and you somehow missed all of the It Ends with Us drama earlier this year, you may have no idea who Sklenar is. That’s fine, we’ll introduce you to the perfect Wyndham Connor. The key thing about Wyn is that he needs to be able to pull off dark blonde hair and look hot both with and without facial hair. That’s Brandon. He’s got a quiet swagger to him and the cowboy skills that he’s picked up on 1923 are going to make him look very comfortable sanding down furniture on a Montana ranch in this series.
Sabina Gadecki as Sabrina Armas
Harriet may be the main character in Happy Place, but Sabrina Armas is the leader of the social clique. She has regal authority and carries a lot of influence within this group of friends, which is why we think Fire Country alum Gadecki would be a great fit. Sabina can definitely pull off a “blonde Jackie O” look while also being able to make Sabrina’s demanding attitude appealing. Yes, she asks a lot of the group, but whoever plays Sabrina also has to help the audience understand why this social circle looks so much to her. Gadecki’s time on Fire Country proves that she can be light and flirty when needed, but she can also hold her own in the super dramatic moments the Happy Place scripts will require from her.
Manish Dayal as Parth Nayak
Sabrina needs her other half who is just as put together, but also a calming force when the drama starts to ratchet up. Dayal, who spent six seasons trying to reign in Matt Czuchry‘s Conrad Hawkins on The Resident, immediately came to mind. He can pull off a suit for those lawyer scenes, but we can also see him throwing on a henley and knocking back beers with Wyn at the cottage. Dayal and Gadecki would also look incredible together when setting up Sabrina and Parth’s wedding on the coast.
Alexandra Shipp as Cleo James
Meet our resident Happy Place artist, Cleo James. Shipp has been making a name for herself with supporting roles in big movies like Barbie, tick, tick…Boom!, and Anyone But You, but it is really time for her to break out. Getting a main role in Happy Place could be the way to do that. Cleo is the hippie of the Harry-Sabrina-Cleo trio who can always be found with her braids in a scrunchie and paint on her overalls. Shipp can definitely pull off the earthy vibe to bring Cleo to life. Just check out this Instagram photo of her hanging out with cows if you don’t believe us.
Holland Roden as Kimmy Carmichael
Happy Place said they needed a ginger with witchy vibes to be the perfect match for Cleo’s earthy artist, so obviously, we thought of Roden. It should actually be a crime that Roden hasn’t found her mainstream appeal since her days as Lydia Martin on Teen Wolf. She was perfect as the most popular girl at school and a secret mathlete with a supernatural connection to death. Let’s throw her in a maxi dress and have her howl at the moon while making heart eyes at Shipp. We can see the Tumblr edits in our heads already, and they are immaculate.
