EXCLUSIVE: Leighton Meester (Good Cop/Bad Cop) and Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) are set to lead a Netflix holiday rom-com based on The Bodyguard, the bestselling novel by Katherine Center.
Others in the cast include Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day), country star Walker Hayes, Noah LaLonde (My Life with the Walter Boys), and Toby Sandeman (Running Point).
In the novel, published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2022, a no-nonsense bodyguard is assigned to protect a charming action star over the holidays, leading sparks to fly and secrets to unravel, with Christmas getting a whole lot more complicated.
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Aquamarine) is directing from a script by Erin Cardillo & Richard Keith (Isn’t It Romantic, Virgin River). Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo are producing for Little Engine Productions, alongside Jared & Genevieve Padalecki for Living in the Asterisk.
Interestingly, fans of The Bodyguard will have a hand in titling the new Netflix movie — keep an eye on the Instagram pages of Meester, Padalecki and Center to find out more.
In a statement to Deadline, director Rosenbaum said, “I began paying close attention to BookTok culture around the success of my last Netflix Film, Purple Hearts. The overwhelming enthusiasm on social media and with readers for Katherine Center’s novel was a major factor in my decision to come on board as director.”
Rosenbaum continued: “It’s been amazing to work closely with Katherine so far, and to see her so excited about moving her witty story about a no-nonsense bodyguard to an A-list actor into the holiday season. It makes the most gorgeous backdrop for the sparks that fly between them to be even brighter at that time of year. Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki are perfect as our leads, and I know audiences are going to love seeing them on screen together.”
Known for roles on shows like Gossip Girl, Single Parents and The CW’s Good Cop/Bad Cop, Meester’s recent film credits include EXmas and a reimagining of the thriller River Wild. She can currently be seen in Rachel Sennott’s HBO series I Love LA, as well as the second season of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, and signed on last month to the Chelsea Devantez comedy Basic, as we were first to report. She is repped by UTA.
Known for starring roles on shows like Supernatural and Walker, Padalecki recently reunited with Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles via a role in the fifth and final season of Amazon’s The Boys, which is still forthcoming. He is repped by UTA and Fuller Law.
In film, Rosenbaum is known for directing Netflix’s YA hit Purple Hearts, Disney+’s Sneakerella, and Aquamarine starring Emma Roberts. Also known for directing on myriad TV shows — Ginny & Georgia, Found, and Dead to Me, most recently — she is repped by WME and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.
Center is best known for the novels Happiness for Beginners and The Lost Husband, which were adapted for film by Netflix and Quiver/Redbox, respectively.
MacDowell is repped by Gersh and RMS Productions; Hayes by WME; LaLonde by Paradigm, Atlas Artists, Strong Management, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Sandeman by Gersh and Authentic; Cardillo by CAA and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; and Keith by CAA and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols.
