Netflix Casts Daisy Jelley and Connor Simos to Lead Icebreaker
Netflix has found the leads for Icebreaker.
Daisy Jelley will play Anastasia "Stassie" Allen and Connor Simos will play Nate Hawkins in the streamer's series version of Hannah Grace's romance novel, Variety reported exclusively on 28 September. An exclusive means the outlet was first to publish the casting. Netflix first announced the Icebreaker series in June, without naming its stars.
A series adaptation tells the story across multiple episodes rather than in a single film. Icebreaker is the first of three novels in Grace's Maple Hills series. The books are set at the fictional University of California, Maple Hills.
The first book was originally published in 2022 before a wide release in 2023. It then spent 70 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It has sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide.
Jelley is already familiar to Netflix viewers. She previously appeared in the streamer's series Geek Girl. Her other credits include the feature film How to Have Sex. She will also star in Poser, an upcoming Netflix original series that has not yet been released.
Simos is new to television. Icebreaker will be his first credited TV role, meaning it is his first listed acting job on a television series. He has film work in the pipeline. He will next be seen in Subversion, a thriller film starring Chris Hemsworth and Lily James.
The series has its senior creative team in place. Jade Halley Bartlett is credited as creator, meaning she developed the book for television, and will write and executive produce. Amanda Lasher will serve as showrunner, meaning she runs the series day to day, and will also write and executive produce.
An executive producer oversees creative and business decisions on a series. Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan and Mina Lefevre will executive produce Icebreaker through Unwell Productions. Author Hannah Grace will also executive produce, keeping the writer of the novels inside the television production.
For fans, this means the central pair is now set. One lead arrives with recent Netflix credits. The other starts his television career with a large existing readership behind the title.
