Picture: Netflix
Happiness for Beginners, a new Netflix feature film starring The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star, Ellie Kemper, is coming to Netflix in July 2023. Here’s everything we know so far about Happiness for Beginners on Netflix.
Happiness for Beginners is an upcoming Netflix rom-com directed, written, and produced by Vicky Wright and based on the novel by Katherine Center. Center is also behind novels such as Things You Save in a Fire, How to Walk Away, and What You Wish For.
Cranetown Media is reportedly involved in the project and has worked on projects with Netflix such as the 2020 movie Uncorked and Alexa & Katie.
Book cover for Happiness for Beginners
When is Happiness for Beginners coming to Netflix?
We first learned in January 2023 that the new movie would be coming to Netflix in the Summer of 2023, as it was included among the 2023 roster of upcoming movies.
Then, in April 2023, we learned that Happiness For Beginners would drop globally on Netflix on July 27th, 2023.
HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS (2023)
(L to R) Blythe Danner as Gigi, Aaron Weiner as Mike, Ellie Kemper as Helen and Alexander Koch as Duncan
CR: Barbara Nitke/NETFLIX
HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS (2023)
(L to R) Esteban Benito as Mason, Ellie Kemper as Helen, Gus Birney as Kaylee and Julia Shiplett as Sue
CR: Barbara Nitke/NETFLIX
HAPPINESS FOR BEGINNERS (2023)
(L to R) Ben Cook as Beckett, Nico Santos as Hugh, Ellie Kemper as Helen, Luke Grimes as Jake and Shayvawn Webster as Windy
CR: Barbara Nitke/NETFLIX
What is the plot of Happiness for Beginners?
Here’s how the story is described:
“A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It’s supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother’s even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can’t imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster.”
Who are the cast members of Happiness for Beginners?
Ellie Kemper is expected to play the lead role in the drama Helen Carpenter.
This is not Ellie Kemper’s first big Netflix Original project. Kemper starred in one of Netflix’s first real forays into the world of comedy series with the acquired show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The show eventually ran for four seasons ending in January 2019 and saw an interactive special added on Netflix in the summer of 2020.
Beyond Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kemper is perhaps best known for her role as Erin Hannon on NBC’s The Office (which departed Netflix in the US in January 2021 while be added to Netflix internationally) and a slew of movie roles including Bridesmaids, Sex Tape, and 21 Jump Street.
Ellie Kemper in The Office (left) and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (right)
Luke Grimes will play the role of Jake. The Fifty Shades of Grey star previously starred in the Netflix film El Camino Christmas but is most well known for starring in the popular western-drama Yellowstone as Kayce Dutton.
Luke Grimes in Yellowstone (left) and True Blood (right)
Nico Santos will play the role of Hugh. Santos has starred in only one Netflix film, previously lending his voice to the role of Buckley in Wish Dragon. Outside of Netflix he is most well known for his role as Mateo in the American sitcom Superstore, and as Oliver T’sien in the comedy Crazy Rich Asians.
The rest of the cast is as follows:
- Gus Birney as Hugh (I’m Thinking of Ending Things)
- Ben Cook as Beckett (Paterno)
- Alexander Koch (Under the Dome)
- Mary Neely (Valley Girl)
- Esteban Benito as Mason (Isn’t It Romantic)
- Shayvawn Webster (Law & Order)
- Aaron Roman Weiner as Mike (The American)
- Julia Shiplett as Sue (Turn Me On)
- Aj Matthew as Wedding Guest (That Damn Michael Che)
- Jaylen Hobody as Camp Counselor (The Noel Diary)
When and where was Happiness for Beginners filmed?
Filming took place between September 2021 and November 2021 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Are you excited about Netflix’s adaptation of Happiness For Beginners? Let us know in the comments down below.
Netflix Synopsis: "At a crossroads after her divorce, a schoolteacher ventures toward a fresh start in life -- and love -- when she signs up for a grueling group hiking trip."
