Netflix's New Bestselling Adaptation Officially Sets Major Vampire Diaries Reunion

Published Nov 15, 2026, 8:40 AM EST

Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 10 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with.

Netflix is hosting a major Vampire Diaries reunion.

The Vampire Diaries began as a book series written by L.J. Smith and was later adapted into a major supernatural series for The CW by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. The series ran for eight seasons and included two spinoff series titled The Originals and Legacies. The Vampire Diaries achieved major success across its run and has since become a huge phenomenon, thanks to finding new life on streaming, constantly returning as a top 10 series on the charts.

Now, the beloved supernatural series is getting a big reunion on Netflix. Paul Wesley, known for portraying Stefan Salvatore, and Sara Canning, known for portraying Jenna Sommers, will be reuniting for Netflix's new adaptation of the bestselling novel Icebreaker. Wesley has joined the cast as Coach Faulkner, with Canning on board as Coach Brady. The rest of the cast includes Daisy Jelley, Connor Simos, Gabriel Tierney, Auli'i Cravalho, Peter Berry, Chaneil Kular, Devin Craig, and Aidan Shaw.

Icebreaker is a viral sports romance novel written by British author Hannah Grace, which began as a self-published series on Wattpad before becoming a New York Times bestseller. Due to its success, Grace has launched the Maple Hills series, and the novels are heading to Netflix for a major adaptation. The plot follows Anastasia Allen (played by Jelley), a fiercely driven, competitive figure skater aiming for Team USA, and Nathan Hawkins (played by Simos), the easygoing captain of the college hockey team. When a mishap forces both teams to share a single ice rink, their worlds collide.

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Gossip Girl's Amanda Lasher is the series' showrunner and writer, and shared her thoughts on the upcoming adaptation: "I have been a fan of steamy YA since the seventh grade, reading Judy Blume stealthily hidden behind a textbook. I love this genre, and it’s been a joy working with Jade, the team at Unwell, and Netflix to bring Hannah Grace’s beloved Icebreaker novel to the screen." Icebreaker's adaptation creator, Jade Halley Bartlett (known for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) stated:

"It’s been such a joy to play in Hannah Grace’s world of Icebreaker, a story filled with ambitious, talented, and undeniably sexy characters. But the real special sauce is that, above all, they are good, deeply compassionate people … and we cannot get enough of them. Hannah has created the kind of world you want to live in, and Amanda and I are having an absolute romp, with our incredible teams at Unwell and Netflix, bringing this cherished story to the screen."

The rise of adapting bestselling YA romances has become a major trend, especially with sports involved. Crave's adaptation of Heated Rivalry, which also landed on HBO Max, took the world by storm and is returning for multiple seasons and even a movie with special theatrical releases of season 1 being released worldwide. Netflix's decision to adapt Icebreaker is no surprise given its popularity and how viral the novel series has become.

At the time of writing, Netflix has yet to announce an official release date for Icebreaker, but filming is already underway and is expected to arrive on the streaming giant in late 2027.

Cast

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  Daisy Jelley

  Anastasia "Stassie" Allen

• Connor Simos

  Nate Hawkins

• Gabriel Tierney

  Aaron

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  Auli'i Cravalho

  Lola