Icebreaker cast announced as steamy sports romance book gets a Netflix adaptation

Another day, and another one of BookTok’s favourite page-turners has got a TV adaptation.

Books are seriously taking over streaming at the moment, from Off Campus to The Love Hypothesis; Gen Z, myself included, simply cannot get enough.

Following in their footsteps, it was announced on Monday (28 September) that Hannah Grace’s viral hockey romance novel, Icebreaker, is the latest novel to be transformed for TV, and is officially coming to Netflix.

The cast has also been announced, with Daisy Jelley and Connor Simos stepping into the shoes of fan-favorite characters Anastasia ‘Stassie’ Allen and Nate Hawkins.

For anyone who’s unfamiliar, in the book, Stassie is a competitive figure skater with her eyes on Olympic gold, however, everything changes when she’s forced to share the rink with Nate, a hockey player who’s equally determined to go pro.

The show’s description reads: “Despite the cold temperatures on the ice, the heat between Stassie and Nate is undeniable. But is ambition or attraction the sharper blade?”

Jelley is best known for playing Poppy Hepple-Cartwright in the Netflix series Geek Girl and Amber in the Amazon Prime film How to Date Billy Walsh, while Simos is a newcomer, with Icebreaker set to mark his first official TV role.

He’s also due to appear in the upcoming Chris Hemsworth movie, Subversion, which doesn’t have a release date yet.

Icebreaker spent 70 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, surpassing nearly 5 million copies sold worldwide.

While there’s no release date or further cast announcements as of yet, Netflix has sent fans wild by sharing a sneak peek of the duo in character on a FaceTime call - and the internet is already obsessed.

One X user wrote: “The book girlies have been waiting for this and honestly? That smolder in his eyes is exactly the Nate Hawkins I pictured while reading.”

While a second quipped: “The chemistry is already giving, Stassie and Nate are about to have us hooked!”

A third wrote: “I didn’t even like Icebreaker like this, but I’m so seated if that’s the lead cast.”

While a fourth and fifth added: “they casted anastasia soooooo well ngl” and “THATS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. YOU FINALLY LOCKED IN W THIS CASTING.”

A sixth gushed: “Can't wait to see how this adaptation turns out, the casting looks perfect.”

Amanda Lasher, who worked on Gossip Girl, is the series’ showrunner, writer, and executive producer.

She told Netflix’s Tudum: “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.”

While Jade Bartlett, the drama’s creator and EP, told the outlet: “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.”

I don’t know about you, but we cannot wait for this one!