Justin Hartley’s first big project released post-This Is Us will be Netflix’s The Noel Diary, a drama set around the holidays and based on the novel by Richard Paul Evans. Today, Netflix released the first photo featuring Justin Hartley and a canine co-star. The streaming service also announced they’ve set a November 24, 2022 premiere date.
Director Charles Shyer adapted the novel with Rebecca Connor and David Golden.
“I wanted to adapt this novel for a few different reasons. The story of The Noel Diary felt to me like one that could comfortably embrace humor and humanity – while at the same time offer great visual and directorial possibilities. A movie that, as Billy Wilder once said, ‘Could make ’em laugh and make ’em cry.’ I chose to cast Justin Hartley from his work on This Is Us. I just knew that, given his remarkable range, Justin could knock this one out of the park,” explained writer/director Charles Shyer (1991’s Father of the Bride, The Affair of the Necklace).
Hartley’s also an executive producer on the project along with Norman Stephens and Andrew Gernhard. Timothy O. Johnson, Stephanie Slack, and Margret H. Huddleston serve as producers.
In addition to Hartley, The Noel Diary cast includes Barrett Doss, Essence Atkins, Bonnie Bedelia, and James Remar.
The Noel Diary was published in 2017 and is the first of four books in Richard Paul Evans’ The Noel Collection. Netflix released this synopsis of the 2022 film adaptation:
“When best-selling author Jake Turner (Hartley) returns home at Christmas to settle his estranged mother’s estate, he discovers a diary that may hold secrets to his own past and that of Rachel (Doss) – an intriguing young woman on a mission of her own. Together, they embark on a journey to confront their pasts and discover a future that’s totally unexpected.”
