Netflix is beginning production on a new WattPad romance adaptation in My Life With the Walter Boys, a coming-of-age series centering on a young city woman moving to rural Colorado to live with her guardian. The series is based on the story of the same name by novelist Ali Novak, which has garnered over 80 million reads since it was first published in 2014. With work underway on the show, Netflix also unveiled the entirety of the cast that'll bring the small-town love story to life.
Taking on the lead role in the series is Nikki Rodriguez of On My Block fame, as 15-year-old Manhattanite Jackie Howard, a well-to-do AP student at an all-girls private school with a taste for the fine arts and a bright future ahead that runs through Princeton. She sees herself as a sophisticated New Yorker who avoids the typical partying and dating teenagers do in favor of getting on the fast track to success, but all of that comes crashing down when her parents and sister are killed in an accident. She moves in with her mother's friend Katherine Walter (Sarah Rafferty), a veterinarian with ten kids, nine of them boys, who tries her best along with her gruff rancher husband George (Marc Blucas) to attend to Jackie's needs and make her feel welcome.
Of the nine boys in the Walter household, two take a liking to Jackie. Noah LaLonde stars as Cole, one of the Walter brothers who fits the jock stereotype with good looks, athletic ability, and general popularity with everyone he's around. His life gets derailed though, after a skiing injury costs him his shot as captain of the football team and an athletic scholarship. He also has an on-again-off-again relationship with a girl named Erin, but when Jackie arrives, he rethinks the idea of a committed relationship. On the flip side, Ashby Gentry plays his brother Alex, who's more interested in fantasy, novels, Star Wars, and gaming and is more gentle, kind, and emotional. He dreams big though, and his life on the ranch has made him a talented equestrian. He's also mending a broken heart but attempts to woo Jackie with his subtle gentlemanly gestures.
Rounding out the main cast is Connor Stanhope as Cole's fraternal twin Danny, Johnny Link as the oldest Walter brother Will, Zoë Soul as Will's fiancé Haley Young, Corey Fogelmanis as the musically-talented Walter brother Nathan, and Jaylan Evans as Skyler Summerhill, a fast friend of Jackie's she met through their mutual friend Grace. Recurring characters include Dean Petriw as Jordan Walter, Lennix James as Benny Walter, Alix West Lefler as Parker Walter, Alisha Newton as Erin, Ashley Tavares as Tara, Moheb Jindran as Nikhil, Ellie O’Brien as Grace, Mya Lowe as Kiley, and Gabrielle Jacinto as Olivia.
My Life With the Walter Boys will unfold across ten episodes with Melanie Halsall taking the reins as the creator, showrunner, and executive producer. Joining her as an executive producer is Ed Glauser, who previously worked on the teen rom-com trilogy of The Kissing Booth films. iGeneration Studios and Sony Pictures Television, International Production are producing the adaptation.
My Life With the Walter Boys is currently in production in Calgary, though there's currently no release window for the film.