Culture

Netflix Is Making A Movie About Teen Who Was Accidentally Invited To A Grandma’s Thanksgiving

Jamal and Wanda have had Thanksgiving dinner together for six years because of a wrong number text. Now they're going to have a Netflix movie made about them.

by Michelle Rennex  3 December 2021
thanksgiving grandma teen text Netflix Jamal Wanda

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For six years Jamal Hinton has been heading over to Wanda Dench’s home for a Thanksgiving meal all because the grandma accidentally invited the teen over in a wrong number text in 2016 — and now Netflix is turning the heartwarming tale into a movie.

The Thanksgiving Text will tell the true story of how Jamal and Wanda met in 2016. After being put into a group text that was meant for Wanda’s grandson, the Arizonian grandma shared the details of Thanksgiving dinner to a then-17-year-old Jamal.

Realising they had their wires crossed after exchanging selfies, the high school senior asked Wanda if he could still come over for a plate of food.

“You not my grandma,” Jamal responded with laughing emojis. “Can I still get a plate tho?”

“Of course you can. That’s what grandma’s do… feed everyone,” Wanda responded in typical grandma fashion — and thus the Thanksgiving tradition was born.

The original exchange went viral in 2016 and every year since the unlikely duo have shared a Thanksgiving meal together. Updating their fans each year, Jamal has always upload a selfie with Wanda to commemorate their reunion — a photo that the world patiently anticipates every holiday season.

So it’s really no surprise that Netflix have decided to adapt this beloved, heartwarming tale for the big screen in The Thanksgiving Text.

“We are excited to share our story with the world. We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make,” Wanda and Jamal told Variety.

“We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”

Taking to Twitter, Jamal thanked everyone for their support and added that he “can’t wait” for the story to be told “on the big screen”.

“I am very excited to announce our new partnership with Netflix,” Jamal tweeted this morning. “We thank every single one of you for your love and support in our journey the last six years.”

“We can’t wait to tell our story on the big screen.”

According to Variety, Abdul Williams (of The Bobby Brown Story and Salt-N-Pepa) will be writing the screenplay, Robert Teitel and George Tillman Jr (of The Hate U Give, Barbershop and Men of Honour) will help produce, and Lawrence Mott will be an executive producer on the project.

There is currently no director or cast announced for The Thanksgiving Text.