Paul Wesley is heading back to the ice, this time as a coach. Netflix has announced that the actor, best known for his roles in The Vampire Diaries and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, has joined the cast of its upcoming college romance drama Icebreaker, playing Coach Neil Faulkner.
Based on the #1 New York Times bestselling novel by Hannah Grace, Icebreaker is currently in production in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The series follows Anastasia Allen, a transfer student determined to win Olympic gold, and Nate Hawkins, a campus hockey star with aspirations of making it to the NHL. When an accident forces their respective teams to share one rink, the two find themselves caught between competition, ambition and an unexpected attraction.
Wesley joins a previously announced cast that includes Daisy Jelley, Connor Simos, Gabriel Tierney, Auliʻi Cravalho, Peter Berry, Chaneil Kular, Devin Craig and Aidan Shaw.
Amanda Lasher (Gossip Girl, The Bold Type, Togetherness) serves as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Jade Halley Bartlett (Road House, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Miller’s Girl) is creator and executive producer, alongside author Hannah Grace. Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan and Mina Lefevre executive produce for Unwell Productions.
The adaptation arrives with significant built-in readership. Icebreaker, originally published in November 2022 before its wider release in 2023, has spent 70 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The first book in Grace’s Maple Hills series has sold nearly five million copies worldwide, been translated into 24 languages and distributed across 34 territories. The three-book series has surpassed 7.5 million copies in global sales.
The production joins Netflix’s growing collection of adaptations of popular books, including Bridgerton, The Queen’s Gambit, People We Meet on Vacation and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Upcoming adaptations include East of Eden, Pride and Prejudice, The Corrections and Lonesome Dove.
Filming is underway in Vancouver, a major production hub that has also hosted projects including Avatar: The Last Airbender and the upcoming The Altruists, Trinity and In a Holidaze.
