Netflix's 'Icebreaker' finds its leads in Daisy Jelley and Connor Simos

Netflix has cast Daisy Jelley and Connor Simos as the leads in its upcoming series adaptation of Hannah Grace’s bestselling novel Icebreaker.

Jelley will play Anastasia “Stassie” Allen, while Simos has been cast as Nate Hawkins in the Netflix adaptation. The series was first announced by the streamer in June.

Icebreaker follows Stassie, a transfer student pursuing Olympic gold, and Nate, a campus hockey star with ambitions of reaching the NHL. Their lives become intertwined after an accident forces their teams to share a skating rink, setting up a complicated relationship between the two athletes.

Jelley is known for her role in the Netflix series Geek Girl, which was also adapted from a young adult novel. She is also set to appear in Netflix’s upcoming original series Poser and previously starred in the film How to Have Sex. For Simos, Icebreaker will mark his first credited television role. He is also set to appear in the upcoming thriller Subversion, starring Chris Hemsworth and Lily James.

The Icebreaker series is being written and executive produced by Amanda Lasher and Jade Halley Bartlett, with Bartlett serving as creator and Lasher as showrunner. Alex Cooper, Matt Kaplan and Mina Lefevre will executive produce through Unwell Productions, while Grace will also serve as an executive producer.

Published in 2022, Icebreaker is the first novel in Grace’s Maple Hills series. The book spent 70 consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide.

Netflix has not announced a release date for the Icebreaker series.