One of the internet’s favorite Thanksgiving stories, involving an Arizona grandmother and an accidental text to a stranger, is now coming to Netflix, the streaming company announced Thursday.
Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench made headlines in 2016 when Dench accidentally sent a text to Hinton, who was 17 at the time, with an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. Dench thought she was texting her grandson’s number, but realized her mistake after she and Hinton exchanged selfies.
The pair didn’t remain strangers for long, because Dench invited Hinton over for dinner anyway. Much to the amusement and delight of those following their story online, they have continued to spend Thanksgiving together with their families since.
“I am very excited to announce our new partnership with Netflix,” Hinton tweeted on Thursday. “We thank every single one of you for your love and support in our journey the last 6 years. We can’t wait to tell our story on the big screen!”
Dench and Hinton’s serendipitous connection will be turned into a film based on their true story, Netflix said. The movie, written by Abdul Williams, will cover how their “deep friendship” was formed “despite their very different backgrounds.”
“We are excited to share our story with the world,” Hinton and Dench said in a statement via the company’s announcement. “We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make. We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”
Keeping with tradition, Dench and Hinton spent their sixth Thanksgiving together last week.
One photo from the holiday celebration showed Dench, Hinton and Hinton’s partner, Mikaela, holding portraits honoring Dench’s late husband, Lonnie, who died following a battle with COVID-19 in April 2020.
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