Everybody's favorite modern Thanksgiving tradition is being made into a Netflix movie.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have seen the hilarious and heartwarming story of grandmother Wanda Dench, who accidentally texted total stranger Jamal Linton an invitation to Thanksgiving after thinking it was her grandson's number.
Their touching text exchange was screenshotted and published on social media, where it swiftly went viral.
In that 2016 exchange, Wanda had texted a number she thought was her grandson's to invite him over for Thanksgiving dinner. However, the text was accidentally sent to Jamal's number, leading him to respond by asking who was texting him.
"Your grandma," Wanda responded, accompanying her text with a selfie.
"You not my grandma," 23-year-old Jamal texted back, before quipping: "Can I still get a plate tho?"
To his surprise, Wanda, 64, said: "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do... feed everyone."
Jamal ended up attending Wanda's Thanksgiving that year, and every year since then! As the years have passed, the pair have excitedly posted selfies together around the time of the annual holiday, with Wanda even extending the invite to Jamal's girlfriend and family after several years.
Sadly, Wanda's husband of 42 years, Lonnie - who was part of Wanda and Jamal's annual tradition - passed away in 2020 after contracting covid.
Now, it seems Netflix has cottoned on to the uplifting story, as it has been confirmed that a movie will be made about the pair's unlikely bond.
Jamal took to Twitter to reveal the news, stating: "I am very excited to announce our new partnership with Netflix. 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!"
According to What's On Netflix, the script for the movie is being written by Abdul Williams, who worked on Lottery Ticket, Salt-N-Pepa, The Bobby Brown Story, and The New Edition Story.
Producers on the project are Robert Teitel and George Tillman Jr. for State Street Pictures - their credits include The Hate U Give, The Barbershop Franchise, Men of Honor, Notorious, and Soul Food.
Wanda and Jamal have since stated that they hope their heartwarming story will be shared with the world, saying: "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. We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message."
The duo has become somewhat of an internet sensation, receiving hundreds of thousands of likes and comments on their social media posts.
A fan of the pair took to Twitter to write: "I hope twitter survives at least til next week so we can get our annual update from them."
"I look forward to this story but especially now that her husband died I'm happy to see they're still there for each other," another added.
The upcoming film - titled The Thanksgiving Text - has not yet been given a release date but fans are hoping it will be released some time around Thanksgiving 2023... So stay tuned!
