Guarding Stars: Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki Holiday Rom-Com Movie News - Netflix Tudum

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    Guarding Stars: Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki to Star in Holiday Rom-Com 

    Based on the novel The Bodyguard by Katherine Center, the festive film also stars Andie MacDowell.

    By Ruth Kinane
    Jan. 9, 2026

What do you get the person who already has everything for Christmas? A security professional, perhaps.

Leighton Meester (Good Cop/Bad Cop, I Love LA, The Buccaneers) and Jared Padalecki (Supernatural, Walker) are set to star in Guarding Stars, an upcoming holiday romantic comedy movie about a no-nonsense bodyguard assigned to protect a charming action star over the holidays. Of course, sparks fly, secrets unravel, and Christmas gets a lot more complicated!

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    Two women in vintage clothing stand closely together, peering out from behind ornate curtains in an elegant, softly lit room with classic decor and floral arrangements, suggesting a historical or period drama setting.

Guarding Stars is inspired by the 2022 novel The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Aquamarine, Purple Hearts, Ginny & Georgia), written by Erin Cardillo and Richard Keith (Isn’t It Romantic, Virgin River) and Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo, and executive produced by Robin Fisichella, the rom-com will also star Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral), the country singer Walker Hayes in his acting debut, Noah LaLonde (My Life with the Walter Boys), Toby Sandeman (Running Point, Voicemails for Isabelle), Rachael Ancheril, Phil Brooks, Ava Max, and Shaun Johnston. Producers include Matthews and Scharbo with Little Engine Productions (Isn’t It Romantic, 13 Going on 30, Reminders of Him), and Jared and Genevieve Padalecki with Living in the Asterisk.

“I began paying close attention to BookTok culture around the success of my last Netflix film, Purple Hearts,” says Allen. “The overwhelming enthusiasm on social media and with readers for Katherine Center’s novel was a major factor in my decision to come on board as director. It’s been amazing to work closely with Katherine so far and to see her so excited about moving her witty story about a no-nonsense bodyguard [for] an A-list actor into the holiday season. It makes the most gorgeous backdrop for the sparks that fly between them to be even brighter.” 

There’s no release date for the movie yet, but keep coming back to Tudum for more updates on Guarding Stars.

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