When you look back on the best rom-coms of all time, one actress who appears in quite a few of them is Meg Ryan. From When Harry Met Sally to Sleepless in Seattle, she is a generational talent and a megastar within this genre. Well, that’s important because Tom Blyth, who is starring in the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of Emily Henry’s rom-com People We Meet on Vacation, recently compared his co-star Emily Bader to Ryan. And, here’s the thing, I already 100% agree with him.
What Tom Blyth Said About Meg Ryan And His Co-Star Emily Bader
Thankfully, in the first weeks of the 2026 movie schedule, on January 9, to be exact, we’ll get to see the first Emily Henry adaptation ever, People We Meet on Vacation. It is set to star Tom Blyth and Emily Bader as Alex and Poppy, respectively, and people cannot wait to watch this friends-to-lovers romance with a Netflix subscription.
So, in anticipation of the release of People We Meet on Vacation, People asked Blyth about working on the movie. In response, he gushed about his co-star and compared her to Meg Ryan:
I remember, because my favorite rom-com is When Harry Met Sally, and I kept saying, ‘Who’s the – we don’t really have like a current day young Meg Ryan.’ You know, Meg Ryan’s still with us, luckily, we still have Meg Ryan. But we need a new Meg Ryan. Who’s the new Meg Ryan? And I was like, ‘I don’t know who that is.’ And then I met Emily [Bader] , and I was like ‘Oh, it might be Emily.’
Well, that’s a big compliment! However, it doesn’t end there. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes star went on to explain why he thinks Bader is the new Meg Ryan, saying:
She’s got the quality where she could be going off the rails, and you still are just so enamoured by her. She’s so endearing. And she’s so playful within the language of the script, and I think she’s really gonna do justice to the character.
Now, I realize I haven’t seen Blyth and Bader as Alex and Poppy. However, I am a massive fan of Emily Bader’s other work, and based on the footage we’ve seen of this Emily Henry adaptation, I just know her co-star is right.
Emily Bader’s Work In My Lady Jane And The People We Meet On Vacation Trailer Prove Tom Blyth’s Point
Alright, allow me to take you back to 2024 and the tragically short-lived series My Lady Jane, which was led by Emily Bader and can be streamed with an Amazon Prime subscription. Jane was played by the PWMOV actress, and she led that fantastical period romance with passion, sass, intelligence and an incredibly quick wit. You know who else has all those endearing qualities? Meg Ryan.
Both actress are so incredibly expressive and play their characters with a confidence and passion that is infectious. You truly can’t help but fall in love with Jane and her love story, thanks to Bader’s genuine, romantic and laugh-out-loud performance as well as her undeniable chemistry with Edward Bluemel, who plays her character’s love interest. You can say the same exact things about Meg Ryan, her scene partners, and her movies in general.
I think there’s a spark that Emily Bader has that Meg Ryan has too, and it seems Tom Blyth knows that as well. However, you can also see it on display in the teaser for People We Meet on Vacation:
I can’t help but make comparisons between Poppy and Sally, even though Bader’s character is much more outgoing and spontaneous than Ryan’s. The sass and spunk are similar to me, and you can see that on display in this trailer if you watch the way Bader’s character reacts to Blyth showing up or while eating food. Remind you of a particular diner scene in When Harry Met Sally?
Anyway, all this is to say, Tom Blyth is right. I 100% think Emily Bader has what it takes to be this next generation’s Meg Ryan. They’re both unique and incredibly endearing, and I hope People We Meet on Vacation proves that to everyone who isn’t aware yet.
