Streaming Company Plans To Make Movie About Grandmother Accidentally Inviting Stranger To Thanksgiving

Dec 15, 2021 by apost team

An accidental text sometimes results in an unforeseen friendship that can last for years! Most of us would never give a wrong number a second thought if we got a message from someone we didn't know. However, once in a while, a wrong number comes with an incredible event that becomes one of the most beloved stories on the internet. If one looks, they can find some heartwarming stories, such as wrong numbers ending up becoming a person's future spouse. 

One of the internet's most favorite wrong connection stories is that of Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench. In 2016, Dench thought she was texting her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving. However, she did not know that she had in fact texted Hinton, who responded to her. Though their exchange was short and sweet, it unraveled into something extraordinary for the both of them. 

2021 will be marking the sixth year in a row that the Hinton and Dench, who had been complete strangers up until their fateful text exchange in 2016, will be celebrating Thanksgiving together. Like for many others in 2020, Dench had a very difficult year, as she lost her loving husband due to the coronavirus. Hinton made sure to show his support for Dench during the difficult time as well. 

Even with everything she has been through, Dench spent Thanksgiving with Hinton in 2020. Hinton has made sure to update all his followers every year with photos of the two of them, and this year was no different. On Nov. 26, Hinton tweeted photos of his gathering with his girlfriend, Mikaela, and Dench. 

In 2016, Wanda sent a text message to Hinton, who was a senior in high school at the time, thinking that he was her grandson. Hinton was confused by the message and asked who was messaging him, to which Dench replied, "Your grandma." Hinton asked for a photograph and told Dench that she had the wrong number, but he asked if he could attend their family Thanksgiving anyway, to which Dench replied, "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do ... feed everyone." 

Speaking to PEOPLE about their first exchange, Dench said, "I just clicked when I met him and first talked to him," and added, "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I want to get to know this guy.'" The feeling was mutual for Hinton, who said that "it was so unexpected, but she was just so sweet about it."

He also added about Dench, "It was a reminder that there are still some good people left in this world. She is a very sweet lady, she told me her husband was a veteran and she always invited his friends over for dinner, so she's used to having a lot of people over. I just got a vibe from her that made me feel at home."

Over the years, Dench also attended Thanksgiving with Hinton's family and met the important people in his life. "Her finally meeting my family felt great! Family is huge thing to me so for such a close friend to be able to finally join me and my family for dinner especially for Thanksgiving felt great," Hinton said, according to ABC News.

 In many ways, Dench and Hinton have become family now, and Hinton confirmed that the two of them will be celebrating their 6th Thanksgiving in a row together in a tweet! 

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And as if Dench and Hinton’s story wasn’t already surprising enough, the two friends got another surprise this December. Variety reports that Netflix is turning their story into a feature film called “The Thanksgiving Text.” On Dec. 2, the streaming company tweeted, "can't wait to see this story brought to life!" in response to Hinton's announcement that he was working with Netflix. 

“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,” Dench and Hinton said in a joint statement released by Netflix. “We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”

Netflix has tapped Abdul Williams for the screenplay. The writer is known for working on the TV movie “Salt-N-Pepa” and the series “The Bobby Brown Story.”

In a press release from Netflix, the company announced that “The Thanksgiving Text” will join a variety of original, family-friendly films like “Mixtape,” “Tall Girl” and “He’s All That.” More information is available on Netflix’s website.

As for this year’s celebration, Hinton said that although it was “sad” without Dench’s husband, it didn’t take long before the group of friends were in good spirits. 

"At first it was sad. We had a photo of Lonnie at the table with a candle lit, and we were all shaky in the beginning but it lasted five minutes before we were back to ourselves," Hinton told CNN. "We just told jokes and stories and shared our memories of Lonnie, so it was amazing."

What did you think of this heartwarming story? Will you be watching the Netflix film? Why or why not? Let us know, and be sure to pass this news on to others.