Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson’s Romantic Comedy Voicemails for Isabelle Debuts First Look (Exclusive)

Director Leah McKendrick promises “fluttery romance and comedic hijinks” in the movie, coming to Netflix June 19

By Jack Smart

May 7, 2026 

Phone mix-ups have never been more romantic than in Voicemails for Isabelle. 

Zoey Deutch and Nick Robinson lead the new romantic comedy coming to Netflix on June 19. In first-look images shared exclusively with PEOPLE, the two can be seen gradually connecting in writer-director Leah McKendrick’s heartfelt story. 

It follows Jill (Deutch), who copes with the tragic loss of her sister Isabelle (Ciara Bravo) by leaving intimate voicemails chronicling her chaotic life in San Francisco. Per an official synopsis, “when the number is reassigned without her knowledge, an elusive Austin, Texas, real estate agent (Robinson) begins receiving the hilariously confessional messages.”

“Grief and love are not opposites,” as Robinson, 31, tells PEOPLE. “They say that grief is just love with nowhere to go. Jill’s capacity for one informs her capacity for the other. This is just as much of a love story between Jill and Isabelle as it is a love story between Jill and [my character] Wes.”

Saying yes to Voicemails for Isabelle was a no-brainer for the Love, Simon star, who notes that he’s known Deutch, 31, since their high school days. “Working with Zoey was easy. She makes it all seem so effortless and fun, and she is a really dedicated performer and artist. Plus, she’s funny.”

“I have known Nick since we were teenagers and have admired him as an actor for even longer,” Deutch tells PEOPLE. “Getting to finally work with him was such a joy. I couldn’t adore him more as a human and actor.”

McKendrick says it was Deutch’s ability to “nail both broad comedy and sharp dramatic turns,” and Robinson’s “heart and sincerity and self-deprecating charm” that made them perfect for these star-crossed lovers. 

What sets Voicemails for Isabelle apart from Deutch’s previous Netflix rom-com, 2018’s Set It Up, is that it’s actually “a love story between sisters. For all the fluttery romance and comedic hijinks, Jill recognizes true love because she’s already experienced it with Isabelle.”

That true love came directly from McKendrick’s own life. “My real-life little sister, Olivia,” she says, has “always been the safest place in the world for me — the person that has always believed in my wildest dreams. My most horrific, humiliating experiences feel worthwhile if they can make her laugh. I learned early on that boys will come and go, but sisterhood is forever.”

The filmmaker was also inspired, of course, by the classics that have come before, Jerry Maguire, Sleepless in Seattle and Notting Hill among them. “Rom-coms are back, baby,” she quips. “And I’m honored to take them on a journey into my heart.”

As one of the PEOPLE-exclusive images shows, Deutch’s Jill knows her way around the kitchen — specifically a dessert taco. While the actress calls cooking her “favorite thing to do,” she is “not a big dessert gal” like her character. “My go-to is more like a Julia Child-style roast chicken or three-hour bolognese.”

Voicemails for Isabelle, also starring Nick Offerman, Lukas Gage and Harry Shum Jr., premieres on Netflix June 19.