Netflix Sets a November Premiere Date for Historical IVF Drama 'Joy'

Netflix has set a November release date for Joy, its accidentally timely forthcoming period film about the historical origins of in vitro fertilization. For those who aren't aware, IVF was pioneered in Britain, and Louise Joy Brown, the world's first "test-tube" baby, was born in 1978 at Oldham General Hospital in Greater Manchester. (Her middle name is the inspiration for the title of this film.) Her parents, Lesley and John, had been trying to conceive for nearly a decade, but Lesley faced physical problems from blocked fallopian tubes. Obstetrician Patrick Steptoe, biologist Robert Edwards, and nurse Jean Purdy developed the procedure, which was subsequently lauded as one of "the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th Century". Louise Brown celebrated her 40th birthday in 2018, and Dr. Edwards attended her wedding when she married in 2004.

As the only surviving member of the partnership, Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Price in Physiology or Medicine for his work on in vitro fertilization; sadly, Purdy and Steptoe, who passed away in 1985 and 1988, respectively, were not eligible for consideration as the award is not bestowed posthumously.

“It took Rachel and I seven rounds of IVF to have Elliott, so when the opportunity came to tell the story of the pioneers, I jumped at the chance," Thorne said in a statement when the film was first announced. "The more we discovered, the more amazed we were at the audacity of the science and the lack of support from the scientific community. It is an incredible story.” The film will hold its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October before arriving on Netflix later in the year.