Is A Simple Favor leaving Netflix? Everything you need to know

A Simple Favor is a black comedy film directed by Paul Feig, released on September 14, 2018. Jessica Sharzer wrote the screenplay, which is an adaptation of Darcey Bell's 2017 novel of the same name. Feig produced the movie alongside Jessie Henderson, while Jason Cloth, Mike Drake, and Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis serve as executive producers.

A Simple Favor stars Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick in lead roles, with Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart, Rupert Friend, Eric Johnson, and Dustin Milligan appearing in supporting roles. The film is currently available on Netflix but will leave the streaming platform on May 19, 2025.

The official synopsis of A Simple Favor, as per Netflix, reads:

"Thirsty for thrills, single mom Stephanie strikes up a friendship with the glamorous Emily, who asks for a small favor before she mysteriously vanishes."

When is A Simple Favor leaving Netflix?

A Simple Favor is set to leave Netflix on Monday, May 19, 2025. The mystery-thriller film can be rented on VOD from platforms like Amazon Prime Video for $3.79, Apple TV for $3.99, Spectrum for $3.99, and others.

Its sequel, Another Simple Favor, was released on May 1, 2025, directly on Prime Video. Therefore, it's likely that the 2018 film will follow suit and appear in Prime Video's catalog in the coming weeks. However, no official announcement has been made as of this writing.

Also read: Fact Check: Is Blake Lively's A Simple Favor based on a true story? Explained

Plot summary

Set in Warfield, Connecticut, A Simple Favor begins with Stephanie befriending the PR director Emily Nelson, as their sons study together at school. Stephanie is a single mother who runs an online vlog that shares videos about crafts and recipes. One day, Emily asks Stephanie to babysit her son and then disappears for several days.

She later learns that Emily's body was found in a lake in Michigan, with large amounts of heroin in her system. Stephanie starts dating Emily's husband, Sean, after bonding over their shared grief, but soon discovers that he took out a $4 million life insurance policy shortly before his wife's disappearance.

It is revealed that Stephanie had an affair with her half-brother Chris, who fathered her son Miles. A confrontation between her husband and Chris leads to their deaths.

When Stephanie receives a message from Emily, she digs into the latter's past. She discovers that Emily's real name is Hope and that she has two sisters, Faith and Charity; they are identical triplets. Her mother, Margaret, reveals that Faith and Hope killed their abusive father and escaped home at 16.

To Sean's surprise, Emily returns home to collect the insurance money and informs him of her plans to leave the country. When Stephanie presses her to come clean, Emily reveals that Faith had contacted her, demanding $1 million in exchange for her silence. Consequently, Emily drowned Faith and staged her sister's death as her own.

Furthermore, Emily convinces Stephanie to frame Sean for her murder. Stephanie agrees to the plan but changes her mind after Sean's arrest. She decides to trap Emily by secretly recording her confession with a hidden camera on her sweater button and live-streaming it on her vlog.

As a result, Emily is arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the double murder of her father and sister. Meanwhile, Stephanie becomes a successful vlogger and helps solve thirty cold cases while working part-time as a private detective.

Also read: 7 movies to watch if you liked A Simple Favor

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About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Shreya Das