During a family vacation in Thailand, Sam Bloom accidentally falls off a high balcony and breaks her T6 thoracic vertebrae resulting in partial paralysis.

Sam and Cameron's relationship also deteriorates as she struggles to find joy in daily life and wishes to forget who she was before the fall since she can no longer live in the same way.

[8] By February 2019, Glendyn Ivin was set to direct, and in July Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver and Rachel House were added to the cast.

[16] Netflix released the film in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, France and select Asian countries on 27 January 2021.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Penguin Bloom's fact-based story could have been adapted with greater nuance, but strong work from Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln adds some much-needed heart.

[19] The script for Penguin Bloom by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps was shortlisted for the Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting at the 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.