EXCLUSIVE: After winning Series Mania’s Best Actress Award for her turn opposite Cooper Raiff in Mubi’s Hal & Harper, Lili Reinhart has come aboard to star in and exec produce The Love Hypothesis, an adaptation of the New York Times bestseller by Ali Hazelwood, for Amazon MGM Studios and MRC.
In the romantic comedy, Olive Smith, a biology PhD candidate, and Dr. Adam Carlsen, a hotshot professor and well-known tyrant, enter into a fake relationship, seeing each of their carefully calculated theories on love get thrown into chaos.
Published in 2021 by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, Hazelwood’s novel spent 10 months on the New York Times bestseller list, breaking out internationally in 40 countries. Originally acquired for publication by editor Sarah Blumenstock at Berkley, the book was also named the Best Romance of the Year by Amazon. Hazelwood is also known for titles like Problematic Summer Romance, Deep End, and Bride, among others.
Claire Scanlon (Set It Up) is directing The Love Hypothesis from a script by Sarah Rothschild (The Sleepover). Elizabeth Cantillon (The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Charlie’s Angels) is producing, with Reinhart, Catherine Hagedorn, and Hazelwood executive producing.
In a statement accompanying the project announcement, author Hazelwood said, “Honestly, I still can’t believe this is happening? Elizabeth Cantillon, Claire Scanlon, and Lili Reinhart have all created, produced, or starred in works that I’m absolutely feral about, and I am beyond honored that they’re choosing to bring their talent to this project. Books and films are very different media, and I have complete trust in this brilliant team. I cannot wait to see the final product they’ll come up with. I hope they have as much fun filming as I had while writing the book.”
Soon to be seen starring opposite Raiff and Mark Ruffalo in the former’s indie TV series Hal & Harper, a project she produced which was acquired by MUBI following its premiere at Sundance, Reinhart’s upcoming slate also includes Uta Briesewitz’s American Sweatshop, which premiered at SXSW this year. She recently wrapped on Brian Swibel’s directorial debut, The Very Best People, as well as Meredith Alloway’s first feature, Forbidden Fruits, which IFC Films will release in 2026. She’s also attached to produce and star in Ali & Anthony Garland’s Fake Wedding, which is in development at Amazon MGM under her production company, Small Victory, and is represented by Anonymous Content, UTA, and Peikoff Mahan.
Reuniting with Amazon MGM here after directing The People We Hate at the Wedding, starring Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, and Ben Platt, Scanlon is also known for helming the Netflix rom-com Set It Up, starring Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell. Most recently, she directed episodes of Loot and Palm Royale for Apple TV+, Abbot Elementary for ABC, and produced and directed Season 2 of Unstable for Netflix. She is repped by UTA, 3 Arts, and Jared Levine.
Rothschild wrote The Sleepover, which was sold in a bidding war to Netflix, and stars Malin Akerman, Ken Marino, and Joe Manganiello. The film was directed by Trish Sie and earned her a WGA Award. After recently turning in her draft of Splash at Disney, she is currently writing projects for Paramount and Walden Media. She is represented by Verve, Entertainment 360, and attorney Kim Stenton at Myman Greenspan.
Hazelwood is repped by the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and UTA.
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