Your Guide to LGBTQ+ Romance Adaptations: 20 Upcoming TV Shows & Movies
Heated Rivalry wasn’t the first LGBTQ+ romance adaptation to hit screens, and it certainly won’t be the last. More gay, lesbian, and queer book romances are being made into TV shows and movies than ever before, spanning a wide range of genres.
In 2027 alone, a Regency period drama series will spotlight a lesbian romance (Bridgerton Season 5), a rom-com sequel will continue the love story between First Son of the United States and the Prince of England (Red, White and Royal Wedding), and — of course — everyone’s favorite fictional hockey-playing couple Shane and Ilya will bring the heat again (Heated Rivalry Season 2).
Based on how many LGBTQ+ romance adaptations are in the works, we’ll likely be getting even more than those three titles in the near future. So, Swooon has rounded up every upcoming queer book-to-screen project on the way, complete with all the latest updates on each of them. Once you reach the end of the page, tell us which one you’re most excited for!
Courtesy of Netflix
The Hunting Wives Season 2
Release date: November 26, 2026
Cast: Brittany Snow, Malin Åkerman, Jaime Ray Newman, Dermot Mulroney, Evan Jonigkeit, George Ferrier, Karen Rodriguez, and more
Though it leans more thriller than romance, Sophie (Snow) and Margo’s (Åkerman) tumultuous relationship as housewives in a small Texas town is a key part of The Hunting Wives. Though Season 2 goes off-book from author May Cobb’s bestselling crime soap, it’s still technically an adaptation of sorts.
Where to watch: Netflix
Prime Video
Red, White and Royal Wedding
Status: Post-production
Release date: TBA
Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Sarah Shahi, Ellie Bamber, Uma Thurman, Rachel Hilson, Clifton Collins Jr., Stephen Fry, Thomas Flynn, Lena Headey and Chloe Fineman
Red, White and Royal Blue charts the romance between the First Son of the United States (Zakhar Perez) and the Prince of England (Galitzine). While the first movie is based on Casey McQuiston’s 2019 novel of the same name, the sequel will be an original, non-book universe story. The author, who worked as a screenwriter on the forthcoming movie, spilled more details about Alex and Henry’s next chapter during an interview with Swooon.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Crave
Heated Rivalry Season 2
Status: Filming
Release date: TBA 2027
Cast: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Charlie Gillespie, Justice Smith, Daniel Diemer, Shaheen Jafargholi, François Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Dylan Walsh, Christina Chang, Callan Potter, and more
Heated Rivalry Season 2 began filming this fall and is eyeing a spring 2027 release. Creator Jacob Tierney is primarily adapting Rachel Reid’s The Long Game, which is the author’s sequel about hockey players Shane (Williams) and Ilya (Storrie). Other books from Reid’s Game Changers series will be incorporated into the Season 2 plot as well.
Where to watch: Crave and HBO Max
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Bridgerton Season 5
Status: Post-production
Release date: TBA 2027
Cast: Hannah Dodd, Masali Baduza, Claudia Jessie, Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Ruth Gemmell, Luke Thompson, Yerin Ha, Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley, and more
Though Julia Quinn’s Francesca-focused When He Was Wicked doesn’t have an LGBTQ+ romance, Season 5 will. So, it counts! Netflix’s Regency drama has gender-swapped Michael to Michaela (Baduza), who will get a second chance romance with her late cousin’s widow, Francesca (Dodd). Filming wrapped in late October 2026.
Where to watch: Netflix
AMC
Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned
Status: Pre-production
Release date: TBA
Cast: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Sheila Atim, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, and Jennifer Ehle
Interview With the Vampire Season 4 is on the way, and the supernatural series has changed its name for a second time after being called The Vampire Lestat for Season 3. Queen of the Damned will place more focus on Akasha (Atim), its new titular character, while still exploring the romances between Louis (Anderson) and Lestat (Reid), as well as Armand (Zaman) and Daniel (Bogosian).
Where to watch: AMC and AMC+
Enigma Variations
Status: Filming
Release date: TBA
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alicia Vikander, Sarah Pidgeon, Riley Keough, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Devon Terrell, Nicholas Podany, Peter Hermann, and Juliana Canfield
Call Me by Your Name author André Aciman’s Enigma Variations is becoming a TV show. Taylor-Johnson stars as Paul, whose various lovers “ignite and undo him across ten transformative years.” His romances with women are interspersed with anonymous encounters with men.
Where to watch: Netflix
The Housekeeper
Status: Post-production
Release date: TBA
Cast: Caitriona Balfe, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Laird, and Anthony Hopkins
Based on a novel by Dame Rose Tremain, The Housekeeper film fictionalizes the inspiration behind Daphne Du Maurier’s classic, Rebecca. Outlander star Balfe plays a housekeeper that has a tumultuous love affair with a female novelist (Laird).
Where to watch: In theaters
Insomniac City
Status: Pre-production
Release date: TBA
Cast: Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy
Bridgerton star Bailey will lead Insomniac City, following the real romance between writer and photographer Bill Hayes (Bailey) and late neurologist Oliver Sacks (Nighy) after they become neighbors in New York City. The film, which was announced in November 2026, is based on Hayes’ 2017 memoir.
Where to watch: In theaters
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Status: Pre-production
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Anna Kendrick is directing the movie adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which follows the secret Hollywood romance between the titular Evelyn and Celia St. James. In September 2026, Kendrick revealed the script was still being written.
Where to watch: Netflix
Atmosphere
Status: In development
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere is also getting the adaptation treatment. In October 2026, the 1980s-set Atmosphere movie entered the development stage. It will follow Joan, a scientist who becomes one of the first female astronauts in NASA’s shuttle program. During her training, she falls for pilot Vanessa. Captain Marvel‘s Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are writing and directing.
Where to watch: In theaters
Playing the Field
Status: In development
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Get your cleats ready! Meryl Wilsner’s Cleat Cute, which follows a rivals-to-lovers romance set in the world of professional women’s soccer, is being made into a TV show by Amazon MGM Studios. When the studio acquired the show in April 2026, according to Deadline, it also announced the new title: Playing the Field. Sarah Tapscott will serve as showrunner.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Boyfriend Material
Status: Optioned
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Alexis Hall’s 2020 novel Boyfriend Material is a fake-dating, British gay rom-com, and Deadline reported that it had been optioned by A24 UK in April 2026. Optioned means that it has yet to be officially greenlit and picked up by a network or streaming service.
Where to watch: TBD
Tryst Six Venom (Five Brothers)
Status: Optioned
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Penelope Douglas‘ dark romance Five Brothers was optioned for multiple seasons by Crave, the company behind Heated Rivalry, in May 2026. Though Five Brothers centers around 18-year-old Krisjen‘s encounters with the Jaeger brothers, Douglas also published Tryst Six Venom, a sapphic romance involving the youngest Jaeger sibling, Olivia. She falls for her bully at her all-girls private school. On Instagram, Douglas confirmed that Tryst Six Venom will be included in the show, should it get greenlit.
Run Away With Me
Status: In development
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
In October 2026, Deadline reported that Brian Selznick is adapting his queer coming-of-age romance novel Run Away With Me into a movie. It follows 16-year-old Danny, an American spending the summer in Italy in the 1980s, who falls for mysterious local Angelo.
Where to watch: In theaters
They Both Die at the End
Status: In development
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
The news of Netflix’s They Both Die at the End TV adaptation, based on Adam Silvera’s book, dropped in January 2023. Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen, Yellowjackets executive producer Drew Comins and studio eOne, and singer Bad Bunny were attached as producers, though there have been few updates since the announcement. The story follows queer Latinx teens Mateo and Rufus, who find out they’re going to die and decide to spend their last day together, despite being strangers.
Where to watch: Netflix
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Status: In development
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
TJ Klune’s fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea is becoming an animated series, made by Warner Bros. Animation, according to an April 2026 announcement. Linus Baker is a case worker assigned to watch over magically gifted children in government-sanctioned orphanage. The story revolves mostly around found family, though Linus has a gay romance subplot.
Where to watch: TBA
The Charm Offensive
Status: In development
Release date: TBA
Cast: Nik Dodani
Alison Cochrun’s The Charm Offensive movie adaptation cast its lead character in January 2026. In the gay rom-com, Dev (Dodani) works as the producer of a dating reality series. He ends up falling for Charlie, this season’s tech-genius bachelor.
Where to watch: TBA
After the Siren
Status: Optioned
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
In August 2026, ArtsHub reported that Darcy Green’s After the Siren was optioned for a film by Mad Ones Films. It’s a queer enemies-to-lovers, secret romance set within an Australian Football League team.
Where to watch: TBA
See You at the Finish Line
Status: Optioned
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Zac Hammett’s queer romance See You At The Finish Line was optioned by Noho Film & Television in September 2025. The TV show, should it be greenlit, would chart the love story between university rowing teammates Lucas and George.
Where to watch: TBA
More Happy Than Not
Status: Unclear
Release date: TBA
Cast: TBA
Silvera has yet another adaptation in the works that hasn’t gotten an update in a while. In 2020, HBO started developing More Happy Than Not, according to Deadline, but the planned TV series seems to be stuck in limbo. If it moves forward, the series would follow Bronx-based teen Aaron Soto, who has been struggling since his father’s suicide. He spends his summer falling for the new guy in town, Thomas.
