The Love Hypothesis continues to revive rom-coms after ‘winning over hearts’

Another day in 2026 and another tidbit drops for rom-com fans to obsess over; this time it’s the trailer for The Love Hypothesis.

Based on author Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling book of the same name, which made her a ‘BookTook’ sensation on TikTok after its official publication in 2021, this film has been hungered over for months.

Last July, Riverdale’s Lil Reinhart and British star Tom Bateman were announced to play the two leads in this movie adaptation, which then sent some fans into complete meltdown given the story’s origin as self-published ‘Reylo’ fanfiction in 2018, where the Star Wars characters Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) are ‘shipped’ together.

Bateman is married to Ridley in real life, delighting many.

Since then we’ve had a few more on-set TikToks from Reinhart keeping fans fed, and eventually some first-look images just a few weeks ago, but the wait has been almost an entire year for a trailer.

But last night it dropped at Amazon Prime Video’s inaugural Obsessed Fest fan event – predominantly dedicated to the streamer’s recent and upcoming romance films, book adaptations and YA properties, like Off Campus, Every Year After and Elle- and instantly thrilled its target audience.

The Love Hypothesis follows PhD student Olive Smith (Reinhart), a rising star in Stanford University’s biology department, who ends up in a classic fake dating situation with a hotshot professor, Dr Adam Carlsen (Bateman).

The trailer begins with vintage-style snapshots, like lab slides, of Olive and Adam working in the lab as an old-fashioned voiceover talks about molecules looking to form a bond.

It then cuts to her trying to convince her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) that she is seeing someone.

‘You mean like a therapist?’ Anh asks, with a flustered Olive responding: ‘What? No, like a human man!’

We then cut to the famous moment that kicks off the story – and features on the front cover of the book – where Olive panic kisses Adam as the nearest guy, in order to convince her friend that she has a boyfriend.

Her horrified apology then sees Bateman’s Adam pull her ID badge towards him and simply read, ‘Olive Smith,’ before it snaps back to her lab coat pocket.

However, he does agree to maintain the façade of their relationship in the face of her curious friends (just go with us here), even initiating a kiss at the end of the trailer as her pals ‘oooh’ from the balcony.

‘This movie already won my heart. Love + research + affection. I love this,’ tweeted Sammie, while others said they were ‘hooked’ as the rom-com looked ‘promising already’ from just a 57-second trailer.

‘Omg this is so good, it looks like it was taken directly from the book,’ enthused Fabo, while another Jenna put forward on Instagram: ‘Hypothesis: this will be THE rom-com of the year.’

Fans were having their patience tested too by its release date, with Nia commenting on YouTube: ‘September?! You people dare to drop this now and tell I’ve to wait for another 3 months for this?!’

‘What do you mean September? And not tomorrow?????’ asked Melinda, with Jacky agreeing, calling it ‘a slow form of torture’, as others were thanking Prime for becoming ‘the #1 hub for fake relationship tropes’.

‘And I’m here for it,’ added one fan, while Aby quipped: ‘How many times have you seen this? Me: YES.’

There are also countless comments from users who describe themselves as ‘so excited’ and reference having read Hazelwood’s book, emphasising just how much of an audience there is for this – especially if Prime gets it right.

Not only does The Love Hypothesis’s trailer follow hot on the heels of everyone’s current Netflix rom-com obsession, Voicemails for Isabelle, but it seems to be continuing a welcome revival in the genre after Eternity and Materialists last year.

And I couldn’t be more hopeful to be proven right in my prediction.

It’s also helmed by Emmy nominated director Claire Scanlon, who was the filmmaker behind popular 2018 rom-com Set It Up with Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell.

Many are also reassured to see that this upcoming film has an R rating in the US (‘like we deserve!’ joked one fan), meaning anyone under 17 would have to be accompanied by an adult were it releasing in cinemas.

Hazelwood is known for the spicy scenes in her books, with the sexual chemistry and connection between her protagonists always a key focus of the story – as well as the prioritisarion of female pleasure.

Chapter 16 in The Love Hypothesis has whole TikToks dedicated it and, while definitely NSFW material for a general trailer (although we do see a couple of tiny flashes), is one of many things fans are anticipating.

Bateman and Reinhart are aware of the passionate fanbase they’re tapping into as well, with Reinhart referencing ‘the famous sunscreen scene’ as one of her favourite memories on set because of all the ‘giggling’ when the pair were interviewed onstage at Obsessed Fest.

Sharing one of his favourite scenes, Bateman then added: ‘We’re in this coffee shop and it’s their first sort of coffee date and they’re really just going through how – I love the nodding, you’re like, “I know it!”‘

After laughing with the particularly engaged audience member who drew his attention, he continued: ‘I loved it so much because it was kind of the perfect kernel of what the film was, the beating heart of it, these two people who are about to do this thing and they don’t know how it’s going to go – and then suddenly, her friends walk in.’

It’s also a hugely promising sign for the future of rom-coms and female-led stories in film and TV that, not only has Amazon been snapping up the rights to popular book properties in recent years – romantasy Fourth Wing is being developed by Amazon Studios and Oscar-winner Michael B Jordan’s production company, while Off Campus was a recent massive series success, but they’re putting on a whole festival event to satisfy the fangirls (and guys) who love it.

The Love Hypothesis will stream globally on Prime Video from September 23, 2026.