Your Guide to LGBTQ+ Romance Adaptations: 20 Upcoming TV Shows & Movies
•November 15, 2026, 3:00 pm
Heated Rivalrywasn’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 (BridgertonSeason 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 RivalrySeason 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!
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.
Red, White and Royal Wedding
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.
Heated RivalrySeason 2
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 RivalrySeason 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
BridgertonSeason 5
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 Wickeddoesn’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.
Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned
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 Lestatfor Season 3. Queen of the Damnedwill 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).
Enigma Variations
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.
The Housekeeper
Cast:Caitriona Balfe, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Laird, and Anthony Hopkins
Based on a novel by Dame Rose Tremain, The Housekeeperfilm fictionalizes the inspiration behind Daphne Du Maurier’s classic, Rebecca. Outlanderstar Balfe plays a housekeeper that has a tumultuous love affair with a female novelist (Laird).
Insomniac City
Cast:Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy
Bridgertonstar 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.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
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.
Atmosphere
Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphereis also getting the adaptation treatment. In October 2026, the 1980s-setAtmosphere 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‘sAnna Boden and Ryan Fleck are writing and directing.
Playing the Field
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 it also announced the new title: Playing the Field. Sarah Tapscott will serve as showrunner
Boyfriend Material
Alexis Hall’s 2020 novel Boyfriend Materialis 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.
‘Boyfriend Material’: All About the New Gay Romance Adaptation
Tryst Six Venom(Five Brothers)
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 Jaegersibling, Olivia. She falls for her bully at her all-girls private school. On Instagram, Douglas confirmed that Tryst Six Venomwill be included in the show, should it get greenlit.
Run Away With Me
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.
They Both Die at the End
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.
The House in the Cerulean Sea
TJ Klune’s fantasy novelThe 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.
The Charm Offensive
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.
After the Siren
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.
See You at the Finish Line
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.
More Happy Than Not
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 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
