Prime Video’s new show is a BookTok sensation

• Prime Video releases first-look images for new show Boys of Tommen, based on a popular book series described as a “BookTok sensation” and New York Times bestseller.
• The series follows Shannon Lynch and Johnny Kavanagh, two students at Tommen College dealing with secrets and personal struggles, with the show currently in production and set to star Nancy Surridge and Conor Sanchez in the lead roles.
• Boys of Tommen joins a wave of novel adaptations hitting screens, including It Happened One Summer, The Love Hypothesis, Windy City, and Funny You Should Ask, catering to fans of BookTok sensations.

Like most of us, I’ve been obsessed with this barrage of romance TV shows. Usually adapted from a book series that has gone viral on TikTok, the shows are melodramatic, addictive and almost always premiering on Prime Video, which has nailed the market for teen angst.

However, the streaming platform has just released first-look images for a new show. And the book version has had such a hold on its Gen Z audience that I don’t think even the likes of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Heated Rivalry are going to match the hype. I am talking about Boys of Tommen.

The book series, described as a “BookTok sensation” and a New York Times bestselling series, follows Shannon Lynch, a relentlessly bullied, painfully shy girl who begins to attend the prestigious private school of Tommen College to escape tormenters at her original school. It is there she meets Johnny Kavanagh, a rugby player determined to have a hugely successful pro career.

The synopsis goes on to hint at their secrets, with Shannon also struggling with a violent home life, while Johnny is suffering from a “potentially career-ending injury”.

As someone whose TikTok algorithm is usually just tips on baby weaning and clips of Netflix’s TV show Maid, I was surprised that Boys of Tommen lore managed to find me – but find me it did. As such, I can only imagine the size and passion of its fandom, especially considering that there are six novels in the series.

The first-look photos come with revelations about the show too. It is currently in production, adapted by A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder screenwriter Poppy Cogan and stars Nancy Surridge and Conor Sanchez as Shannon and Johnny respectively, while James O’Donoghue and Sophie McGibbon will play Joey Lynch and Aoife Molloy – who are set to take centre stage in novels three and four.

For fans of BookTok sensations, this is far from the only novel adaptation set to be on our screens, as hits including It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, The Love Hypothesis, Windy City and Funny You Should Ask are also getting the silver screen treatment, so if you can’t wait, you can add them to your reading list. As for me? I’ll be dusting off my brick-sized copy of Boys of Tommen in anticipation of this one.