By the time a romance book reaches the screen, readers have often already built a whole world around it: analysing it, recommending it and imagining its characters. The Love Hypothesis, a romantic comedy set in the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) academia, is one such example.

The bestselling 2021 novel by neuroscientist-turned-author Ali Hazelwood revolves around biology PhD student Olive Smith and Dr Adam Carlsen, a young professor in the same department. The pair pretend to be in a relationship to convince Olive’s friend and Adam’s boss that their love life is on track. As they are forced to spend more time together, the lines between fake and real get increasingly blurred.

The new film adaptation is a part of Prime Video’s “Obsession is in Session” initiative, adapting young adult and romance books for the screen. The comprehensive marketing campaign includes thematic fan events and a book club built around its recent book-to-screen titles, including Off Campus, Every Summer After and Drawn Together.

The current glut of romance adaptations is particularly welcome for fans following the relative scarcity of successful young adult and romcoms during the past decade, as well as the pessimistic media discourse around the “death of the romcom”.

The resurgence of romance on screen reflects a new way of turning readers into audiences. Streamers are increasingly treating established online fan communities as part of the adaptation process itself, using their enthusiasm, expectations and creative........

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