23 Romantic Comedies & Dramas to Watch in 2026: ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ & More
With 2025 coming to a close, it’s time to open up space in your heart for all the romance content headed our way in 2026. And let’s just say, there’s plenty of romantic comedies and dramas across TV and film to keep us blushing all next year.
Netflix will kick off the new year right with the highly anticipated movie adaptation of Emily Henry‘s People We Meet on Vacation. A delightful rom-com is the perfect little treat to get us started.
While we love rom-coms and happy endings, there’s just something about the twisted romance between Lucy and Stephen on Tell Me Lies. The hit Hulu drama returns for Season 3 in early January.
Throughout the rest of the year, prepare to get locked in on Outlander‘s final season, the newest Pride and Prejudice adaptation, The Love Hypothesis, and more. Yes, that includes “Wuthering Heights”. We love a faithful book adaptation, but we’re intrigued about what Emerald Fennell has up her sleeve, to say the least.
Below, we’ve ordered all the romantic comedies and dramas of 2026 (that we know about) in order of their release/premiere date. Projects that we know (or at least think) will premiere in 2026 are included as well. Let us know which romantic movie or TV show you’re most looking forward to watching in 2026 in the comments below.
People We Meet on Vacation
Release Date: January 9 on Netflix
Cast: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Lukas Gage, Sarah Catherine Hook, Lucien Laviscount, Alan Ruck, Molly Shannon
Based on Emily Henry‘s bestselling romance novel, People We Meet on Vacation follows Poppy (Bader) and Alex (Blyth), who are total opposites but have somehow been friends for a decade. They spend every summer vacation together, until one trip shatters everything. Two years later, Poppy and Alex reunite for a getaway, but their close proximity forces them to confront their feelings.
Tell Me Lies Season 3
Release Date: January 13 (first two episodes) on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+, weekly episode drops after that
Cast: Grace Van Patten, Jackson White, Cat Missal, Spencer House, Sonia Mena, Branden Cook, Alicia Crowder, Costa D’Angelo
Watch out, Baird College, Lucy (Van Patten) and Stephen (White) are back together in Tell Me Lies Season 3. Lucy thinks this time will be different, but Stephen knows about her hookup with Evan (Cook), and he’s not just going to let that go. The new season will also explore the fallout of Stephen sending that explosive message to Bree (Missal).
Bridgerton Season 4
Release Date: Part 1 (January 29), Part 2 (February 26) on Netflix
Cast: Luke Thompson, Yerin Ha, Nicola Coughlan, Claudia Jessie, Luke Newton, Ruth Gemmell, Hannah Dodd, Katie Leung, Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh, Victor Alli, Masali Baduza, Daniel Francis, Florence Hunt, Will Tilston
Benedict Bridgerton (Thompson) steps into the leading man spotlight in Bridgerton Season 4, which is based on Julia Quinn’s An Offer From a Gentleman. The talented and uber-charming Bridgerton is captivated by a mysterious Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball. Outside of the ball, the Lady in Silver is actually Sophie, who works as a maid. Fate brings Benedict and Sophie together on a romantic roller coaster that includes a cottage getaway and one evil stepmother.
Pillion
Release Date: February 6 (Limited Theatrical Release)
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling
A timid man (Melling) is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker (Skarsgård) takes him on as his submissive.
"Wuthering Heights"
Release Date: February 13 (In Theaters)
Cast: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, and Alison Oliver
The first trailer for this adaptation set the internet ablaze. Director Emerald Fennell clearly has tricks up her sleeve when it comes to bringing Emily Brontë’s classic novel to the big screen. With characters like Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, you know Fennell is going to drop a Saltburn-level twist.
Love Story
Premiere Date: Valentine’s Day Week 2026 on FX
Cast: Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon
Ryan Murphy‘s Love Story chronicles the whirlwind love story between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. From their romance’s early days to their tumultuous periods to their tragic death, the limited series will explore one of America’s most famous couples.
56 Days
Premiere Date: February 18 on Prime Video
Cast: Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia
Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s bestselling novel, 56 Days charts the romance between Ciara Wyse (Cameron) and Oliver Kennedy (Jogia). After a chance meeting in the supermarket, Ciara and Oliver fall in love quickly. But just 56 days later, police show up at Oliver’s apartment and find an unidentified body. Weaving through the past and present, this sordid tale will be full of twists and turns.
Outlander (Season 8)
Premiere Date: March 6 (Starz)
Cast: Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin, John Bell, David Berry, César Domboy, and Lauren Lyle
The Droughtlander is almost over. Claire (Balfe) and Jamie’s (Heughan) epic love story will come to a close in the show’s eighth and final season. Is Claire and Jamie’s daughter, Faith, still alive? That question and more will be answered in Season 8.
Reminders of Him
Release Date: March 13 (In Theaters)
Cast: Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lauren Graham, and Bradley Whitford
Another Colleen Hoover book is hitting the big screen. Reminders of Him centers around Kenna (Monroe), who has spent the last seven years in prison after a terrible mistake led to a devastating tragedy. When she’s released, Kenna attempts to reunite with her daughter and acclimate to life outside of prison. She finds unexpected compassion from a local bar owner (Withers), and a romance soon ignites between them.
The Drama
Release Date: April 3 (In Theaters)
Cast: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson
Save the date for The Drama! Zendaya and Pattinson star in the A24 film as a happily engaged couple who are put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.
You, Me & Tuscany
Release Date: April 10 (In Theaters)
Cast: Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page
Down on her luck, Anna (Bailey) decides to jet off to Italy after a chance encounter with a handsome Italian named Matteo in You, Me & Tuscany. After she arrives at the villa, Matteo’s mother shows up out of the blue, and Anna tells her she’s Matteo’s fiancée to explain her presence. Her plan starts to crumble when she has instant chemistry with Matteo’s cousin, Michael (Page).
Girls Like Girls
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (In Theaters)
Cast: Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy
From song to screen! Hayley Kiyoko directed and cowrote the coming-of-age romance Girls Like Girls, based on her 2015 song.
Sense and Sensibility
Release Date: September 11 (In Theaters)
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, George MacKay, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, and Fiona Shaw
Thirty years after Ang Lee‘s adaptation dazzled us, a new adaptation of Jane Austen‘s Sense and Sensibility is hitting theaters. Normal People breakout Daisy Edgar-Jones will play the iconic Elinor Dashwood.
Remain
Release Date: October 23 (In Theaters)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Phoebe Dynevor, Ashley Walters, and Julie Hagerty
Get ready for a spooky romance. M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks have teamed up for a supernatural romantic thriller that’s filled with twists. Gyllenhaal plays Tate Donovan, a New York architect still grieving the loss of his sister. He heads to Cape Cod to design a home for his best friend and meets Wren, a mysterious woman who turns his world upside down.
Verity
Release Date: October 2 (In Theaters)
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett, and Dakota Johnson
This will be the second Colleen Hoover adaptation of 2026. Verity is a psychological romantic thriller, a departure from her typical romance novels. Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson) is hired by Jeremy Crawford (Hartnett), the husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford. Verity was left incapacitated after a mysterious accident, so Jeremy asks Lowen to finish his wife’s book series. While working on it, Lowen uncovers shocking secrets.
The Love Hypothesis
Release Date: TBA 2026
Cast: Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman
Ali Hazelwood has made it to the screen! The romance author’s hit novel will be released sometime in 2026. For those who haven’t devoured The Love Hypothesis already, PhD student Olive Smith (Reinhart) and Dr. Adam Carlsen enter a fake relationship to test their theories about love. The social media during filming made the entire internet swoon. You know this is going to be one incredible adaptation.
Pride and Prejudice
Premiere Date: TBA 2026
Cast: Emma Corrin, Jack Lowden, Olivia Colman, Rufus Sewell, Louis Partridge, and Daryl McCormack
Twenty years after Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen dazzled us in the 2005 adaptation, Netflix is giving a six-episode limited series. The Jane Austen classic stars Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy, with a script by Dolly Alderton.
Virgin River Season 7
Premiere Date: TBA 2026
Cast: Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, Zibby Allen, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, and Colin Lawrence
Season 7 will pick up in the immediate aftermath of the Season 6 finale. Right after their wedding, Jack (Henderson) and Mel (Breckenridge) have to figure out what’s going on with Charmaine and the twins. Thankfully, Breckenridge has teased to Swooon that we will get to see Mel and Jack take a honeymoon in the next installment of the cozy small town drama.
Off Campus
Premiere Date: TBA 2026
Cast: Belmont Cameli, Ella Bright, Stephen Kalyn, Antonio Cipriano, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Mika Abdalla, Josh Heuston, and Steve Howey
More hockey romance in 2026? Say less! Elle Kennedy’s The Deal is making its way to TV in Prime Video’s Off Campus. The first book follows the love story of Briar U hockey stud Garrett Graham (Cameli) and adorable music major Hannah Wells (Bright). We’ll also get to know Garrett’s hunky hockey besties, who will go on to have their own romances in (hopefully) future seasons.
Premiere Date: TBA 2026
Cast: Morgan Kohan, Chad Michael Murray, Tom Jackson, Andrea Menard, and Scott Patterson
The cozy drama has already been renewed for Season 4. Maggie (Kohan) and Cal’s (Murray) relationship is far from over, and now they’ve got another wrinkle with the arrival of Liam (Marcus Rosner), who just so happens to be Maggie’s husband!
Heartstopper Forever
Premiere Date: TBA 2026
Cast: Joe Locke and Kit Connor
We fancy a movie! After three wonderful seasons, Netflix is bringing Nick Nelson (Connor) and Charlie Spring’s (Locke) love story to a close in Heartstopper Forever, based on Alice Oseman‘s soon-to-be-released sixth volume of her graphic novel series.
Maxton Hall — The World Between Us Season 3
Premiere Date: Likely 2026
Cast: Damian Hardung and Harriet Herbig-Matten
The first two seasons of Maxton Hall aired in 2024 and 2025, so it’s highly likely we’ll get the third season in 2026. (Filming has already wrapped.) After that jaw-dropping cliffhanger, we need answers ASAP. James (Hardung) and Ruby (Herbig-Matten) deserve to be happy, so bring on Season 3!
Heated Rivalry
Premiere Date: Possibly 2026
Cast: Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams
When Heated Rivalry Season 2 was confirmed, HBO Max said new episodes would arrive in 2026. However, creator Jacob Tierney has hinted that Season 2 could be pushed to 2027, since filming won’t begin until the summer. The second season is expected to follow Shane (Williams) and Ilya’s (Storrie) journey in Rachel Reid’s The Long Game. Given our love for the show, we sincerely hope we get a 2026 premiere date. We need more Shane and Ilya!
