Two best friends, one pen name, 21 New York Times bestsellers, and a whole lot more Hollywood deals than most authors see in a lifetime.
If you’re not already familiar with Christina Lauren, meet Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings—the duo behind one of the most consistently beloved backlists in contemporary romance. They combine their first names, write as one, and have spent over a decade producing the kind of books that make you laugh out loud on public transport and then cry into your pillow at 2 am.
Today, their books are heading to screens everywhere. One has already finished filming while three more are officially in development, with studios ranging from Netflix to a brand-new romance-focused indie. And two others are… somewhere out there, hopefully.
Let’s walk through all of it.
Who is Christina Lauren?
Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings met in 2009 at San Diego Comic-Con because of Twilight fan fiction, of all things.
That meeting launched a friendship, a co-writing partnership, and eventually a career that has produced over 30 books published in more than 30 languages. They queried around 40 agents before landing a deal, published six books in a single year to keep up momentum, and have had basically every title since hit the NYT list.
Both came from entirely different professional backgrounds: Billings has a PhD in neuroscience from UC Irvine, while Hobbs spent her pre-writing years as a junior high school counselor.
They also live in separate states, which they’ll be the first to admit is one of their biggest challenges.
As Billings told TODAY.com with characteristic honesty:
“There are still people who are surprised when they find out there’s two of us.”
And yes, the book that started it all, Beautiful Bastard, began its life as Twilight fan fiction titled “The Office,” which racked up two million online reads before it was ever turned into a publishable novel.
All Christina Lauren Book Adaptations:
1. In a Holidaze (Movie – Dec. 2, 2026)
In a Holidaze is Christina Lauren’s holiday rom-com, and it’s the first of their adaptations to fully make it through production, and what a cast they assembled for it.
Maddie Ziegler stars as Maelyn, a directionless twenty-something who makes a romantic mistake of epic proportions during a family trip to a snowy Utah cabin.
She wishes for happiness, and the universe delivers… through a time loop, naturally. It’s been described as Love Actually meets Groundhog Day, and we are very ready.
The supporting cast includes Rob Lowe, Graham Phillips, Elias Kacavas, Patton Oswalt, Jackie Sandler, Andrea Anders, and Meredith Salenger. Tiffany Paulsen, the writer-director behind Holidate and the Emmy-nominated Adventures in Babysitting, wrote and directed the film. Both Hobbs and Billings also co-wrote the screenplay with her.
Filming took place in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, from January through March 2026. The authors could barely contain themselves when they described their first dinner with the Alloy and Netflix teams in Los Angeles. Hobbs wrote on their website:
“We cannot say enough wonderful things about everyone involved. It was a night to remember! We are both obsessed with Holidate, also written by Tiffany (go watch it now), and fangirled all over her. The project is in the best hands imaginable!”
The film officially releases on Netflix on December 2, 2026, which means it’s coming sooner than you might think.
2. Beautiful Bastard (TV Adaptation)
Beautiful Bastard is getting a second chance at a screen life, and this time it’s arriving as a TV series.
The novel, which started as a two-million-read Twilight fan fiction before Simon & Schuster published it in 2013, follows Chloe Mills, a sharp, ambitious junior executive who finds herself in a combustible push-pull with her demanding boss, Bennett Ryan. Think slow burn but with a lot of fire along the way.
Constantin Film optioned it as a film adaptation way back in 2013, but the rights eventually reverted to the authors. In February 2026, Fifth Season—the production company behind His & Hers on Netflix—acquired the rights to develop it as a TV series. Both Hobbs and Billings are co-writing the adaptation, with Bill Dubuque supervising and producing alongside Kristen Campo.
Hobbs gave a very enthusiastic update at BookCon in April 2026, and let’s just say Dubuque is not taking a subtle approach:
“He’s not shying away from the sex and the romance at all. He’s like, ‘I want this thing to be the sexiest thing on TV. The thing is, Chloe and Bennett are kind of cartoon characters in a way. They’re just so much fun to write because they’re just flying by the seat of their pants. And for him to see that and really embrace it has been so delightful.”
No network, cast, or timeline has been confirmed yet, but the authors are clearly in their element writing this one.
3. Love and Other Words (Movie)
Love and Other Words is the Christina Lauren novel fans have been asking to see adapted for years, and it finally has a home.
Newly formed production company Magic Hour Entertainment—founded by Max Siemers and Tanner Anderson—acquired the film rights, with a feature adaptation in development. The story follows Macy Sorensen, a pediatrics resident quietly planning her wedding, until a chance encounter brings Elliot back into her life after more than a decade apart.
The two were childhood best friends, neighbors, and first loves, and neither has ever fully explained what happened.
Siemers spoke about why this project was the right first move for their new company:
“Romance is at its best when it captures something honest about the ways we experience love. Love and Other Words embodies everything we hope to find when bringing a story to the screen — it’s emotionally rich, beautifully written, and authentic to the experience of first love and loss. Christina and Lauren have crafted a romance that is both deeply personal and universally resonant, and we’re excited to honor what readers have cherished about this story for years.”
No cast or director is confirmed yet. But it’s extremely early days for Magic Hour, and this is their marquee project, so they’re not going to rush it.
4. The Paradise Problem (Movie)
The Paradise Problem has sold over 500,000 copies, and now it’s headed to the big screen.
Rebelle Media, a production company that recently rebranded as a romance-focused studio and describes itself as the home for “stories for the Emily Henry and Christina Lauren fandoms”, acquired the rights in March 2026 and is developing it as a film in partnership with Popcorn Storm.
The story follows Anna Green, a struggling artist who thought she signed divorce papers after a spontaneous Vegas wedding to Liam “West” Weston years ago. She didn’t.
Now West needs her to meet his wealthy, ruthless family, claim a $100 million inheritance, and fake that marriage all over again. It’s enemies-to-lovers wrapped in a Succession-style family drama, and the fake-marriage-to-real-feelings pipeline has never looked this expensive.
No cast or director has been announced yet, but the passion behind the project feels genuinely personal in a way that bodes well.
A Quick Note On The Others
Two more Christina Lauren books have been in development for a few years, with varying degrees of momentum.
The Unhoneymooners was optioned by BCDF Pictures back in June 2021. A script was completed, and the authors went on record saying they were “completely obsessed” with it. No cast, director, or studio has been confirmed since.
Roomies, their music-driven rom-com, was optioned even earlier—in 2018, with director Andy Fickman and Jenna Dewan attached to produce. That one has been very quiet for a very long time.
Both are technically still in development. We’re hoping to hear something soon.
More Book-to-Screen Adaptations: