MM novels are being optioned faster than at any point I can remember. Heated Rivalry, which came out in November 2025, proved a hockey romance could carry a prestige series, and over the past year studios have picked up queer romance, literary fiction and cosy fantasy alike. Most of it is still at the paperwork stage. This page tells you which ones are actually filming and which ones are only a press release.
Below are all the MM book adaptations I am currently tracking, with the source novel, where to watch it, and where each one stands. I update this page whenever something moves. Last checked 16 October 2026.
In this guide
Every MM Book Adaptation at a Glance
| Book | Author | Format | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heated Rivalry | Rachel Reid | Series | Crave / HBO Max | Season 1 out, season 2 filming |
| Here the Whole Time | Vitor Martins | Film | Netflix | Released |
| Heartstopper | Alice Oseman | Series and film | Netflix | Complete |
| Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston | Film | Prime Video | Released, sequel shot |
| Aristotle and Dante | Benjamin Alire Sáenz | Film | Prime Video | Released |
| Mo Dao Zu Shi | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | Animation and live action | Netflix, Viki, Crunchyroll | Both complete |
| Heaven Official’s Blessing | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | Animation | Netflix, Crunchyroll | 2 seasons out |
| They Both Die at the End | Adam Silvera | Series | Netflix | In development |
| The House in the Cerulean Sea | TJ Klune | Animated series | Not announced | In development |
| The Charm Offensive | Alison Cochrun | Film | Not announced | In development |
| After the Siren | Darcy Green | Not announced | Not announced | Optioned |
| Boyfriend Material | Alexis Hall | Series | Not announced | Optioned |
| See You at the Finish Line | Zac Hammett | Series | Not announced | Optioned |
A note on what these words mean, because the press tends to blur them. Optioned means a company has bought the exclusive right to try, and most options expire without a frame being shot. In development means someone is actively writing. Filming means it is really happening, and Released means you can watch it tonight.
MM Book Adaptations You Can Watch Now
Five titles have actually made it to screen, and they run from a Brazilian teen film to a prestige hockey series.
Heated Rivalry Series · Crave and HBO Max
Alright, I know everyone already knows Heated Rivalry. But a list of MM book adaptations without it is not a real list, lmao. Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander are the two best young players in professional hockey, measured against each other in public and together in secret for the better part of a decade. The series is why studios started buying MM romance again. It proved an MM sports romance could be made seriously, and that the audience went well beyond the people who had read the book.
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Here the Whole Time Film · Netflix
Felipe wants a quiet July away from the classmates who mock his weight. Then his mother agrees to host Caio, the boy across the street, for fifteen days. The Brazilian film premiered as 15 Dias on 18 June 2026, directed by Daniel Lieff, with Miguel Lallo as Felipe and Diego Lira as Caio.
I watched it recently and I loved it. It is sweet, it is fun, and this kind of representation is still far too rare in MM.
Heartstopper Series and film · Netflix
Charlie sits next to Nick in class and falls for him without believing it for a second. Three seasons followed the two of them and the whole group around them, and Oseman wrote every episode herself.
Red, White & Royal Blue Film · Prime Video
The First Son of the United States and a prince of England loathe each other in public and work it out in private. The 2023 film was the first big budget MM romance a major platform put real marketing behind, and it did well enough to get a sequel.
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Film · 2023
Two Mexican American teenagers meet at a swimming pool in El Paso in 1987 and spend the next two years working out who they are to each other. The novel is a modern YA classic and the film, directed by Aitch Alberto, keeps the slow, quiet pace of the book.
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Danmei: Chinese MM Novels on Screen
The two biggest MM novel adaptations in the world are Chinese, and there is something to know before you press play. Chinese broadcast rules do not allow an on screen gay relationship, so a danmei adaptation has to bury the romance. How far it gets buried varies a lot, and it is what readers of the novels talk about most.
Both novels below are by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, and both exist in more than one screen version. If you want the books first, my danmei reading guide covers where to start.
Mo Dao Zu Shi Animation and live action · China
Wei Wuxian dies in disgrace and comes back thirteen years later in a stranger’s body, and the man who spent those years looking for him recognises him within minutes. It is one of the most popular MM novels ever written, and it has two separate screen versions.
Obviously I would rather the censorship were not there at all, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that China loosens up. Think for a second about all the incredible danmei we could be getting as anime or live action. Either way, watch them. The Mo Dao Zu Shi and Heaven Official’s Blessing donghua are both genuinely beautiful, and you rarely get animation that looks like this.
Heaven Official’s Blessing Animation · China
Xie Lian is a god who has been banished twice and scrapes a living collecting scrap metal in the mortal world. And a ghost king has been waiting eight hundred years for him.
MM Novels Currently in Development
These three have writers attached, which puts them well ahead of a simple option. Neither has a cast or a release date, so neither will be out in 2026.
They Both Die at the End Series · Netflix
Mateo and Rufus both get the call from Death-Cast telling them today is their last day. They find each other through an app built for exactly that, and spend the hours they have left together.
I cannot wait for this one, and I am also a little afraid of it. The book is deeply sentimental, so I am getting the tissue box ready already.
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The House in the Cerulean Sea Animated series · Warner Bros. Animation
Linus Baker, a mild government caseworker, is sent to assess six unusual and possibly dangerous magical children on a remote island. He finds a family, and a man he was not looking for.
I will admit I am relieved they went with animation. It is the right format for this book, and I am really looking forward to seeing what they do with the look of it.
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The Charm Offensive Film · Marginal MediaWorks
Dev produces a Bachelor-style dating show and is certain that love is a story you can edit. Then he is assigned to coach Charlie Winshaw, a disgraced tech billionaire who joined the cast to repair his image, and neither of them is ready for what happens off camera.
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Recently Optioned, Very Early Days
An option is the cheapest step a producer can take, and most options expire without anything being filmed. It is still real news, so it belongs here, but do not plan your year around it.
After the Siren Mad Ones Films · Australia
Two players on the fictional Brunswick Falcons start badly, then get a second chance at each other, in a league where neither of them can afford to be seen. Australian rules football rather than hockey, and openly written for readers who came out of Heated Rivalry wanting more.
Boyfriend Material Series · A24 UK
Luc O’Donnell, son of a washed up rock star, needs a respectable boyfriend to save his job. Oliver Blackwood, a rigid criminal barrister, needs a date for his parents’ anniversary. Neither of them expects the arrangement to turn into anything real.
I have a real soft spot for this one. The humour is very particular and it either lands or it does not, and with me it landed completely. I found Luc genuinely funny, and infuriating, of course. So what I want from the adaptation above everything else is that they keep the humour intact. And I cannot wait to see who they cast as Luc’s colleagues.
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See You at the Finish Line Series · Noho Film & Television
George and Lucas cannot stand each other, which is awkward on the same Cambridge University rowing team. They end up striking a deal anyway: Lucas tutors George, who is struggling academically, and George coaches Lucas through going after the boy he likes. It is marketed as a slow burn for readers who loved Heated Rivalry.
What I Am Watching For Next
There is also a project A24 picked up, and we are still waiting for news. Young Mungo is Douglas Stuart’s Glasgow novel about the first love of two working class boys. A24 bought it in March 2023, with Stuart adapting it himself for the BBC. Three and a half years on, nothing else has been announced. The same A24 UK pair handles it and Boyfriend Material, Piers Wenger and Rose Garnett, so news on one could mean news on the other. It gets a full entry here as soon as something happens.
If you want something to watch tonight, start with my guide to gay shows on Netflix. Or with what to watch after Heated Rivalry, if that is what brought you here. For the books themselves, where to start with MM romance is the place to begin.
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The Adaptations I Would Love to See
None of these has been optioned. This is just my wishlist.
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat is one of my favourite MM series and seeing it on screen would be incredible. I also think it would be very hard to make. The darkest parts of the book work because we see them through Damen’s eyes, and that is hard to do on screen. It would take a very careful adaptation, and I am not sure a producer would be brave enough to try.
Cut & Run by Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban is the one I would actually bet on. Two FBI agents forced to partner up, a case per book, and nine volumes of material. Television already knows how to make that: a procedural with a romance running through it.
Return on Investment by Aleksandr Voinov would be my outside pick. Set in the world of finance, something like The Wolf of Wall Street with an MM relationship at the centre.
Some authors would work as a whole shelf rather than a single book. Anyta Sunday, KJ Charles and Josh Lanyon have each written enough that a producer could option a whole shelf and never run out. KJ Charles alone would give you historical MM for a decade.
If any of these ever get picked up, they move to the top of this page the same day.
Update History
- 16 October 2026Added The Charm Offensive, now in development as a film, and Yves Jacques to the Heated Rivalry season 2 cast.
- 23 September 2026First version of the page, with twelve adaptations tracked, from Heated Rivalry to After the Siren.
Know one I have missed? Options get announced quietly and fall through just as quietly, so tell me in the comments if you have seen something. I keep this page updated as projects move, stall or get cancelled.
