Fake dating. Strict rules. Absolutely no feelings. In the rom-com world, we all know how this experiment is going to go. Prime Video has released the official trailer for The Love Hypothesis, bringing Ali Hazelwood’s hugely popular romance novel to the screen with Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman putting some very questionable science into practice. Watch the trailer above and get the details below.
Fake Dating. For Science, Obviously.
Reinhart plays Olive, a Ph.D. candidate whose romantic problems begin when she realises her best friend Ahn (Rachel Marsh) has fallen for Olive’s own crush, Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay). To prove she’s completely moved on, Olive grabs the nearest available man and kisses him.
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That man happens to be Adam Carlsen (Bateman), an intimidating professor whose reputation has earned him the nickname “Dr Evil.” It’s an impulsive move that should probably end with an awkward apology and both parties never speaking again. Instead, Adam decides Olive’s ridiculous plan could actually be useful.
As the trailer reveals, Stanford may not renew Adam’s grant because he’s considered a flight risk. Having a serious girlfriend could make him look considerably more settled, so the pair strike a deal: Olive convinces Ahn she’s moved on, Adam gets a conveniently convincing relationship, and both agree to rules that will surely remain completely uncomplicated.
Naturally, things start getting complicated almost immediately. Readers should recognise plenty along the way. The first kiss recreates one of the novel’s defining images, while the sunscreen moment is another scene fans have been waiting to see make the jump to screen.
The film is all-in on the romantic comedy factor, so anyone already susceptible to fake dating, grumpy-meets-sunshine chemistry and awkward academic flirting may as well surrender now.
A BookTok Hit Makes the Jump to Screen
Published in 2021, The Love Hypothesis became a major success for Hazelwood and helped establish the author’s particular brand of STEM-set romance. It also found a huge audience online, particularly among BookTok readers.
And then there’s the story behind the story. The novel began life as Star Wars-inspired Reylo fan fiction, built around versions of Rey and Kylo Ren before being reworked into Olive and Adam. That gives Bateman’s casting an amusing extra wrinkle: he’s married to Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. No, you couldn’t really make that up.
Reinhart, who also executive produces the adaptation, admitted she wasn’t immediately convinced that another rom-com was what she wanted to do. Speaking at Prime Video’s Obsessed Fest in June, she said receiving Sarah Rothschild’s screenplay prompted her to finally pick up Hazelwood’s novel.
“I read the script and then I went and read the book and then I felt convinced to do it,” Reinhart said, as quoted by People. She added that she “wasn’t sure” about doing a romantic comedy beforehand, but was quickly sold.
Reinhart also stressed that the filmmakers wanted to preserve what readers responded to rather than completely reinvent the material. She described the result as having the feel of a timeless romantic comedy while maintaining Olive and Adam’s characters, adding that the “heart of the book is in the film.”
Hazelwood herself sounds pretty happy with what Reinhart and Bateman have done. Speaking to Cosmopolitan, the author said: “It’s incredible how they were able to capture both the over-the-top, funny aspects of Olive and Adam and their more vulnerable sides.”
That same interview revealed there are new additions for the film as well, including a student party created by screenwriter Rothschild that Hazelwood described as her favourite scene in the adaptation.
Who’s Behind The Love Hypothesis?
Claire Scanlon, whose credits include Set It Up and The People We Hate at the Wedding, directs from Rothschild’s screenplay. Elizabeth Cantillon produces, with Reinhart and Hazelwood among the executive producers.
The supporting cast includes Rachel Marsh as Ahn, Nicholas Duvernay as Jeremy, Jaboukie Young-White as Malcolm and Arty Froushan.
Release Date
The Love Hypothesis will stream globally on Prime Video from September 23, 2026.
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