In the mood for love? New rom-coms (and wrong-coms and dom-coms) to watch now

There’s Billy Crystal’s Harry confessing his love to Meg Ryan’s Sally. Or the impassioned classroom poem from Julia Stiles’ Kat in 10 Things I Hate About You. Or Hugh Grant in … well, take your pick. As a genre, romantic comedies dominated film and TV in the ’90s and early 2000s. Since this golden era, rom-coms now seem more associated with cringe than comfort. But could the tide be turning? From “dom-coms” to “wrong-coms” to more conventional destination romances, there’s a plethora of romance on screen in more recent times.

I’m just a writer, standing in front of a reader, asking you to consider the resurgence of rom-coms with the following list of films and TV shows that have (or are about to) come out.

It wouldn’t be a list of rom-coms without Jennifer Lopez, who has 10 such titles to her name and counting. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on where you stand), her latest film doesn’t revolve around planning or attending a wedding. It does feature Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) as her on-screen romantic interest and the lawyer recently hired to work for her company. What’s an airline chief executive to do when she falls for a staff member after instituting an office fraternisation ban? It’s a deeply relatable plot – for airline chief executives. This R-rated film will probably entertain, depending on your feelings towards British-American cultural differences, workplace ensembles, and extended work trips.

“No young woman wants a 50-year-old man creeping up to her,” Steve (Jemaine Clement) tells his best friend Alice (Nicola Walker) in a bar after attending the funeral of a mutual friend. And yet, a few short scenes later, it’s the very premise of the show. As Steve goes on to date Alice’s 20-something daughter, Izzy (Yali Topol Margalith), this “wrong-com” takes us to deeply uncomfortable places. Creator and writer Sophie Goodhart (Sex Education) puts Alice and Steve’s friendship at the forefront of this six-part series that will have you asking: “Are we meant to laugh at this part?”

Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and golden retriever in human form Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) are back in Heartstopper Forever. The feature film is the final instalment of the gay romance series, based on YA graphic novels by Alice Oseman. In this chapter, Nick heads to college as Charlie reckons with his last year of school without his boyfriend. If it’s anything like the series, the film will feel like a big warm hug with a side of adolescent drama. Long-distance relationships are rich fodder for rom-coms, but can Charlie and Nick survive this trope test?

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