A Cosmo Girl's Guide To The Book-To-Screen Adaptations We're Watching In 2026

'Tis the year for us to come back and re-embrace our book-loving era. 2025 happened to be filled with black cat energy FMCs, golden retriever MMCs, some mystery-thriller plots, a bit of our ever-so-loving self-help books, and a whole lot of hockey romances.

If that's also the case for you, I think we're literally on the same page when it comes to staying tuned with every book that gets adapted to a TV series or a film next year.

Truly, this has been the year of adaptations, and trust us, we're not the only ones losing it. Case in point: Heated Rivalry, which just became a global breakout hit and earned a Season 2 renewal before the first season even wrapped.

If the BL series from HBO Max isn't on your radar yet, don't worry—we're breaking it all down, plus rounding up more book adaptations that are currently (and rightfully) getting all the hype.

Editor's note: There might be some spoilers included in this article. You've been warned!

We're not gonna lie: Our algorithms have been taken over by Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams. The two star as Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, who are the characters at the heart of Heated Rivalry.

Heated Rivalry was based on the book written by Rachel Reid. It revolves around how two pro hockey players, Ilya and Shane, appear to be archenemies whenever they're on ice. But off-cam, they can't shake off the undeniable spark and chemistry they feel for each other.

It's not the typical boys' love genre because—the tension, the chemistry, the public display of affection (hello Scott & Kip!), major plus for how the showrunners tackled every hot scene between Ilya and Shane? It's all a massive build-up for a masterpiece.

With a second season officially greenlit, everyone's now waiting on the show's return date. While there's still no confirmation on whether it'll drop in 2026, one thing's for sure: we're all staying at the freaking cottage until then ;)

Heated Rivalry is now streaming on HBO Max.

(P.S. If you can't wait for the second season, we recommend reading the book sequel to it, The Long Game. 😉)

Okay, who's an Emily Henry girlie here like us? 🙋🏻‍♀️ To say we're so happy after hearing that Emily's getting her first film adaptation with People We Meet On Vacation is an understatement.

We've all been waiting for her books to come to our screens, and we're finally having one soon on Netflix. The rom-com film is top-billed by Emily Brader and Tom Blyth, and yes, it has the friends-to-lovers trope.

Ruin the friendship, they say, to Poppy and Alex, the two main characters of the book. The two grew up traveling together every summer, meeting different people, and experiencing life in many ways they could. But of course, the question of—will a girl-boy friendship survive without anyone falling in love?—comes into place, and we're all torn for this love story.

Can't say that People We Meet On Vacation is one of Emily Henry's greatest works, because all her works are good—so good that a couple of them are also in the works for a film adaptation. We kid you not!

While waiting for those to come, let's indulge ourselves with People We Meet On Vacation streaming on Netflix, January 9, 2026.

Now, a raise of hands for those who worship Ali Hazelwood's books here? 🙋🏻‍♀️ Ali's getting her popular The Love Hypothesis novel a film—and it's coming really soon!

The Love Hypothesis is basically a heart-racing rom-com in book form. The FMC is Olive Smith, a brilliant PhD student who will be portrayed by Lili Reinhart (!) Olive's done everything to prove she's all about science—except when it comes to love.

After a heated debate about her love life with a friend, Olive impulsively kisses Adam Carlsen—a super-intense, drop-dead-gorgeous professor, and boom—their fake-relationship experiment begins. Don't forget that Adam will be played by Tom Bateman, everybody.

Now think: STEM meets steamy romance (totally Ali's style!), with just the right dose of nerdy banter and swoony professor vibes. That's The Love Hypothesis for you. By the end, you'll be shipping them hard—and maybe even rethinking your own "rules" about love. 💕

Film for The Love Hypothesis is slated to be released in 2026.

To forget Bridgerton when we're talking about book-to-screen adaptations would be a sin. Because after years of waiting, we are finally getting Benedict Bridgerton's arc!

Bridgerton returns for its fourth season, featuring Benedict and his love interest, Sophie's story. This time, Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha are stepping into the screens as the main protagonists, and we couldn't be more excited to see a new pair filled with chemistry.

As we all know, Bridgerton is based on Julia Quinn's book. With Season 4, we're looking into Julia Quinn's An Offer from a Gentleman. In a sense, it has the Cinderella-type of story with Sophie being kept away from society, only for Benedict to meet her and fall completely in love with her.

The push-and-pull between our beloved Benophie premieres January 29, 2026 on Netflix.

When we first saw the trailer for Wuthering Heights, let's say that our jaws were on the floor. Comparing it to how Emily Brontë's classic novel was written, the 2026 film adaptation impresses with an unexpectedly gripping chemistry between Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.

To refresh everyone's memory from English lit class (probably), Wuthering Heights explores the 18th century dynamics of falling in love. The book shares the tragic love story between the wealthy Catherine Earnshaw (Robbie) and the orphaned Heathcliff (Elordi).

Wuthering Heights will soon be in cinemas on February 13, 2026.

Another one of Colleen Hoover's books is getting a film adaptation. This time around, her thriller novel, Verity, will debut on the big screen!

Aside from the fact that it's getting an adaptation, the cast lineup also has the fans screaming and giddy to see it. Because what do you mean the Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson are starring side by side in this film?!

Anne will be giving life to the character of Verity, a bestselling author who hired someone to ghostwrite for her. The ghostwriter comes in the persona of Lowen Ashleigh (portrayed by Dakota). Later in the story, Lowen uncovers Verity's darkest family secrets and, obviously, gets entangled in the frightening mess of Verity's family.

Verity is coming to cinemas in May 2026.

Okay, my fellow citizens of District 13—it's time we look back at how it all began. The prequel to our favorite Hunger Games trilogy is coming to the cinemas. And no, it's not just written for TV, but the book was actually released just this 2025!

Sunrise on the Reaping, set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen came into the scene, tells the story of how Panem made sense of the tributes, and the reaping, and all that dystopian stuff we've read about in Hunger Games.

Personally, the best part about the premise of Sunrise on the Reaping is the fact that it explores the story behind our favorite mentor, Haymitch Abernathy. He was reaped at the young age of 16 during the 50th Hunger Games.

Another best part (I know, so many bests) about the prequel film is that Haymitch will be portrayed by our recent obsession: Joseph Zada. The actor made an impression this year with his role in Prime Video's We Were Liars. More stars joined the cast, including McKenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Elle Fanning, and more.

Sunrise on the Reaping will soon be in cinemas starting November 20, 2026.

We were serious when we said that it's the year for hockey romances. Elle Kennedy's Off Campus book series is getting an adaptation, too!

Off Campus is a five-book series that shares the love stories of 5 couples from Briar University. Yes, it's all about college romance with MMCs being hockey players who are roommates—so, there's also the found family trope, which we adore.

Based on the teasers from the show's official Instagram account, it seems that they will first be focusing on Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham's love story, played by Ella Bright and Belmont Cameli, respectively. The plot? Enemies-to-lovers. 😋

Off Campus will soon be streaming on Prime Video.

If you're up for some classic love-against-all-odds kind of story, Maxton Hall is the one for you. The hit German series, based on Mona Kasten's Maxton Hall trilogy, was first released in May 2024.

Maxtron Hall gained worldwide popularity for its story and, most importantly, because of its cast. Damian Hardung and Harriet Herbig-Matten brought life to the book characters, James Beaufort and Ruby Bell.

The story starts with how James and Ruby are living on opposite sides of the social class, with James being the rich and popular boy, and Ruby being the girl who got into their prestigious school because of her scholarship.

Although they started on the wrong foot, the two grew to understand each other, eventually falling hard in love. Now, they have to navigate through life and love against all odds (which we can also call... Mortimer, a.k.a. the controlling father of James Beaufort 😭).

With the third season of Maxton Hall all wrapped up this December 2025, fans are so keen to get to the third season of the show, which might have to drop in 2026 or early 2027, only on Prime Video.

Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest star as Anna and Jamie in Netflix's My Oxford Year. The film was based on Julia Whelan's book of the same name. It follows the ambitious Anna (named Ella in the book), who heads to the University of Oxford for a life-changing year—only to have her carefully planned future shaken by an unexpected romance that teaches her about love, loss, and choosing what truly matters.

My Oxford Year is streaming on Netflix.

The award-winning novel We Were Liars by E. Lockhart has officially made its way to the screen this year—and yes, that ending left everyone (especially non-book readers) completely stunned.

Told through the perspective of Cadence Sinclair (Emily Alyn Lind), the story follows her return to her family's private Beechwood Island after a mysterious incident leaves her washed up on shore, nearly naked and with no memory of what happened. As Cadence pieces together fragments of her past, she slowly uncovers the truth behind her accident—and is forced to reckon with the devastating reality that follows.

We Were Liars is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.

The Summer I Turned Pretty had the whole Internet asking: Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? While controversial takes have been said, The Summer I Turned Pretty series, written by Jenny Han, surely became a pop-culture moment.

It might not be everyone's cup of tea—it spotlights the messy, love triangle trope—but let us tell you that TSITP is also about the characters' growth, from youth to their adulthood days.

The story actually centers on Belly Conklin (Lola Tung), whose annual summer escapes to Cousins Beach mark the moment her world starts to shift. As she steps into a new version of herself, long-held feelings rise to the surface, blurring the lines between friendship and romance with Conrad (Chris Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno). What unfolds is a tender coming-of-age story about first love, emotional growing pains, and the summers that change you forever ;)

All three seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty are on Prime Video. And (!) by the way, a TSITIP film is also in the works!

Whether you're a longtime book lover or a first-time reader, these upcoming adaptations promise to bring beloved stories to life.

Clear your watchlists, mark your calendars, and get ready to fall in love with these stories all over again. 😉