Netflix has cast Beatrice Kitsos and David Iacono as the leads in its adaptation of Lynn Painter’s young-adult romantic comedy novel Better Than the Movies. Kitsos will play Liz Buxbaum, who teams up with her irritating but attractive next-door neighbour, Wes Bennett, played by Iacono, to win the attention of her crush; the project turns familiar rom-com tropes into a new story about happy endings.

The 2021 Simon & Schuster novel became a major BookTok success, appearing on the New York Times monthly YA paperback list for 44 consecutive months and its weekly YA hardcover list for 20 weeks. Julia Hart will direct from a script by Heather Flanders, Hart and Jordan Horowitz, while Horowitz will produce with Hart’s Original Headquarters, Shauna Phelan and Melanie Krauss.