5 Movies to Watch If You Loved The Love Hypothesis

Amazon’s new romantic comedy The Love Hypothesis is quickly becoming a streaming favorite—but what should viewers know before watching? Adapted from Ali Hazelwood’s best-selling novel, the film began as a fanfiction story inspired by Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren and Daisy Ridley’s Rey from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Directed by Claire Scanlon, the movie follows Olive Smith (Lili Reinhart), a Stanford graduate student determined to develop a biomarker-based treatment for pancreatic cancer. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she begins fake-dating Adam Carlson (Tom Bateman), a stern biology professor feared and disliked by many of his graduate students. Olive enters the arrangement to convince her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) that she has no interest in Anh’s crush, Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay). Adam, meanwhile, agrees because he wants Stanford to believe he has lasting ties to the university and will remain after receiving substantial grant funding. Naturally, the pretend relationship eventually becomes something real—and by the end of The Love Hypothesis, Olive and Adam are genuinely in love.

The Love Hypothesis is a warm, witty and thoroughly charming romantic comedy, elevated by the chemistry between Reinhart and Bateman, along with memorable supporting performances from Marsh and Jaboukie Young-White, who plays Olive’s other best friend and fellow Stanford student Malcolm. If you enjoyed the movie, what should you watch next? This list focuses on films built around fake or arranged relationships. There may not be many science-centered rom-coms to choose from, but there are plenty of entertaining movies that capture the same mix of deception, chemistry and unexpected romance. One of them was also directed by Scanlon. Here are five movies to watch after The Love Hypothesis.

Claire Scanlon’s delightful 2018 romantic comedy Set It Up—written by Katie Silberman, the screenwriter behind Booksmart—centers on two overworked assistants, Harper Moore (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie Young (Glen Powell). Harper works for sports editor and journalist Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu), while Charlie assists venture capitalist Rick Otis (Taye Diggs). After clashing over a takeout order in the building where both offices are located, the pair comes up with a plan: they will set up their demanding bosses, encourage them to date and hopefully give themselves enough breathing room to enjoy a life outside work.

The scheme succeeds, with Kirsten and Rick finding an unexpected connection. At the same time, Harper and Charlie spend more time together and begin to realize that their own relationship may be becoming something more. Deutch and Powell, who previously appeared together in Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!!!, are terrific as the leads. Powell, in particular, makes a strong case for appearing in far more romantic comedies—and he turns up in another movie on this list. Set It Up also gives both characters believable ambitions and emotional depth, including Harper’s dream of becoming a sports writer. Add scene-stealing performances from Pete Davidson, Meredith Hagner and Tituss Burgess, and the result is another funny, sweet and highly rewatchable rom-com from Scanlon.

Directed by Susan Johnson, written by Sofia Alvarez and adapted from Jenny Han’s novel, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before follows the unexpectedly complicated romantic life of high school student Lara Jean Song-Covey (Lana Condor). Lara Jean processes her feelings by writing private love letters to her crushes, including Josh (Israel Broussard), who happens to be her older sister Margo’s (Janel Parrish) ex-boyfriend. Everything changes when Lara Jean’s younger sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), discovers the letters and sends them without warning. The situation becomes even more shocking when Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo, in his breakout role) confronts Lara Jean at school after receiving his letter. Her response is roughly what anyone might expect in such a moment: she faints.

Josh receives a letter too, creating a potential crisis for Lara Jean’s relationship with her sister. That is where Peter’s proposal comes in: he and Lara Jean should pretend to date. Peter hopes the arrangement will make his ex-girlfriend Gen (Emilija Baranac), who was once Lara Jean’s best friend, jealous. As expected, the fake couple gradually develops real feelings. The film depends heavily on the chemistry between its leads, and Condor and Centineo deliver, creating a pairing that is both magnetic and endearing. Even viewers long past their teenage years may feel swept back into first love as Lara Jean and Peter’s arrangement becomes genuine. The story also continues in two sequels, making To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before the first film in a complete trilogy.

The early 2000s produced some of the most memorable mainstream romantic comedies, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days remains one of the era’s defining entries. Directed by Donald Petrie and written by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan and Burr Steers, the film is loosely based on a picture book by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long. It introduces Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson), a writer for a women’s magazine who longs to move beyond dating advice and fashion stories, and Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), an advertising executive determined to land a major account with diamond company DeLauer, which appears to be modeled on De Beers.

Their unusual fake relationship begins with two competing challenges. Andie’s editor, Lana (Bebe Neuwirth), dares her to make a man break up with her within 10 days by embracing every stereotype associated with being a “difficult woman.” At the same time, Benjamin accepts a bet from his rivals, the Judys (Shalom Harlow and Michael Michele), that he can make any woman fall in love with him in the same amount of time. The Judys know about Andie’s assignment, so they point Benjamin directly toward her.

The premise of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is completely outrageous, but that absurdity is central to its appeal. Hudson and McConaughey make the increasingly chaotic situation work, balancing the broad comedy with genuine warmth. And after watching the movie, you may never hear “You’re So Vain” quite the same way again.

Loosely inspired by William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You transplants the story to an American high school. Written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who also wrote Legally Blonde, and directed by Gil Junger, the film follows Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles), whose sharp personality keeps nearly everyone at a distance. Her younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), meanwhile, wants to start dating. Their father, Walter (Larry Miller), responds with one firm rule: Bianca cannot date until Kat does.

Eager to take Bianca out, popular student Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) pays Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), a mysterious and striking new student from Australia, to pursue Kat. While that arrangement unfolds, Bianca begins falling for Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a sweet and somewhat awkward French tutor. Packed with sharp dialogue, memorable performances and an all-time comic turn from Allison Janney as a guidance counselor with a surprisingly outrageous private life, 10 Things I Hate About You builds toward a romance between Kat and Patrick that feels earned. It also delivers a touching reconciliation between Kat and Bianca. A classic of both teen movies and fake-dating romances, it is an ideal follow-up for fans of The Love Hypothesis.

Will Gluck has built a reputation for highly entertaining romantic comedies with unconventional premises, including Friends with Benefits and Easy A, as well as the 2026 film One Night Only. In the 2023 box-office hit Anyone But You, however, he works with more familiar romantic-comedy territory. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, the film follows Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell), who spend a night together before a misunderstanding causes Ben to speak badly about Bea to his roommate Pete (rapper GaTa). After Bea leaves embarrassed, the pair are brought back into each other’s orbit when Bea’s sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) becomes engaged to Ben’s sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp). When the couple plans a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia, Bea and Ben are cast as maid of honor and best man, leaving them stuck together—and repeatedly thrown into intimate situations.

The fake-dating plot begins when everyone at the wedding starts trying to reunite Bea and Ben. To outmaneuver the matchmaking efforts, they decide to pretend they are already a couple. Anyone But You includes a few bizarre side stories, including one involving a family dog named Klonopin, but it delivers the romantic-comedy beats viewers are likely seeking after The Love Hypothesis. Sweeney and Powell also make a convincing pair, turning an antagonistic relationship into a romance that gradually feels sincere.

The Love Hypothesis is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.