Rebelle Media & MGM Television Win Rights To Adapt ‘When In Rome’ Series By Sarah Adams
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- Rebelle Media and MGM Television acquired rights to adapt Sarah Adams' 'When In Rome' book series, announced at SDCC's 'Romance on the Big Screen: Why It's About Damn Time' panel Thursday by co-founder Amanda Palley
- The first book centers on burnt-out pop star Amelia Rose (Rae Rose), who flees her celebrity life for Rome, Kentucky — inspired by Audrey Hepburn's Roman Holiday — and meets pie-shop owner Noah Walker
- The franchise spans three novels — When In Rome, Practice Makes Perfect, and Beg, Borrow, or Steal — each following a different couple with meet-cutes in Rome, Kentucky
- Amanda Palley joined as Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer after more than a decade at CBS Studios and the network, where she served as SVP of Current Programs and head of Current for the CW
- Rebelle Media, founded by Laura Lewis in 2018, recently rebranded to singularly focus on romance across film, television, and books, with prior credits including Hulu's Tell Me Lies and films Mr. Malcolm's List and Long Weekend
- Rebelle and MGM Television are also developing adaptations of Christina Lauren's The Paradise Problem, Rebecca Armitage's The Heir Apparent, and Jo Piazza's The Sicilian Inheritance
Why it matters: Rebelle's rebrand to romance-only signals a deliberate pipeline strategy, with 'When In Rome' joining three other in-development adaptations alongside MGM Television — giving Sarah Adams' small-town Kentucky trilogy a clear path to series while expanding the studios' romance-adaptation footprint.
