Netflix Adapting Ali Hazelwood's 'Deep End' Romance
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- Netflix acquired rights to Ali Hazelwood's Deep End in a major pre-empt before publication, launching development on a film adaptation of the instant NYT #1 bestselling college romance between a diver and a swimmer.
- Laura Kosann will write the screenplay; Shawn Levy and Dan Levine (21 Laps) produce alongside Alex Cooper and Matt Kaplan (Unwell Productions), with Hazelwood as executive producer and Emily Morris and Emily Feher overseeing for 21 Laps.
- Deep End has sold nearly 1.5 million copies worldwide and been licensed in 21 territories since its 2025 Berkley (Penguin Random House) publication.
- The deal follows Netflix's adaptation of Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation, which doubled all-format sales in the two weeks after release—underscoring the streamer's BookTok-driven strategy.
- Deep End is Hazelwood's second feature adaptation; her debut The Love Hypothesis hits Prime Video on September 23 via Amazon MGM and MRC, with the author having sold 10 million copies worldwide since leaving academia in 2022.
- Unwell Productions—Alex Cooper's company behind the Call Her Daddy podcast—makes its first major foray into scripted features with Deep End, after prior unscripted projects including Love Overboard and the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.
Why it matters: Netflix locked Deep End rights in a rare pre-empt before publication, signaling aggressive competition for proven BookTok IP after *People We Meet on Vacation* doubled all-format sales in two weeks. The deal pairs 21 Laps—coming off A24's $394M-grossing *Backrooms*—with Alex Cooper's Unwell making its scripted debut, betting that the same sales-lift formula works on Hazelwood's 10-million-copy fanbase.
