'The Love Hypothesis' Fails the Rom-Com Chemistry Test (with Linda Holmes)

2026-09-30 · 88 min · episode 17 · 18 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ appeared on It Was A Book First podcast

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evidence rules-v5
Guest: Linda Holmes
→ authored Evvie Drake Starts Over book

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t how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56) Before wrappin
→ references Evvie Drake Starts Over book

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t how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56) Before wrappin
→ references Bet me book

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like to see get adapted for the screen: the 2004 Jennifer Crusie romance novel “Bet Me .” (01:23:56) Next week, we’re sticking to the romance genre but adding a psych
→ references The Love Hypothesis book

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'The Love Hypothesis' Fails the Rom-Com Chemistry Test (with Linda Holmes) This week, NPR pop cultur
→ references Star Wars book

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esis,” a BookTok hit that began in a galaxy far, far away as “Head Over Feet,” “Star Wars” fan fiction that shipped Rey (who was portrayed by Bateman’s wife, Daisy Ridle
→ discusses Society & Culture concept

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Feed category: Society & Culture
→ discusses Arts concept

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Feed category: Arts
→ discusses TV & Film concept

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Feed category: TV & Film
→ discusses Books concept

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Feed category: Books

Entities found in this episode

books 9

mentioned Evvie Drake Starts Over book

0.90

evidence rules-v5
t how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56) Before wrappin
mentioned Bet me book

0.83

evidence rules-v5
like to see get adapted for the screen: the 2004 Jennifer Crusie romance novel “Bet Me .” (01:23:56) Next week, we’re sticking to the romance genre but adding a psych
authored Evvie Drake Starts Over book

0.80

evidence rules-v5
t how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56) Before wrappin
mentioned The Love Hypothesis book

0.79

evidence rules-v5
'The Love Hypothesis' Fails the Rom-Com Chemistry Test (with Linda Holmes) This week, NPR pop cultur
references Evvie Drake Starts Over book

0.77

evidence rules-v5
t how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56) Before wrappin
mentioned Star Wars book

0.74

evidence rules-v5
esis,” a BookTok hit that began in a galaxy far, far away as “Head Over Feet,” “Star Wars” fan fiction that shipped Rey (who was portrayed by Bateman’s wife, Daisy Ridle
references Bet me book

0.70

evidence rules-v5
like to see get adapted for the screen: the 2004 Jennifer Crusie romance novel “Bet Me .” (01:23:56) Next week, we’re sticking to the romance genre but adding a psych
references The Love Hypothesis book

0.67

evidence rules-v5
'The Love Hypothesis' Fails the Rom-Com Chemistry Test (with Linda Holmes) This week, NPR pop cultur
references Star Wars book

0.63

evidence rules-v5
esis,” a BookTok hit that began in a galaxy far, far away as “Head Over Feet,” “Star Wars” fan fiction that shipped Rey (who was portrayed by Bateman’s wife, Daisy Ridle

concepts 7

mentioned Society & Culture concept

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Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Arts concept

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Feed category: Arts
mentioned TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Arts concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Arts
discusses TV & Film concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: TV & Film
discusses Books concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Books

persons 1

mentioned Linda Holmes person

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'The Love Hypothesis' Fails the Rom-Com Chemistry Test (with Linda Holmes)

podcasts 1

appeared on It Was A Book First podcast

0.82 · ×2

evidence rules-v5
Guest: Linda Holmes

Episode description as stored

This week, NPR pop culture correspondent Linda Holmes joins Sophie and Rudi to discuss “ The Love Hypothesis ,” Prime Video’s new streaming adaptation of Ali Hazelwood’s 2021 novel of the same name. The fake dating romantic comedy stars Lili Reinhart ("Riverdale") as PhD student Olive Smith and Tom Bateman as professor Dr. Adam Carlsen. Rachel Marsh and Jaboukie Young-White also star in the film, which was directed by Claire Scanlon (“Set It Up”) and adapted by screenwriter Sarah Rothschild. Before they discuss the book and film, they talk about rom-com adaptations and tropes with Linda, who co-hosts “ Pop Culture Happy Hour ” and has written three novels, including the rom-com “ Back After This .” (00:02:39) Then, Sophie explores the origins of “The Love Hypothesis,” a BookTok hit that began in a galaxy far, far away as “Head Over Feet,” “Star Wars” fan fiction that shipped Rey (who was portrayed by Bateman’s wife, Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). (00:07:30) After discussing more rom-com tropes and setting up the story’s fake dating premise (00:10:00), Rudi details the film version and they give some general thoughts on the movie. (00:15:06) Throughout their discussion, Sophie shares the many differences from the book (00:22:45), what’s missing from the Adam character (00:26:40) and how the filmmakers approached adapting the book’s infamous Chapter 16 (00:38:00). Linda shares what she thought worked and didn’t work about the film in the context of other rom-coms; while Rudi and Sophie talk about their issues with the film’s tonal whiplash and the lack of chemistry between the two leads. They briefly discuss Amazon and Prime Video’s strategy of leaning into romance adaptations like “Off Campus” (and non-adapations like “Sterling Point”) (01:10:12) before they debate whether these stories work better as series instead of films (01:12:12) Linda then talks about how she’d like to see her own books get adapted, specifically her 2019 novel “Evvie Drake Starts Over,” which has been optioned for a potential adaptation. (01:16:56) Before wrapping up, Sophie reveals her Sophie’s Choice pick for which she liked better: Reading Hazelwood’s book or watching the Prime Video movie. (01:22:40) Finally, Linda offers her pick for a book she’d like to see get adapted for the screen: the 2004 Jennifer Crusie romance novel “Bet Me .” (01:23:56) Next week, we’re sticking to the romance genre but adding a psychological thriller element for “ Verity ,” Amazon MGM’s theatrical film adaptation of the 2018 Colleen Hoover book starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. It Was A Book First is the podcast about new book-to-screen adaptations. Subscribe now to get new episodes delivered weekly on Wednesdays. Follow us on Instagram: @ itwasabookfirstpod TikTok: @ itwasabookfirst YouTube: @ itwasabookfirstpodcast Email: itwasabookfirst@gmail.com Hosts and producers: Sophie Vershbow and Rudi Greenberg Guest: Linda Holmes Editing: Rudi Greenberg Social media: Sophie Vershbow Music: Cliff Blum and John Connelly; music production: Kevin Pons Logo: Trisha Louise Prieto Website: Kevin Pfab