Netflix casts the leads for highly anticipated YA adaptation Better Than the Movies

Get ready, because another new Netflix adaptation is coming to our small screens very soon. Better Than The Movies has officially cast its two leads!

According to a July 2026 report from Deadline, Beatrice Kitsos and David Iacono will star as Liz Buxbaum and Michael after the film adaptation was originally announced in May 2026. The book is written by Lynn Painter.

The two stars are relatively new to Hollywood, with only a few prominent roles under their belt so far. Kitsos is primarily known for playing Alison Simms in Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, while Iacono has appeared in a few films such as Jurassic World Rebirth and Fear Street: Prom Queen.

Painter even shared the news to Instagram in all her excitement, welcoming the two leads:

The movie is based on the novel of the same name, written by the bestselling author. Better Than The Movies follows a rom-com-obsessed teenager who schemes with her “annoying-but-cute neighbor” to win her crush's affection. But of course, feelings begin to blossom as their relationship develops.

A film adaptation like this isn’t new for Netflix, as the platform loves to adapt novels into shows. But there’s just something about a Netflix movie adaptation that gets me even more excited, and these two are perfect picks.

Better Than The Movies joins the long list of popular book adaptations coming to the platform, with adaptations like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, an increase in Emily Henry movies, and more keeping it company. Of course, there’s also the typical Pride & Prejudice adaptation coming out in 2026 as well, which is also fairly exciting. But seeing huge modern-day books like this get their time in the sun is so amazing!

And honestly, what a book to do an adaptation of. Better Than The Movies has appeared on The New York Times since its release in 2021, and fans have tried to fancast this film for ages. Officially having the casting shows that we’re one step closer to seeing them on our television screens.

That being said, Better Than The Movies isn’t expected to release until at least 2027, so we have plenty of time before we’re expecting an update or anything related to production. We still need the rest of the cast first.

But what we can say is that there’s already a director in place, Julia Hart (who directed the upcoming Netflix comedy, Don’t Say Good Luck), and two screenwriters who are working together, Heather Flanders and Hart & Jordan Horowitz. What’s even bigger news is that this isn’t even just Painter’s only news this week, as another adaptation of hers, Fake Skating, has a director set, too: Josh Boone (according to Deadline).

Truly, what a time to be a Lynn Painter fan. And hopefully soon we’ll be getting even more updates on when we can expect Better Than The Movies to hit our streaming screens.

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