Amazon MGM develops sports rom‑com

Amazon MGM Studios is developing “Playing the Field,” a television adaptation of Meryl Wilsner’s soccer romance “Cleat Cute.” (deadline.com) Deadline reported on April 13 that Sarah Tapscott is attached as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Tapscott previously worked on “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Single Parents” and “New Girl.” (deadline.com) The series is based on Wilsner’s 2023 novel, which Macmillan describes as a rivals-to-lovers romantic comedy about two women’s soccer teammates preparing for the World Cup. Wilsner’s own site calls the book a sapphic soccer rom-com published on September 19, 2023. (us.macmillan.com; merylwilsner.com) Amazon’s version expands the setup into an ensemble comedy about four players on a professional women’s soccer team in New Orleans, with captain Grace Henderson and rookie Phoebe Matthews at the center. That premise was reported by Deadline and echoed in follow-up coverage published April 14. (deadline.com; yahoo.com) The project had been in motion before Amazon joined. In April 2024, Deadline and Variety reported that Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s production company A Touch More teamed with Future Shack Entertainment to develop “Cleat Cute” as a scripted series, with no network attached at the time. (deadline.com; variety.com) That means the April 2026 update is the first public sign that the adaptation has landed at a studio and added a lead creative executive. It also gives the project a new title, “Playing the Field,” instead of the book’s original name. (deadline.com; swooon.com) Wilsner came into the project with an established romance audience. Amazon’s book listing calls “Cleat Cute” an instant USA Today bestseller, and Macmillan identifies Wilsner as the USA Today bestselling author of “Something to Talk About” and “Mistakes Were Made.” (amazon.com; us.macmillan.com) Amazon MGM has not announced a cast, episode order or release date. For now, “Playing the Field” is still in development, but it has a studio home, a showrunner and a clearer path than it did a year ago. (deadline.com)