Executive Overview
The intersection of digital-first mobile media and the booming global romance book market has given birth to a major new player in the content ecosystem. Jamie Gordon, co-founder of Fugitive Films, and Maggie Malina, former head of scripted programming at MTV, have officially announced the launch of Rommi, a specialized vertical content production studio dedicated entirely to the romance genre.
Headquartered in New York City, Rommi enters the market with a distinct strategy: it will commission original stories directly from established, best-selling romance authors, adapting them for the screen prior to their traditional publication debut. By tapping into the voracious reading habits of modern book fandoms and combining them with the snackable, high-retention format of vertical video, Rommi aims to redefine how romance is consumed on mobile devices.
The studio’s inaugural vertical romantic-comedy, Drive Me Mad, is slated for an October premiere. Based on an original concept by acclaimed romance author Ali Rosen (Unlikely Story), the project signals the beginning of an aggressive rollout strategy. Additional original works are already in development from prominent authors including Emma Grey (The Last Love Note) and Debbie Rigaud (Simone Breaks All the Rules). Furthermore, Rommi is bridging the gap between existing literary properties and mobile screens by adapting established best-sellers, such as Brittainy Cherry’s The Mixtape and Kate Robb’s This Spells Love.
To bolster its creative pipeline, Rommi has forged a strategic co-production partnership with Morgann Book and Thomas Johnston of Bookish Media, a specialized book-based media and production firm. This alliance ensures that the studio remains deeply rooted in the nuanced desires of the romance reading community, positioning Rommi as a premium bridge between traditional publishing, high-end streaming, and mobile-first entertainment.
Detailed Chronology and Genesis of the Studio
The foundation of Rommi was laid as Gordon and Malina observed a profound shift in consumer behavior. Over the past several years, the romance genre has experienced an unprecedented global renaissance. Fuelled by digital communities on platforms like TikTok (BookTok), Instagram, and specialized reading apps, modern romance readers do not just consume stories; they actively participate in a shared, multi-platform culture involving reviews, fan art, community discussions, and digital promotion.
Recognizing that traditional Hollywood pipelines—constrained by long development cycles, theatrical windows, and rigid budgeting models—were struggling to keep pace with the hyper-engaged demand of this audience, Gordon and Malina conceptualized a studio built specifically for the digital age.
The Founding Leadership
Jamie Gordon, who assumes the role of Chief Executive Officer, brings decades of prestige and commercial film and television experience to Rommi. Operating out of New York City, Gordon is best known as the co-founder of Fugitive Films. Her impressive producing pedigree spans diverse formats and critical heights, including the Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary series Half the Sky and A Path Appears. Her narrative feature credits include the comedy Humor Me (starring Jermaine Clement and Elliott Gould), the box-office psychological thriller Swimfan, and the Academy Award-nominated crime drama In the Bedroom. Beyond her production work, Gordon is deeply committed to media education and advocacy, serving on the board of Reel Works and as an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch.
Maggie Malina, stepping in as Head of Content, brings a formidable background in television and digital-first youth programming. During her tenure as the long-standing head of scripted programming at MTV and VH1, Malina oversaw culturally defining, female-focused hit series such as Single Ladies and Hit the Floor on VH1. At MTV, she championed iconic, generation-defining movies, including 2Gether and the groundbreaking Hip-Hopera: Carmen, which featured Beyoncé Knowles in her feature-film acting debut. As an independent producer, her recent credits include Netflix’s tropical romance Resort to Love and ABC/Hulu’s family drama Promised Land.
The Bookish Media Partnership
To ensure that Rommi’s content maintains absolute authenticity to the source material and speaks fluently to the romance fandom, Gordon and Malina secured a vital partnership with Bookish Media. Founded by Morgann Book and Thomas Johnston, Bookish Media specializes in the intersection of literature and screen adaptation. By collaborating directly with Bookish Media, Rommi secures a direct conduit to the literary world, allowing the studio to identify breakout trends, secure top-tier author talent, and co-produce an ever-expanding slate of narrative properties.
Supporting Context & Market Metrics: The Rise of Vertical Rom-Coms
Rommi’s launch arrives at a pivotal juncture in the digital entertainment landscape. Vertical video—once dismissed as a novelty format reserved for amateur social media clips—has matured into a multi-million-dollar industry. Fueled by platforms designed for seamless, one-handed mobile viewing, vertical fiction platforms have demonstrated explosive global revenue growth.
However, much of the early vertical content space has been dominated by low-budget, highly formulaic melodramas. Gordon and Malina identified a significant market gap: millions of passionate romance readers were consuming vertical content, yet very few studios were producing streamer-worthy, high-production-value romantic comedies tailored to this format.
The Publishing-to-Screen Pipeline
What sets Rommi apart from typical tech-driven vertical apps is its literary-first methodology. By commissioning original stories from best-selling authors before they hit bookstore shelves, Rommi effectively functions as a simultaneous launchpad for both publishing and screen properties.
This symbiotic relationship benefits all stakeholders:
- For Authors: They gain an innovative visual medium to expand their intellectual property, reaching a mobile-native audience that may translate directly into book sales.
- For Readers: They receive cinematic, high-quality adaptations of the tropes, emotional beats, and character dynamics they already celebrate online.
- For the Industry: It establishes a new intellectual property incubation model where books and vertical films are developed in tandem.
The studio’s current development slate highlights this dual focus on original commissions and established hits:
| Project Title | Author / Source Material | Project Type | Status / Premiere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive Me Mad | Ali Rosen (Unlikely Story) | Original Story / Vertical Rom-Com | Premiering October |
| The Last Love Note | Emma Grey | Original Development | In Production |
| Simone Breaks All the Rules | Debbie Rigaud | Original Development | In Production |
| The Mixtape | Brittainy Cherry | Best-Selling Adaptation | In Development |
| This Spells Love | Kate Robb | Best-Selling Adaptation | In Development |
Official Statements and Executive Vision
In interviews surrounding the launch, both co-founders emphasized that Rommi was born out of a deep respect for the romance community and a desire to provide content that respects the intelligence and emotional depth of its viewers.
Jamie Gordon elaborated on the strategic necessity of meeting audiences where they live:
"As we witnessed the rapid global success of romance-themed verticals, we saw an opportunity to provide the romance reading community—who already blend reading, viewing, and posting on social media—with vertical movies that speak directly to them," Gordon stated. "We’re treating audiences to streamer-worthy rom-coms built for an accessible format they already love. We are using our years of experience in film and TV to offer truly satisfying entertainment for this passionate community."
Gordon also underscored the foundational importance of author representation within the studio’s corporate DNA:
"Centering the author’s voice and presence is integral to Rommi’s mission and brand. We are especially excited about our partnership with Bookish Media because they understand and exist within the romance fandom and have an unerring sense of what readers will find exciting."
Maggie Malina contextualized Rommi within the broader landscape of contemporary romance entertainment, pointing out that while traditional media has begun to embrace the genre, there remains an unquenchable thirst for fresh material:
"It’s been great to see romance audiences finally getting the content they deserve with the recent explosion of projects such as Heated Rivalry, Off-Campus, and People We Meet on Vacation," Malina noted. "However, there’s still an appetite for a steady flow of well-produced content to complement what traditional media is providing. Rommi will fill the gap between streaming and theatrical releases and give viewers a romantic escape wherever they want to watch."
Reflecting on her career transition from massive feature film budgets to the rapid-fire, creative-first mandates of MTV, Malina expressed enthusiasm for the wide-open nature of vertical storytelling:
"I started my career working on feature films with huge budgets and then moved to MTV where I needed to figure out how to grab viewers quickly by prioritizing creativity and speaking to their interests in an authentic way. Launching Rommi is a similarly exciting leap because it explores a new storytelling format with no set rules and is meeting audiences where they most often are today."
Future Outlook: What’s Next for Rommi
As Rommi prepares for the October debut of its flagship project, Drive Me Mad, the studio’s leadership team is already looking toward long-term expansion. With a robust pipeline of original author commissions and literary adaptations secured through Bookish Media, the company is well-positioned to become the definitive brand for premium vertical romance content.
Industry analysts will be watching closely to see whether Rommi’s literary-first approach can successfully convert traditional book buyers into dedicated vertical video subscribers. If Drive Me Mad and its succeeding slate resonate with the global romance fandom, Rommi could very well establish the blueprint for how Hollywood and the publishing world collaborate in the mobile-first era.
By treating the vertical format not as a shortcut, but as a legitimate, high-craft canvas for character-driven romantic storytelling, Jamie Gordon and Maggie Malina are proving that great rom-coms don’t just belong on the big screen or living room televisions—they belong right in the palm of your hand.
