Rommi Launches: A Vertical Studio Built for Romance Readers

Jamie Gordon, co-founder of Fugitive Films, and Maggie Malina, former longtime head of scripted programming at MTV/VH1, have launched Rommi, a New York City-based production studio dedicated to romance-focused vertical content.

Rommi will debut its first original vertical rom-com, "Drive Me Mad," in October. The film is based on an original idea by romance author Ali Rosen ("Unlikely Story"). The studio's commissioning model is unusual: it develops original stories from established, best-selling authors for the screen before any publication debut.

The slate is already filling. Original projects are in the works from Emma Grey ("The Last Love Note") and Debbie Rigaud ("Simone Breaks All the Rules"). Rommi is also adapting existing best-sellers, including "The Mixtape" by Brittainy Cherry and "This Spells Love" by Kate Robb.

Gordon serves as CEO, overseeing strategy and business operations; Malina is head of content, leading development and creative strategy. The pair have partnered with Morgann Book and Thomas Johnston of Bookish Media, a book-based media and production company, to co-produce and collaborate on the growing slate.

"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 said. "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."

Malina framed the venture as a response to a supply gap in a heating market. "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," she said. "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."

Both founders bring long film and television résumés. Gordon's producer credits include the Emmy-winning PBS series "Half the Sky" and "A Path Appears," the comedy "Humor Me" starring Jermaine Clement and Elliott Gould, the box office hit "Swimfan," and the Oscar-nominated crime drama "In the Bedroom." She sits on the board of Reel Works and teaches as an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch.

At MTV/VH1, Malina oversaw the female-focused hits "Single Ladies" and "Hit the Floor" on VH1 and MTV movies including 2Get+her and Hip-Hopera: Carmen, which starred Beyoncé Knowles in her acting debut. Her recent independent producing credits include Netflix's "Resort To Love" and ABC/Hulu's "Promised Land."

The Bookish Media partnership anchors the studio's author-first positioning. "Centering the author's voice and presence is integral to Rommi's mission and brand," Gordon said. "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."

Malina drew a line from her network years to the new format. "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," she said. "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."

With "Drive Me Mad" set for an October debut and adaptations of two established best-sellers in development, Rommi will test this fall whether pre-publication author commissions can become a repeatable pipeline for vertical romance.