Roku franchises its original unscripted rom-com, Meet me in Paris.
But instead of the Champs-Élysées or the Jardin du Luxembourg, the second Meet me reality rom-com will see a new group of young women travel to Rome in search of love. Production for the 90 minute film, Meet me in Rome, will begin later this year and will debut on The Roku Channel at a later date.
Like it Meet me in Paris, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Zoe Saldaña’s Cinestar Pictures return to co-produce the film. Witherspoon, Saldaña, Sara Rea, Sue Kinkead, Cisely Saldaña, Mariel Saldaña and Angela Rae Berg will serve as executive producers.
“Meet me in Paris was a dream to make,” said Rea, who stars in Hello Sunshine without a script. “We witnessed three exceptional women become close friends while looking for love in one of the most romantic cities in the world. It was the perfect unscripted romantic comedy, and we did it all with a wink and a fun nod to traditional rom-coms.
In a joint statement, the Saldañas noted that they, along with Hello Sunshine, have “a commitment to a cinematic approach to storytelling, featuring diverse female talent.” “We look forward to our continued partnership with Roku Originals for this franchise and beyond,” added Cisely, Mariel and Zoe Saldaña.
The franchise will serve as the newest piece of original programming for The Roku Channel, as Roku amps up its productions with scripted and unscripted content. Last year, Roku debuted its “Weird” Al Yankovic satire starring Daniel Radcliffe, which won Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTAs, and the PGA Awards. On the non-written side, Roku struck deals with Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse for cooking and lifestyle shows last May, including access to Stewart and Lagasse’s back catalogs to fill Roku’s library.
The company also made a splashy hiring of Charlie Collier, the former CEO of Fox Entertainment who now heads Roku Media. One of Collier’s first moves was to appoint David Eilenberg to oversee content for Roku Media, with Brian Tannenbaum directing originals and reporting to Eilenberg.
“The team behind it Meet me in Paris took a bold risk by tackling a genre-busting format, and that creative bet paid off,” said Tannenbaum. “We are excited to collaborate again to expand this into a reality rom-com franchise, only on The Roku Channel.”
