My Fake Boyfriend - What We Know So Far

Romantic comedy fans will be excited to find out that a new one is in the works for Lionsgate and Buzzfeed — with an LGBTQ storyline.

In July of 2020, Variety reported that Lionsgate and Buzzfeed had teamed up to produce "socially relevant and high-concept feature films" aimed at Gen Z and millennial audiences. By hiring a "wide range of talent, from award-winning filmmakers to emerging new voices," their goal is to "elevate contemporary, authentic storytellers." At the time of the announcement, Lionsgate and Buzzfeed revealed that they had several films in the works, but didn't reveal any details.

Now, we're beginning to get some intel on one of the first films to come out of this collaboration. Titled "My Fake Boyfriend," the upcoming film will tell the story of a young gay man who creates a fake boyfriend for himself (with messy results). Rose Troche will direct the film (via Deadline) – she has been working as a director since 1994 and has helmed episodes for a slew of notable television shows, such as "The L Word" and "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist."

Here's everything we know so far about "My Fake Boyfriend."

As of now, there is no release date yet for "My Fake Boyfriend." We do know that when it is released, it will likely premiere on a streaming service rather than have a traditional theater release, because the initial announcement of Buzzfeed and Lionsgate's partnership detailed that their projects will have "unique, primarily digital, distribution strategies" (via Variety).

Studio heads at Buzzfeed and Lionsgate have not yet spoken about a timeline for the film, but Buzzfeed did offer a statement with the announcement of the film. Richard Alan Reid, SVP of Global Content & Head of Studio at BuzzFeed said in the statement, "'My Fake Boyfriend' is a fresh comedy with universal appeal, led by an exciting, diverse cast of talent. There is no better person to tell this queer love story than Rose Troche, and we're delighted to partner with Lionsgate to share this story with millennial and Gen Z audiences around the world" (via Deadline).

Based on Buzzfeed's statement, it seems like "My Fake Boyfriend" will be worth the wait.

So far, three cast members have been announced: Keiynan Lonsdale, Dylan Sprouse and Sarah Hyland. Lonsdale will be playing the film's protagonist, with Sprouse taking on the role as his best friend. It's unknown right now who Hyland will be portraying.

Lonsdale is no stranger to queer love stories, as he played the love interest to the titular Simon in 2018's "Love, Simon" opposite Nick Robinson. Along with "Love, Simon," Lonsdale has played Kid Flash in The CW's "Legends of Tomorrow" and appeared in the 2020 musical comedy "Work It."

Sprouse, most known for his child work in the Disney Channel show "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" and its spinoff "The Suite Life on Deck," has recently appeared in 2020's "After We Collided" and 2021's "Tyger Tyger." Finally, Hyland is most known for her leading role in the ensemble comedy "Modern Family," which ran from 2009 to 2020. Outside of "Modern Family," Hyland also recently starred in the 2019 romantic comedy, "The Wedding Year."

As reported by Deadline, "My Fake Boyfriend" will follow a young man (Lonsdale) who finds himself trying "to keep his ex-lover out of his life." Following the advice of his best friend (Sprouse), Lonsdale's character creates a fake boyfriend for social media to deter the ex-boyfriend. However, the situation becomes complicated very quickly when he meets someone in real life for whom he quickly falls. Wanting to pursue this new relationship, he must break up with his fake boyfriend — something that proves harder than expected to do.

Lonsdale took to Twitter to post Deadline's article about the film announcement and cheekily described the premise quite plainly, writing, "I'm just lookin for love really."

Rom-com fans can likely expect lots of romance tropes to go along with the fake relationship one at the forefront of the plot — and all through the lens of an LGBTQ story, which is definitely something that has been lacking in the romantic comedy genre. Stay tuned for more plot information about "My Fake Boyfriend" as it becomes available.