Amazon has taken a development option on Settling, a half-hour romantic comedy that would star Justine Lupe and be directed by Will Gluck, multiple sources told Deadline. The package came together through Michael Eisner’s Tornante and Olive Bridge, which brought the script to Amazon.
The package
Created by Briana Pozner and Colin Lupe, Settling was written by Pozner. It centres on Jessy, played by Lupe, who has always viewed commitment as limiting, and Max, who finds it a lot of pressure. When Jessy receives an early-onset menopause diagnosis and Max develops what the logline calls late-onset isolation panic, the two find each other and face a question most rom-coms don’t ask: can a relationship work because the alternative is worse?
Executive producers are Pozner, Justine Lupe, Adam Londy for Tornante, Will Gluck and Madison Jones for Olive Bridge, Colin Lupe, and Leigh Kittay. Amazon declined to comment.
Why the names matter
The attachments give Amazon a ready-made pitch. Lupe is a Critics Choice nominee for her role as Morgan in Netflix’s Nobody Wants This and has appeared in HBO’s Succession and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Gluck directed the theatrical rom-com Anyone But You, as well as Easy A and Friends With Benefits.
Pozner, a recent Black List x Women in Film Fellow, wrote the most-read Modern Love column of 2022 and directed the short Following, starring Melissa Joan Hart. She also co-created Adult Swim’s micro-short series The Non-Essentials with Justine Lupe, Colin Lupe and Josh Duvendeck.
An option is not a green light
The status matters more than the names. This is a development option, not a series order. Amazon has bought the right to develop the script further; there is no premiere date, no episode order, and no confirmed production plan. For media planners and entertainment marketers, that distinction is the real headline.
Still, packaging at this stage can be an early demand signal. An option with this level of attachment suggests Amazon sees the genre and talent as worth a low-cost bet before committing to full series economics.
- Creators: Briana Pozner and Colin Lupe; written by Pozner
- Lead: Justine Lupe as Jessy
- Director: Will Gluck attached
- Status: Optioned for development at Amazon; no series order yet
What to watch
If Amazon moves from option to green light, this becomes an inventory conversation for romantic-comedy audiences. Until then, it is a development-stage story worth logging, not a campaign to build against. Track the project through casting or a pilot order, which will be the next real signal of Amazon’s intent.
Source: Deadline
