Every six months, the internet asks the same question: Is the rom-com dead? Depending on who you ask, we're either living through a rom-com renaissance or watching the final gasps of a beloved genre.

The case for its demise is straightforward. The mid-budget movie—the bread and butter of the rom-com—has largely disappeared from theaters, squeezed out by superhero franchises, sequels, and billion-dollar blockbusters.

And yet, rom-coms haven’t stopped existing; they just moved. Over the last decade, streaming services have become home to a new generation of romances, and some pretty great—and popular—ones to boot: To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Always Be My Maybe, The Big Sick—the list goes on.

Then, in 2023, Anyone But You arrived and did something many people thought rom-coms couldn't do anymore: it made over $200 million worldwide. While I wasn't personally obsessed with the movie itself, I was obsessed with what its success represented: that audiences still want rom-coms when studios are willing to give them a chance.

Even Netflix’s latest is promising. I loved this year’s adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation, and this weekend I watched Voicemails for Isabelle. I laughed, I cried, and I found myself doing something I hadn't done in a while: comparing it to some of the all-time greats from the legend Nora Ephron—strictly for the ethical gymnastics required. I rank Nick Robinson’s stalker antics far higher on the list of rom-com ethical atrocities than those of Tom Hanks’ catfishing in You’ve Got Mail, and just above Meg Ryan flying across the country to spy on a stranger in Sleepless in Seattle.

The fact that a modern rom-com can even enter the same conversation as the classics is evidence that the genre is still evolving and still capable of making us laugh, cry, and argue about whether these people should actually end up together (see my thoughts above on Voicemails for Isabelle. Frankly, Zoey Deutch’s character could do better.)

So are we in a rom-com renaissance? We're closer than we've been in years (rom-com TV is thriving), and looking at what’s ahead, I’d say so! There are a lot of buzzy movies in development from the Emily Henry-verse to a new star-studded movie from Nancy Meyers, and one from the teams behind How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Legally Blonde!

Which brings me to why this is worth chatting about. If we want more rom-coms, we have to watch rom-coms! Go to the theater, stream them on Netflix (even the so-bad-they’re-kinda-good ones), tell your friends about them, and rewatch your favorites. The future of the genre isn't just in the hands of studio execs; it's in the remotes currently sitting on our coffee tables.

And if you're looking for somewhere to dive in, here are the best hidden gem rom-coms of the last ten years (and an unintentional reveal of the millennial Meg Ryan?)

Pix Plus subscribers get the full breakdown — the week's biggest moment, what's worth sending to the group chat, and Meredith's read on why it matters — Pix Plus subscribers get it all.