Romance used to be a genre that stayed close to home. American love stories played for American audiences. Korean dramas circulated within Asia.

Streaming platforms have dismantled those borders entirely, and the numbers confirm a market transformation that few entertainment executives predicted a decade ago.

Bennett Graebner, a veteran television producer and showrunner who spent 17 years running The Bachelor franchise, has watched this shift from both sides of the industry. Having recently pivoted back to screenwriting with a focus on romantic comedy, he sees global audiences converging around what he considers the most fundamental storytelling engine available.

“I love the romance, I love the emotion,” Graebner says. “Two people connecting with each other, that’s when the job is the best. When you see two people and you’re like, I think they’re falling in love right in front of me.”

That universal pull toward romantic connection is now driving a content market valued at $13.5 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $28.6 billion by 2033, according to DataHorizon Research. An 8% compound annual growth rate through 2033 makes romance one of the entertainment industry’s most reliable expansion sectors.

What Changed in International Romance Distribution?

Five years ago, a German-language teen romance had almost no chance of topping streaming charts across 120 countries. That barrier has collapsed.

Maxton Hall, a romantic drama produced in Germany and based on author Mona Kasten’s novel series, became Prime Video’s most-watched international original series in its first week. Season 2 hit number one globally across 42 markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Canada, according to Variety’s analysis of FlixPatrol data.

Korean Content Surge

Korean romance content has followed a similar trajectory. Netflix committed $2.5 billion to South Korean content from 2024 to 2028, and the returns have been immediate.

Weekly K-dramas accumulated 1.186 billion viewing hours on the platform during 2025 alone. International viewership for Korean dramas grew by over 18% compared to the prior year, according to data from the Korea Creative Content Agency.

None of this growth required audiences to share a language with the content they consumed. Subtitles and dubbing have eliminated the friction that once confined romance stories to domestic markets.

Why Does Romance Travel Better Than Other Genres?

Graebner’s perspective on this question draws from decades of crafting romantic narratives for mass audiences. “Successful film and television projects tend to follow similar guidelines with respect to how their stories are presented,” he has observed. “Reality television is no different.”

His point extends beyond format. Romance operates on emotional architecture that requires no cultural translation. Two people meeting, resisting each other, then choosing vulnerability carries the same dramatic weight whether set in a German boarding school, a Korean high school, or a Texas ranch.

Action films need spectacle budgets. Thrillers depend on culturally specific tension. Romance needs only two people and a compelling obstacle between them.

DataHorizon Research’s market analysis supports this. Asia Pacific is expected to see the highest growth rate for romance content through 2033, driven by rising demand for international stories and the proliferation of streaming platforms that make cross-border distribution seamless.

North America and Europe maintain strong production infrastructure, but the audience appetite is increasingly global and bidirectional. American viewers consume Korean romances. European audiences stream American romantic comedies.

South American markets show particular enthusiasm for K-drama content, with 17% of Latin American streaming users actively seeking Korean programming.

How Are Streaming Platforms Responding?

Netflix’s recent release calendar illustrates how seriously platforms have invested in romance as a global category. The Wrong Paris, a Bachelor-inspired romantic comedy starring Miranda Cosgrove, hit number one globally on the platform during its second week, surpassing even KPop Demon Hunters with 21.8 million views. A film with a modest budget and no franchise pedigree outperformed animated blockbusters simply by delivering a recognizable romantic premise with broad appeal.

Prime Video’s International Pipeline

Prime Video has followed a parallel path. Rather than relying solely on American-produced romance content, the platform greenlit Maxton Hall for a third season before its second season even finished airing. Filming wrapped and episodes are expected in 2026.

Korean series XO, Kitty returned for its second season with built-in global viewership from fans who discovered it through Netflix’s recommendation algorithm rather than cultural familiarity.

Graebner understands this distribution dynamic from his years producing Bachelor content, which traveled internationally despite being rooted in American dating conventions. Romance narratives, he has noted, follow storytelling guidelines that function identically regardless of the format or market.

What Does This Mean for Screenwriters?

Graebner is now writing directly for this globalized romance market. “It’s refreshing to get back to creating stories from the ground up and characters from the ground up,” he says of his return to screenwriting after nearly two decades in unscripted television.

His recently completed screenplay draws inspiration from Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, and Bridesmaids. All three films succeeded internationally despite distinctly British or American settings. Romantic comedies that anchor universal emotional beats in specific, authentic locations have consistently performed better than those designed to appeal generically to everyone.

The Mid-Budget Disconnect

Mid-budget romantic films face real challenges in the current production environment. Studios still struggle to greenlight projects in the $5 million range, even as global streaming data confirms audience demand for exactly that category of content. Graebner has described the disconnect plainly, noting that a studio will approve a $5 million budget but then expect A-list talent that no independent production can afford.

Yet the streaming data tells a different story about what audiences actually want. Viewers chose Maxton Hall over big-budget American series. They chose The Wrong Paris over effects-driven spectacles.

Korean romantic dramas outperformed franchise installments. Character-driven romance with authentic emotional stakes consistently beats what conventional industry wisdom predicts.

Where Is Global Romance Heading?

Projections through 2033 suggest that the current growth is not a bubble. Consumer demand for emotionally engaging content continues to expand across demographics and regions. Diverse narratives reflecting varied cultural perspectives are broadening the genre’s appeal rather than diluting it.

A romance set in Seoul reaches viewers in Mexico City. A love story filmed in Vancouver resonates in Berlin.

Graebner’s career arc mirrors this broader industry movement. He built his reputation producing American reality romance for domestic audiences, then watched the format expand internationally.

Now, returning to screenwriting, he brings an understanding of romantic storytelling mechanics tested across hundreds of episodes and multiple continents. Whether his new screenplay reaches screens remains uncertain, as it always does for independent projects in a risk-averse market. But the audience for the kind of story he writes has never been larger or more geographically dispersed.

Romance content has graduated from niche genre to global mainstream. Audiences across languages, cultures, and continents have proven that falling in love on screen requires no translation, only truth. Producers and writers who recognize this shift early will find an expanding market waiting for stories that prioritize emotional authenticity over spectacle, character over franchise, and heart over budget.