New Line Picks Up China-Set Romantic Comedy 'Singles Day'

Lillian Yu wrote the spec, which focuses on a day when young people in China celebrate their single-dom.

Hot on the heels of the successful opening of Crazy Rich Asians, Warner Bros. is moving on another Asian-themed romantic comedy.

Warners’ film arm New Line has picked up Singles Day, a spec by Lillian Yu, a writer on the NBC DC Comics-centric comedy Powerless.

Chris Bender, whose comedy résumé ranges from Just Friends to We’re the Millers to Horrible Bosses 2, all made by New Line, is on board to produce with his Good Fear Films partner, Jake Weiner.

The story revolves around Singles Day, celebrated on Nov. 11 each year, when young people in China take pride in their single-dom.

The project is being envisioned to be in the vein of multiple-storyline ensemble movies that New Line has produced in the past, such as He’s Just Not That Into You, Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve.

Warner Bros. opened Crazy Rich Asians on Wednesday, with the movie generating $34 million over its first five days. Observers pointed to the overt Asian themes and non-white cast as factors in its success, as well as a suppressed desire for rom-coms.

While New Line and Warners are capitalizing on Crazy Rich Asians’ hit status and buzzy cultural moment, with the deal for Singles Day happening Friday, New Line has had a long tradition of rom-coms as well as films with ethnically diverse casts, such as the Rush Hour and Friday pics.

Yu, a former staff writer on DC show Powerless, is a writer on the upcoming Cinemax series Warrior, with Justin Lin producing and Jonathan Tropper as showrunner.

Yu is repped by UTA and Management 360.