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Netflix is bringing American Royals to TV as YA books continue to boom. Netflix is developing a television adaptation of Katharine McGee's bestselling American Royals books, bringing the alternate-history story of an American royal family to a new audience. The project is still in development, so there is no announced premiere date or production timeline yet. That means parents and teens shouldn't expect to see the series on Netflix anytime soon. Television projects can take months or years to move from development through writing, casting and production, and no screen release has been confirmed. The deal does, however, show the continuing appeal of YA novels as source material for television. American Royals already has an established readership, giving Netflix a built-in story world and audience before the first episode is filmed. What are the American Royals books about? The series imagines an alternate version of American history in which George Washington accepted a crown after the Revolutionary War. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still rules the United States, with Princess Beatrice, Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson at the center of the drama. The four-book series mixes royal intrigue with romance, family pressure and questions about duty. The publisher describes it as "Crazy Rich Asians meets The Crown," while the fourth book, Reign, brings the New York Times bestselling series to its conclusion. For teens who enjoy stories about powerful families, complicated relationships and glamorous settings, the premise has plenty of familiar YA ingredients. The books also offer plenty of material for a television adaptation, with multiple characters and overlapping storylines that could unfold across several seasons. YA books are having a major moment. The American Royals adaptation arrives during a particularly busy period for YA publishing. Sam Subity's analysis of 2023 publications began with almost 2,000 YA books before narrowing the sample to 615 titles with at least 10 Goodreads reviews. Fantasy accounted for 30% of the YA books in Subity's sample, while romance was also one of the dominant categories. Even more striking, more than half of the YA books published that year used a first-person-present perspective. That popularity is also translating into adaptations, with publishers and streaming services increasingly looking to successful YA properties for their next potential hits. For American Royals, Netflix now has an opportunity to introduce McGee's royal family to viewers who may never have picked up the books.

Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul to lead series comms at Netflix. She's already had a cup of coffee with the streamer. October 1, 2026 12:00pm Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul is returning to Netflix, this time with a much larger role than before: vp communications, series. Starting Oct. 18, Bulochnikov-Paul will oversee communications for Netflix's entire television portfolio, including scripted and unscripted series, documentary series, consumer products and experiences (including Netflix House), as well as emerging content categories at the streamer, like live programming (including sports), games and podcasts. She'll report to Dani Dudeck, Netflix chief communications officer; Bulochnikov-Paul's movie counterpart is Katie Martin Kelly, who recently came over from Warner Bros. Pictures. As an executive vp at Disney, Bulochnikov-Paul led comms across ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Kids & Family, Disney Television Studios, FX, Hulu Originals and National Geographic Content. "Naomi brings 20 years of experience at the intersection of media and culture, and a sharp instinct for storytelling that captures the fandom and zeitgeist of the world's most valuable entertainment brands," Dudeck said in a statement. "I'm proud to have her lead our series communications as we elevate our narrative around our growing business and incredible slate - from scripted and unscripted series to live events, sports, comedy specials and so much more." "Disney is where I was raised professionally, and I will be forever grateful to the many colleagues who helped shape me along the way, and have become not only trusted collaborators, but also close friends," the memo reads in part (see the full text below). "Thank you for your partnership, your friendship, your humor and your heart. I leave immensely proud of what we've accomplished together and completely confident in everything you will continue to create." Bulochnikov-Paul first came to Disney in 2017 to work comms at Freeform. She departed there for Netflix before returning to Freeform once again. Bulochnikov-Paul was promoted to executive vp for Disney General Entertainment (later renamed Disney Entertainment TV) in 2023. Bulochnikov-Paul was not a casualty of Disney's many recent layoffs. Earlier in 2026, a Disney reorg put Paul Roeder in pole position as Disney's chief communications officer; Bulochnikov-Paul reported to him and Disney Entertainment Television chairman Debra OConnell. "Naomi has been a wonderful partner for me, Paul and Dana [Walden] as well as so many others across the company over the years, and she's a thoughtful leader who has cultivated an awesome comms team that we've come to rely on and trust - and we all know that's something that's earned," OConnell wrote in her own note (also copied in full below) shared with Disney staff on Wednesday. "Naomi's expertise as a communications strategist has been vital to us as we've navigated so much together over the past few years." Bulochnikov-Paul previously worked at Sony Pictures TV. She started her career at MTV. This past June, Bulochnikov-Paul received the Medal of Hope honor at the Race to Erase MS gala in Los Angeles.

Rebecca Lowe joins Netflix for FIFA Women's World Cup coverage. Rebecca Lowe is joining Netflix as a lead host for its coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup next summer, the streamer's CCO Bela Bajaria announced at Puck & MoffettNathanson's "In The Arena" event on Thursday. Lowe hosted the men's World Cup tournament for Fox Sports over the summer for the first time, primarily working in the studio alongside Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Alexi Lalas. Outside of covering the tournament, she is the host of Premier League coverage for NBC Sports and covers non-soccer properties for the company, including the Olympics and Kentucky Derby. Lowe is the second official addition to the Netflix broadcast team in recent weeks, after the company signed Andrés Cantor to serve as a play-by-play voice. Netflix host Elle Duncan has anchored most of the company's live sporting events since joining the company this year and will "have a prominent role" on the Women's World Cup coverage, per a report by Richard Deitsch of Sports Business Journal. Netflix holds English and Spanish-language rights to the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup in the United States, and English and French-language rights in Canada. The streamer is among several media companies to have publicly expressed interest in bidding for the 2030 men's tournament, which have yet to be awarded. Speaking to John Ourand of Puck at the "In The Arena" event Thursday, Bajaria reiterated that Netflix has interest in potentially covering the tournament. "We're going to have those conversations. We have a relationship with FIFA, obviously, and we'll see where those rights [are] available, what they cost." She previously made similar comments in an interview with Alex Sherman of CNBC. Bajaria also emphasized that Netflix remains committed to its event-based strategy rather than trying to bid for full-season rights packages, a point that has been reiterated ad infinitum by Netflix executives. "The strategy for us to just say, 'What's an event?,' and eventize a moment," Bajaria said. "It can be a Christmas Day game, it can be Opening Week, it can be opening game of MLB, it can be Women's World Cup, so it's just what is sort of a sporting event. We can create a lot of conversation around [it], make it very sort of appointment television. That's sort of what we gravitate towards - really creating a big moment, something that feels unmissable - and that can be sports or it could be other live events."