Writing duo and romantic partners Annabel Paulsen and Lydia Wang give fans of dating reality TV shows a queer love story not often shown on screen with their sweet and lightly spicy debut rom-com. In Here for the Wrong Reasons, sparks fly between two women who face off among a group of contestants on a Bachelor-style dating show. Krystin is a lonely rodeo queen from Montana hoping to find the husband she thinks her life is missing, and Lauren is a influencer who wants to grow her platform while keeping her attraction to women under wraps. While Krystin starts by giving the show a genuine shot, Lauren just wants to make it far enough to win some social media clout and brand deals.
As the show progresses and the contestant pool dwindles, the two women first find themselves forced together during a group date involving mud wrestling (a direct reference for devoted Bachelor fans) and then drawn to each other when the cameras are off. While they both anticipate a temporary fling as they surrender to their chemistry, the considerations of life outside the show raise long-buried questions about who they are and what they truly want. Paulsen and Wang bring humor without disparagement in their dating-show nods (including meet-the-contestant bios, villain edits, and producer interference), and they give Here for the Wrong Reasons emotional heft without straying from a light, feel-good romance that ends as any good Bachelor season should: with a podcast transcript in which the couple shares their post-filming journey to happy-ever-after. --Kristen Coates, editor and freelance reviewer