Romance novelist Kennedy Ryan is taking her storytelling to a new stage. The award-winning author has signed a first-look deal with Universal Studio Group to develop a television adaptation of her bestselling novel Before I Let Go for Peacock, Kennedy Ryan’s Before I Let Go is coming to Peacock, bringing one of contemporary romance fiction’s most beloved stories to a mainstream streaming audience.
The novel, published in November 2022, centers on Yasmen and Josiah Wade, a divorced couple trying to rebuild their lives after an unimaginable loss the stillbirth of their child. Now co-parenting and running a business together, the two must navigate the emotional wreckage of their past while quietly rediscovering each other. It is a story rooted in grief, resilience and the enduring pull of love, and it earned Ryan a devoted readership that has long hoped to see it translated to screen.
A director and producers who understand the vision
The bestselling romance author has signed a first-look deal with Universal Studio Group to bring her novel Before I Let Go to Peacock, with Malcolm D. Lee and John Legend on board. The series will be directed and executive produced by Malcolm D. Lee, the filmmaker behind The Best Man and Girls Trip, two projects that became cultural touchstones for Black audiences. Lee brings his production company, Blackmailed Productions, to the project, and his track record of centering authentic Black stories with warmth and emotional honesty makes him a natural fit for the material.
Joining Lee as executive producers are John Legend, the musician and the first Black man to achieve EGOT status, and Debra Martin Chase, a producer with a long history of shepherding stories by and about Black women to the screen, including Just Wright and Sparkle. The combination of these three collaborators signals that the series is in hands that understand both the cultural weight of the source material and the audience it speaks to.
Why this deal matters for representation
Ryan, who is also a philanthropist and autism advocate and co-founder of Lift 4 Autism, has built her literary career around narratives that reflect the full emotional range of Black life joy, heartbreak, healing and everything in between. Her partnership with Universal Studio Group goes beyond a single adaptation. Through the first-look deal, she will also work to bring other authors’ works from the page to the screen, expanding the pipeline for underrepresented voices in television.
Jordan Moblo, USG’s executive vice president of creative acquisitions and IP management, noted the cultural significance of Ryan’s catalog and the shared ambition to translate it for audiences in ways that honor the original work.
What comes next for Kennedy Ryan
As production on Before I Let Go moves forward, Ryan is also preparing for another literary release. Her upcoming novel Score, set to arrive May 19, 2026, follows former college sweethearts who are thrown back together when they find themselves collaborating on a career-defining project. It is the kind of slow-burn, emotionally layered story her readers have come to expect.
The broader moment Ryan is stepping into feels significant. Streaming audiences have demonstrated a clear appetite for romance stories that center Black love with depth and specificity, not as a backdrop but as the entire point. Projects like Netflix’s Forever have shown what is possible when those stories are given real resources and creative support.
Ryan’s transition from novelist to television producer and adapter reflects both her ambition and the growing recognition from studios that her audience is large, loyal and hungry for more. With Before I Let Go, Peacock is getting a story that is not simply about romance, but about what it takes to hold onto love and each other after loss has reshaped everything.
