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Reese Witherspoon lines up two new romcom projects for Netflix

Reese Witherspoon attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on February 09, 2020. (Photo by David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
Reese Witherspoon attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on February 09, 2020. (Photo by David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Reese Witherspoon is set to make her return to the world of the romcom with two Netflix movies featuring “strong, smart and determined female leads”.

It has been three years since Witherspoon starred in Home Again for Hallie Meyers-Shyer — daughter of romcom legend Nancy Meyers.

Since then, the 44-year-old has continued to cement herself as one of the highest-paid women in Hollywood with roles in blockbuster TV shows like The Morning Show and Big Little Lies.

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But through her production company Hello Sunshine, Witherspoon has now inked deals to appear in and produce Your Place Or Mine and The Cactus for Netflix.

Your Place or Mine marks the directorial debut of The Devil Wears Prada scribe Aline Brosh McKenna and is produced by Jason Bateman, while The Cactus is based on Sarah Haywood’s 2018 bestseller.

Your Place or Mine tells the story of long-distance best friends who change each other’s lives when he volunteers to look after her teenage son while she pursues a lifelong dream.

The Cactus, meanwhile, follows a woman who learns to embrace the unexpected when she falls pregnant at the age of 45.

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Witherspoon said in a statement: “We couldn’t be more excited to be working with [Netflix] on these two romantic comedies.

“Both Sarah Haywood’s and Aline Brosh McKenna’s stories blend everything we love about traditional romcoms with strong, smart and determined female leads.“

Reese Witherspoon made her name in romcoms like 'Sweet Home Alabama'. (Credit: Buena Vista Pictures)
Reese Witherspoon made her name in romcoms like 'Sweet Home Alabama'. (Credit: Buena Vista Pictures)

Witherspoon has focused on TV projects in recent years, with HBO’s Big Little Lies the most notable example.

She has worked with streaming platforms including Hulu and Apple TV+, but these two romcoms mark her first collaborations with Netflix.

Read more: Witherspoon on why her Morning Show salary bothered people

Witherspoon formed Hello Sunshine in 2016 as a company focused on developing female-fronted projects.

Its first two major movie releases were Wild, which earned Witherspoon an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and Gone Girl, for which Rosamund Pike was nominated in the same category.