The Jim Rash-directed drama ‘Miss You, Love You’ found its home at HBO following a closely guarded premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
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LOS ANGELES — HBO has acquired rights to Miss You, Love You, a feature film starring Allison Janney and Andrew Rannells and written and directed by Jim Rash, following what sources describe as a secret screening at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
The deal, confirmed by Deadline, gives HBO a high-profile acquisition that is expected to appeal strongly to the premium cable and streaming platform’s existing subscriber base, which has shown particular appetite for character-driven dramedies anchored by acclaimed performers.
Janney, an Oscar winner best known for her work on Mom and I, Tonya, and Rannells, the Tony-nominated actor who has built an impressive screen career since his days on Girls and The Book of Mormon, form what sources close to the production describe as an electric on-screen pairing.
Rash, who won an Oscar for co-writing the screenplay for The Descendants and is known to television audiences from his long run on Community, makes a notable pivot toward this kind of intimate, performer-driven feature. Deadline first broke news of the project’s existence back in 2024, when details were still sparse.
The Sundance secret screening model — in which a film is programmed without advance publicity, building word-of-mouth excitement among festival attendees and industry buyers — has proven an effective acquisition strategy in recent years. The approach creates a sense of discovery and urgency that can dramatically increase a distributor’s appetite and, consequently, deal terms.
HBO’s decision to acquire the film rather than commission it as an original suggests the network sees it as finished, exhibition-ready material that aligns closely with the prestige programming it continues to prioritize alongside its growing slate of streaming originals on Max.
It is not yet clear whether Miss You, Love You will receive a limited theatrical release prior to its HBO premiere, or whether it will go directly to the platform. That decision, sources say, will depend in part on the awards trajectory the network’s acquisitions team believes the film can sustain.
Both Janney and Rannells have yet to comment publicly on the acquisition. A spokesperson for HBO confirmed the deal but declined to provide additional details, including a premiere date.
