Brett Goldstein wrote the role specifically for Lopez during a single train journey
Jennifer Lopez is returning to the genre that made her a household name, and this time she is doing it with an edge that may genuinely catch people off guard. Office Romance, the new Netflix romantic comedy starring Lopez and Brett Goldstein, begins streaming June 5, 2026, and the first official image released this week offers a tantalizing preview of the chemistry at the center of the film.
Lopez, 56, plays Jackie Cruz, the president and CEO of a high-stakes company called Air Cruz who enforces a strict no-fraternization policy for all of her employees. That policy is put to the test when a new employee named Daniel Blanchflower, played by Goldstein, 45, joins the company and the two find themselves drawn into exactly the kind of complicated, secret romance Jackie has always worked to prevent.
How the film came to life on a train
The origin story of Office Romance is as charming as the premise itself. Goldstein and his co-writer Joe Kelly conceived the entire project for Lopez during a single long train journey while filming the third season of Ted Lasso. The two writers asked themselves who the greatest romantic comedy star in the world was and arrived at the same answer without hesitation. By the time the train reached its destination, the core idea for the film was already in place.
Goldstein has described the experience of actually making the movie with Lopez as almost surreal, having spent years as an admirer of her work before finding himself cast opposite her in a full-scale romantic comedy. The two also serve as executive producers on the project.
A different kind of JLo movie
Director Ol Parker, who previously helmed Ticket to Paradise with George Clooney and Julia Roberts and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, says Office Romance deliberately pushes beyond what audiences might typically expect from a Jennifer Lopez film. The movie leans into raunchier humor than her previous romantic comedies, and Lopez reportedly embraced that direction with genuine enthusiasm and considerable comedic skill.
Jackie Cruz, as a character, represents a deliberate departure from Lopez’s own personality. While Lopez has spoken openly about her commitment to balancing work with family and personal relationships, Jackie is described as a driven workaholic who has built her life around professional control. Lopez has noted that playing someone so fundamentally different from herself added an interesting creative challenge to the role.
Parker says the on-screen connection between his two leads was evident long before cameras rolled, having experienced their natural rapport firsthand at an early lunch meeting where laughter dominated the entire meal.
A stacked supporting cast
Beyond its two leads, Office Romance arrives with an impressively assembled ensemble. Betty Gilpin plays Sydney, while Edward James Olmos portrays Captain Jack Cruz, a notable reunion given that Olmos played Lopez’s father in the 1997 biopic Selena nearly three decades ago. Tony Hale, Amy Sedaris, Bradley Whitford, Jodie Whittaker, Rick Hoffman and Ali Stroker are among the many performers rounding out the cast.
Why the workplace setting works
Goldstein, who has explored similar emotional territory in his Apple TV series Shrinking, has spoken about his particular fascination with workplace relationships as a comedic and dramatic setting. The idea of two people doing their best to behave professionally while being completely overtaken by their feelings sits at the precise intersection where comedy and romance tend to do their most interesting work, and Office Romance builds its entire premise around that tension.
This marks Lopez’s third feature film for Netflix following The Mother and Atlas. Office Romance begins streaming Friday, June 5.
Story credit: people