Sofia Carson Seals Her Status As Netflix's Romance Queen With 'My Oxford Year'!

My Oxford Year arrives just in time to fill the emotional void left by the likes of "Normal People" and "One Day". The film is a dark academia romance lover’s dream, and with Sofia Carson at the forefront, this Netflix film has the potential to become a new romance classic!

Directed by Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners) and co-starring Corey Mylchreest as Carson’s steamy London lover, My Oxford Year is a blissful and emotional full-blown Romance -- no hyphenated sub-genre needed. When Anna (Carson), an ambitious young American, heads to Oxford University to fulfill her academic dreams, she meets Jamie (Mylchreest), an alluring local. The pair embark on a whirlwind romance that will change not just their education but their lives, and their chemistry cements Sofia Carson, alumna of The Descendants franchise and recent romance Purple Hearts, as a romance queen standing beside Lana Condor and Haley Lu Richardson. 

Sofia Carson has been a staple in Gen-Z’s childhood since her first appearance as a guest star on the iconic show "Austin & Ally". Soon after, she was cast as Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen, in the hyper-successful Disney musical fantasy franchise Descendants. As Evie, Carson was able to show off her musical chops and sass on screen, a wonderful lead alongside Dove Cameron’s Mal. They are friends as close as sisters who bring empathy and fun to their roles as children of iconic Disney villains. Carson has been working toward becoming a romance staple for over a decade, first captivating Gen-Z as Evie in Descendants, then diversifying her portfolio with Carry-On, The Life List, and her first pure romance foray, Purple Hearts. 

Born to Colombian parents and raised in Florida, Carson brings elegance, intelligence, and a multilingual flair to Anna. Her background in musical storytelling carries over (she was the voice behind Dianne Warren's Oscar-nominated song “Applause” from the 2023 film Tell it Like a Woman), and she performs with restraint and rawness, especially in the film’s quieter, more vulnerable moments. She’s not just playing the girl in love, she’s embodying a woman caught between intellect and emotion, control and chaos, a new country and the comfort of home.

My Oxford Year lives and breathes the Dark Academia aesthetic -- think gothic stone walls, midnight library sessions, tragic philosophical love, and romance wrapped in tweed and candlelight. While the genre is often defined by complex murder mysteries or toxic obsessions, this film channels that intensity into pure romance. 

The chemistry between Anna and Jamie is palpable from their first meeting, but it is not all dreamy glances and library fliratations. The stakes are high, and the emotional beats feel earned. There is heartbreak here too, in true Dark Academia fashion: secrets, yearning, and a ticking clock that threatens to collapse the newfound lovers’ internal world. 

Adapted from Julia Whelan’s 2018 novel of the same name, My Oxford Year joins a wave of literary romance adaptations that balance faithful storytelling with cinematic flair. Like "Normal People" or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, this film succeeds because it not only translates the novel’s plot but also its feelings. 

Jamie’s guardedness and Anna’s ambition clash and combust, making their romance feel like a slow-burn you can't look away from. The dialogue is heartfelt without being saccharine, and Oxford itself becomes a character: moody, magnificent, and full of memory.

Though My Oxford Year does not reinvent the romance genre, it brings it back to our screens in a welcome, refined way. It is emotional, smart, and beautifully shot, with Carson giving a career-best performance and Mylchreest stepping up as a romantic lead who’s more than just eye candy. With its blend of bookish nostalgia, emotional intensity, and genuine chemistry, the film is a must-watch for anyone who believes love and literature still belong together. Sofia Carson will always be our pop star and Disney heroine, but this next step in her career proves she is our (and Netflix's) new romance queen. And My Oxford Year is her coronation.