Warning: spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 ahead.
Jenny Han's first novel trilogy was finally adapted for the screen, and now The Summer I Turned Pretty will be getting the full adaptation treatment with a season 3.
The coming-of-age novel The Summer I Turned Pretty was first published in 2009. A few years later, in 2023, it was announced that it had been optioned for television. But it wasn't until February 2021 that Amazon gave the project a series order, officially giving the green light on the TV series's development.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty is many years in the making, and I’m so excited to tell Belly’s story," author Jenny Han told Deadline in 2021 when the show was first announced. “For the longtime book fans, I think it will have been worth the wait. For those newly discovering the Summer series, I hope you fall in love with these characters and this place that is so dear to my heart.”
Jenny Han's most recent trilogy, the To All the Boys series — consisting of the three YA novels To All The Boys I've Loved Before, P.S. I Still Love You, and Always and Forever, Lara Jean — was adapted by Netflix in 2018, with all three books getting an on-screen companion. (XO, Kitty, a TATB spin-off series that focuses on Lara Jean Covey's younger sister Kitty, debuted on Netflix in May. More on that here!)
The Summer I Turned Pretty season 2 premiered earlier this summer, on July 14. The sophomore chapter of Belly Conklin's story ran weekly until its season finale on Friday, August 18, 2023. The series was renewed for a third season before the second season's end — below, we've gathered everything we know so far about the next addition to the Jenny Han on-screen universe, including The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 release date, new and returning cast members, plot details, trailer, and first look photos.
When was The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 announced?
In an Instagram post on August 3, 2023, Prime Video announced the renewal of The Summer I Turned Pretty, with the caption: “For everyone living for the hope of a season three.” Prime Video also included a note that The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 “was greenlit ahead of the strikes, and production will not begin until after negotiations are resolved.” Nonetheless, the comments were immediately flooded with rejoicing fans. The announcement video was set to Taylor Swift's folklore track “August,” with on-screen text that read “we will always have summer” — a nod to the final book title in the novel trilogy — and “see you in Cousins Beach for season 3.” We're not screaming, you're screaming!
Is there a trailer for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3?
Not yet — since production on the third season won't start until after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are resolved, it might be a while until we get new footage of the Cousins Beach crew. What we do know is that it'll most likely get another brand-new Taylor Swift song to act as its soundtrack.
ICYMI: TSITP is a proud Swiftie show, with the majority of the cast being vocal about their love for T-Swift. While season 1 debuted “This Love (Taylor's Version)", the full-length trailer for season two served as the premiere for Taylor Swift’s “Back to December (Taylor's Version)”, ahead of the July 2023 re-release of Speak Now. Reminisce with us below by watching the full trailers for The Summer I Turned Pretty seasons 1 and 2 below:
When will The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 be released?
As previously mentioned and noted by streamer Prime Video, The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 will not begin a writer's room or start filming until after the resolution of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. While seasons 1 and 2 were released during the summers of 2022 and 2023, respectively, we can only hope that fair negotiations are reached in time for season 3 to hit our screens during the summer of 2024.
What will The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 be about?
The Summer I Turned Pretty book trilogy follows the coming-of-age of 16-year-old Isabel “Belly” Conklin as she spends summers in the fictional beach town of Cousins Beach with her mother, Laurel, older brother Steven, and her mother's childhood best friend Susannah and her sons Conrad and Jeremiah — two brothers who Belly gets wrapped up in a love triangle with.
According to Deadline, the official synopsis for The Summer I Turned Pretty series reads as follows: “[TSITP] is a multigenerational drama that hinges on a love triangle between one girl and two brothers, the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children, and the enduring power of strong female friendship. It is a coming-of-age story about first love, first heartbreak, and the magic of that one perfect summer.”
It's possible that TSITP season 3 could follow the chronology of Han's novels. The next book in the trilogy, titled We’ll Always Have Summer, was published in 2011. Here's the official synopsis of We'll Always Have Summer — do with this information what you will! *insert eye emojis*
“Belly has only ever been in love with two boys, both with the last name Fisher. And after being with Jeremiah for the last two years, she’s almost positive he is her soul mate. Almost. While Conrad has not gotten over the mistake of letting Belly go, Jeremiah has always known that Belly is the girl for him. So when Belly and Jeremiah decide to make things forever, Conrad realizes that it’s now or never—tell Belly he loves her, or lose her for good. Belly will have to confront her feelings for Jeremiah and Conrad and face the inevitable: She will have to break one of their hearts.”
There's always potential for major plot points to make it into the show, but it has not yet been confirmed whether TSITP season 3 will follow the book order in terms of plot. However, eagle-eyed fans of the books noticed an easter egg in the season 2 finale that seems like the third season could very well remain faithful to the novels.
During the flashback of Belly's last conversation with Susannah, Belly arrives as the Fisher boys' mom is writing letters in bed. Belly's mom Laurel moves the letters in a jumble, and Susannah tries to haphazardly put them into envelopes to get them out of the way. In the third novel, this mix-up leads to Susannah's letter to Conrad being mistakenly given to Jeremiah, which is a crucial plot point and an extremely pivotal moment for the endgame of the Belly-Conrad-Jeremiah love triangle. “One thing about jenny han…she’ll remind you how this story really ends,” reacted one fan on Twitter. "She showed us susannah writing the letters and dropping them which most likely lead to the mix up!”
Still, author Jenny Han wants fans to keep an open mind — TSITP is a TV adaptation, after all. "I really had to weigh what the fans are expecting with where the show is going creatively and find that balance,” Han told Variety in June 2022. “My priority has always been that I want fans of the book to feel really satisfied by the story we’re telling, but also for them to know that this is an adaptation in a new medium, so it’s not going to be exactly the same. I think those are sort of the two things that are always in my head… I don’t want to spoil too much but the books have been out for a while. You never know what could happen with the show. I was open minded going into it. I was considering a lot of different possibilities.”
Who is in the cast of The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3?
Industry newcomer Lola Tung plays The Summer I Turned Pretty's lead role of 16-year-old Belly Conklin, who is… awkwardly adjusting to exiting her awkward stage. Completing the love triangle the show centres on are actors Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno, portraying the Fisher brothers Conrad and Jeremiah, respectively.
Manifest star Sean Kaufman is Steven, Belly's older brother; Jackie Chung plays Belly's mother Laurel; and Rachel Blanchard portrayed the late Susannah Fisher, Conrad and Jeremiah's mother, the “glue” that holds both families together. It's possible that Blanchard could return as Susannah in flashbacks, similar to how she did in the final episode of season 2.
Other cast members expected to return are Alfredo Narciso as Cleveland Castillo, Colin Ferguson as John Conklin, Tom Everett Scott as Adam Fisher, David Iacono as Cam, and Rain Spencer as Taylor. New faces that joined for season 2, like Kyra Sedgwick as Aunt Julia and Elsie Fisher as Skye, could also return.
Where will I be able to watch The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3?
You'll be able to stream The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 on Prime Video, just like seasons 1 and 2. There hasn't been any confirmation yet whether Prime Video will continue the series beyond TSITP's third novel, We'll Always Have Summer, but the probability is high considering that Jenny Han recently signed a TV and film deal with Amazon Studios.
“Adapting my novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, into a television series at Prime Video has been an incredible experience, and I’m so thrilled to now expand my relationship with them,” Han said ahead of season 1's release, per Deadline. “I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember, first on the page, then onscreen, and now I’m delighted to start this new chapter: creating and championing stories about coming of age at every age for Prime Video’s global audience.”
Han's partnership with Prime Video might mean that the TSITP trilogy will get even more than the full adaptation treatment and could also mean that more of her books could make it to the screen. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
This article was originally published by Teen Vogue.
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