If you were to conjure the idealistic, dreamy summer romance of a teenage girl's dopamine-filled brain — "The Summer I Turned Pretty" would be the physical manifestation of the delusional, teenage girl dream and mine.
In the summer of the repackaged girlhood – from the mega heights of Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," Beyoncé and Taylor Swift's outfit-slaying tours, and most importantly, Megan Thee Stallion coining "Hot Girl Summer" in 2019 – literally changed the fabric of how girls and women on the internet describe menial tasks like walks (hot girl walk) or just dinner (girl dinner) — all of these moments are intertwined with the massive explosion and appeal of "The Summer I Turned Pretty"
The Prime Video series is based on the trilogy of the same name from "To All the Boys I l Loved Before" author Jenny Han — who also serves as the show's creator and co-showrunner. The YA drama follows Isabel (Lola Tung), a teenage Asian American girl who goes by the embarrassing family nickname Belly. She's been summer vacationing in the beach town called Cousins since her early adolescence alongside her mom Laurel (Jackie Chung) and older brother Steven (Sean Kaufman). They join her mom's best friend Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) and her now teenage sons — Conrad (Chris Briney), the older brother and object of Belly's longtime affection, and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), the younger Fisher brother and also another love interest for Belly.
The show really starts when Belly returns to Cousins at 15 turning 16 and has blossomed into a bonafide hot girl. Boom, a messy brotherly love triangle and summer high jinks commence. Think "Dawson's Creek," "90210" and "The OC."
The teen drama formula only works when it hits the zeitgeist at the perfect moment, and then it's just magic. It's able to grow and take off just like the second season of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" did. The show is still in the Top 10 most streamed shows on the platform since the second season's release on July 14, has already renewed for a third season and has been trending on TikTok and Twitter throughout July and August. Women and people of all ages dissect each episode online, arguing about #TeamConrad and #TeamJeremiah until they're blue in the face. It has reignited an audience's investment and passion for love triangles again.
So more than that — why is "The Summer I Turned Pretty" having a moment right now? This is the summer I list all the ways why the series turned into a mega-hit.
People just want to watch television that they can see themselves in, something that can trigger emotion so we can scream at our TVs, something that will give us the cathartic release our real lives can't. Then again, we've all shared in a collective grief for the past few years, so for a show that balances the heartache of first love with the pain of losing someone, it boils down what we've all come to understand matters most. I would say we can't really escape from "The Summer I Turned Pretty" so you might as well join in on the girlish, angsty mess while Beyoncé and Taylor Swift serenade the soundtrack of your life.
