Hit Prime Video show returns with season 2 & more romantic drama.
Love triangles are emotional minefields at the best of times – but if you are a 16-year-old girl called Belly, seriously entwined between two boys who also happen to be brothers, the journey through that minefield becomes ever more perilous.
The Summer I Turned Pretty season two is out now with a three-episode drop and weekly episodes to follow from 21st July. It picks up where season one left off, with viewers hanging off an emotional cliff as Isabel “Belly” Conklin made clear her feelings for Conrad at the same time his younger brother Jeremiah declared himself for Belly.
In the new series of the hit romantic drama, Belly (played by new star Lola Tung) has a difficult path towards adulthood as she negotiates the rocky road of relationships involving the two brothers – and as adult complexities begin to intrude on Belly’s anticipation of the heady, summer days at Cousins Beach.
In season one of The Summer I Turned Pretty, we saw how Belly lived for the summer, counting down the days to the carefree times at the beach with her mum Laurel (Jackie Chung) and friends of the family Susannah (Rachel Blanchard, previously best known for her work in Clueless and the UK’s Peep Show) and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah (Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno respectively).
“No matter what happens next,” says Belly, “I will always come back to this place – and these people.” But life is rarely that conclusive.
The boys and Belly have been together every summer from the beginning of her life; they’ve been her brother figures until life and a natural coming of age intervenes. That one, glorious summer was a thing of beauty as well as the lifting of the curtain on the complexities of adulthood – and how a much-anticipated chapter of life can bring daunting complications.
Just as real-life teenagers often see little outside their own immediate worlds, it’s not just about Belly and the boys. The Summer I Turned Pretty is a multi-generational drama that, while it hinges on the love triangle, also showcases the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children, and the enduring power of strong female friendship.
At the end of season one, we find out that Susannah’s cancer has returned, and Belly is confronted with choosing one of the two brothers fighting for her heart – so Belly’s prized summers may never be the same.
This season promises much more character building – and the threat to Susannah’s health, as well as her house, means the teens are facing loss for the first time, a forcible introduction to adult life. When an unexpected visitor threatens the future of Susannah’s beloved house, Belly must rally the gang to come together—and to decide once and for all where her heart lies.
As for the love triangle, while Belly opted for Conrad last season, things cool with both brothers but will Jeremiah make a comeback as he proves to be more of a brother, a friend and a confidant for Belly?
The teaser for season two shows Conrad and Belly seemingly closer than ever – but also shows them in a full-blown fight. Meanwhile, Jeremiah reacts badly to Belly’s difficult confession that she and Conrad are close: “You’re already a we?” and “You don’t get to call me that {her best friend]”.
But the romantic tension won’t end there, of that there is nothing more certain.
The Prime Video series is led by showrunners Jenny Han, who also wrote the pilot, and Gabrielle Stanton. Han, Stanton, and Karen Rosenfelt serve as Executive Producers along with Hope Hartman, Mads Hansen and Nne Ebong for wiip. The series is a co-production of Amazon Studios and wiip.