The Summer I Turned Pretty will finally commit to either Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah — but fans shouldn’t expect the show to stick to the book for inspiration.
Author Jenny Han teased that there are “definitely changes” in the third season of the show — despite the events that took place in the 2011 conclusion of the book series: We’ll Always Have Summer.
“There are surprises,” Han, 44, teased to Entertainment Weekly in an interview that was published on Tuesday, May 20. “And there are things that aren’t exactly like the books.”
Stars Lola Tung, Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno remained tight-lipped on who Belly would choose. Casalegno, 25, claimed die-hard fans “don’t really know” what’s coming, while Tung, 22, said viewers “have no clue” about onscreen shakeups.
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Despite the changes, Han confirmed a “satisfying” ending for everyone.
“A successful love triangle is one where, no matter what happens, people are going to be devastated and heartbroken,” Han hinted. “Because if the answer feels really clear and easy, then there’s no real conflict. No matter what you do, someone’s going to be hurt by it.”
The Summer I Turned Pretty, which premiered in 2022, is based on Han’s book series of the same name that focuses on Belly (Tung), who gets caught up in a love triangle with brothers Conrad (Briney) and Jeremiah (Casalegno). After exploring her feelings for Conrad, Belly starts to question whether Jeremiah is her perfect match.
In the original book trilogy, Belly made her final choice in We’ll Always Have Summer. That doesn’t mean that the decision will play out the same way when the show returns for its third and final season.
“I do feel like there’s a strong chance that that’s a possibility,” Casalegno exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2023 about the show potentially straying from the original events in the books. “Obviously, I know where [my character Jeremiah] ends up going and what ends up happening. But I don’t emphasize on that. Because I think Jenny writes it so well that I’m able to kind of get there naturally without having to force it in a certain direction.”
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Tung, meanwhile, explained why she didn’t mind the show not following the book exactly.
“The one thing I’ve always admired about Jenny is that every season and every decision about what’s coming next is purely to serve the story,” she told EW in March. “She’s never going to do anything that doesn’t make sense for the story.”
Tung continued: “It’s all about this beautiful world she’s created and giving the fans something really, really special and giving us something really special to work with.”
The Summer I Turned Pretty returns to Prime Video on July 16.
