I first started watching the Amazon series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” in 2023. My daughter was in her second year of college, and my son was a senior in high school, so I had more time on my hands to binge shows. I was looking for a “comfort” show and the first two seasons had already released at that point, so I dove in. The show is based on Jenny Han’s young adult romance trilogy about a girl, Isabel “Belly” Conklin and a love triangle between two brothers. Belly and her family grew up summering at a beach house in Massachusetts owned by her mother’s best friend, Susannah, and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. After I binged the first two seasons, the writer’s strike in Hollywood delayed the third season from filming. I took that opportunity to read the books so that I could figure out which brother Belly eventually chooses.
Amazon released the third and final season this summer, and to the dismay of all the fans, it’s only dropping one episode a week. In today’s world of binge television, it’s torture!
While I’ve been sweet-talking my husband into watching the show with me the whole time, my kids were never really that interested. Until this summer. Thanks to the clever marketing by Amazon, the show is everywhere. American Eagle created a clothing line devoted to it, the hobby store Michael’s got in on the action after they were featured in one episode, and the principal actors have made appearances in commercials for Dunkin Donuts and Panera Bread.
Then something strange happened about a month ago. My son began telling me to wait for him on the mornings the episodes dropped. As someone who is on Tik Tok and Instagram 24/7, he feels left out if he doesn’t know what’s happening in the show (this season is centered around a wedding) because plot points are featured all over the internet by mid-day. Then my daughter got interested because she saw us watching it. Their college social media accounts discuss the show. People are firmly in one camp or the other as they root for Belly to choose either Jeremiah or Conrad as her “endgame.”
Another fun reason we like to watch the show is that most of it was filmed in North Carolina (despite being set in New England), where we live, in beach towns we’ve visited and on some of the local college campuses. We’ve enjoyed watching each episode and pointing out the locations.
As I write this post, the latest episode has dropped and I’m waiting until this evening to watch it with my husband. Both kids have watched it between their college classes and promised to not share any spoilers with me, as there are only three episodes remaining before the series ends on Sept. 17. I don’t think we’ve ever all been this invested in a show before, and it’s made our group chats much more interesting. From what I can tell, the show has attracted a wide audience and I keep reminding my family that I’ve been talking about it for two years now. Glad they finally decided to listen. Oh, and #teamconrad.
Is there something everyone in your family likes to consume together? I’ve love to hear your thoughts.
Renee Roberson is an independent podcaster and creator of the show, “Missing in the Carolinas.” Her essay, “Behind the Red Door,” recently received an Honorable Mention in this year’s Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition (Memoirs/Personal Essay Category) and addresses the topic of discovering a neighbor had been arrested for child abuse and neglect.
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