The Summer I Turned Pretty

Season Two, 2023: It is July 2023 and the second season of this limited series is available on Prime. My wife and I watched the first two episodes and we are not impressed. This season has none of the novelty and charm of the first season. It is focusing almost solely on the relationship triangle, Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. And frankly it isn't scripted very well and comes across as too juvenile. This whole series of episodes are written and directed by a number of different people and it seems they didn't really know a good path forward after season one. We might watch additional episodes but it doesn't have that "must watch" feel that season one had. We are mildly disappointed.

Season One, 2022: My wife and I just this evening finished this Amazon streaming 7-episode limited series. Each part about 45 to 50 minutes long. It focuses heavily on four teenagers, two boys from one family and a boy and a girl from the other. They have been knowing each other essentially all their lives and grew up mostly like brothers and sister, their moms are best friends. The story is told mostly from Belly's (Isabel) point of view, she is the one, just turning 16, that became pretty that summer.

There are a few side stories going on, some involving an ex-husband or an estranged husband. And the usual "on again, off again" teenage friendships. The 16-yr-olds getting ready for the debutante ball. But the most significant is the illness of one of the mothers.

While we, grandparents in our 70s, are not the target audience for this type of teen-focused programming we enjoyed it quite nicely. With a show like this it hinges on whether you can care about the characters, if you can easily put aside the fact that you are watching actors playing fictional roles. And we were able to do that with this series.

The last episode ends in a way that it certainly sets up for a sequel and my wife tells me that a second season is in the works. We will also watch that when it becomes available.

If you've seen one glossy American teen drama, you've seen them all - and The Summer I Turned Pretty is no exception. This series follows the same tired formula: privileged kids spending their summers in gorgeous beach houses, worrying about which boy likes them more, while the real world seems miles away - both literally and emotionally.

The show tries hard to pull at your heartstrings with slow-motion scenes, indie music, and pretty lighting, but underneath all the aesthetics is a painfully shallow and predictable story. The characters rarely resemble actual teenagers in their behavior or dialogue - they're overly dramatic, self-absorbed, and seem completely detached from any real-world problems. Everything feels sanitized and idealized, as if the biggest hardship in life is choosing between two equally dreamy boys.

It's the kind of show that wants to be deep but ends up being emotionally hollow. Even moments that are supposed to be serious (grief, illness, coming-of-age struggles) feel like they're handled with a Pinterest-filter level of depth. The dialogue is cringey, the pacing is sluggish, and the relationships are overly romanticized in a way that just doesn't reflect real teen experiences - unless you're a rich, conventionally attractive kid from a Nicholas Sparks novel.

In short: The Summer I Turned Pretty is just another chapter in the ever-growing saga of whiny, spoiled, unrealistic, sugarcoated teen dramas from the U. S., centered on characters who have everything but act like their lives are falling apart. If you're looking for authentic storytelling or relatable characters, this isn't it.

This is more like a 6.5/10 for me. It was a sweet and fun. I liked the setting and the chill beachy vibe. It was a pretty easy binge watch too. But it felt a little shallow and repetitive. I feel like we've seen this story many times already. And that's totally fine, but I just wished this series had had something more interesting that would have made it stand out from the other stories. Some of the interactions between the characters felt unnatural to me as well.

I loved the first season of this show. It's a fun, bingeable, teen-angsty series. The setting creates an environment you can escape into. The teens were also very well-cast and engaging to watch. The adults not so much, but that could be overlooked. However, this second season drags. Everything just seems sad. It lacks complexity and all the color of the first season. Their cousin is also such a bad actor it's distracting. If there is a third season, I would love to keep watching if they're able to rebound and get back to the energy of the first season. But maybe the "will they, won't they?" drama has played itself out...

Amongst the cliches, irritating characters, and the irritating choices they make, there is something comforting about this series. The soundtrack, stunning locations, colorful costumes, excellent casting, and all around solid performances make an otherwise unoriginal series quite entertaining....and by the way, I'm team Conrad.