The Summer I Turned Pretty is a show developed from a book series written by Jenny Han that has become highly popular and loved over the years detailing a love triangle between the teenage girl Belly and her two childhood friends, who are also brothers. With season three being released this year, the show’s popularity has resurfaced, premiering to 25 million global viewers in the first week and becoming the number one show on the platform in over 120 countries.
The show’s fanbase is predominately teenagers, who discuss and debate all over social media. Belly navigates complex relationships, major life changes, and a series of emotional roller coasters–making it relatable to a teenage audience. Love triangle aside, Belly struggles with school, argues with her parents, banters with her friends, and grieves the loss of a close personal family friend.
“When the show got announced, it was really exciting because not only were the books well made, but I thought the story would be really fun to watch along,” sophomore Sofia Theisen said, “I had two great friends to relate with, laugh with, and cry with, so watching the show was fun.”
Belly’s struggles, for the most part, are similar to every other teenager watching, but her primary issue is not as common. She grapples with choosing between two brothers who are both wealthy and good-looking.
“I mean, who wouldn’t want Jeremiah and Conrad?” Sophomore Beatrix Belcher said, “It’s such a relatable show with the acting. They’re acting like real teenagers and they’re kind of going through similar things and it has a wide range of issues and conflicts that could be relatable.”
Han’s interpretation through the show and creation of each individual character is each unique and relatable to her audience. Each character has different problems and issues they need to resolve, showcasing complex relationships between characters and burdens among them that make it easy for the audience to relate and love the characters.
“My favorite character was Taylor Jewel, the best friend,” Sophomore Gabriella Hutchins said, “I think she had some pretty iconic lines. And overall, she was kind of like the voice of realism.”
Over the years of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” production, fans have divided themselves into either “Team Conrad” or “Team Jeremiah”. With the love triangle being extremely centered around the show’s focus, discourse within the fandom has naturally arisen over the better option between the brothers.
“I am Team Conrad and very enthusiastically so,” Theisien said, “If you understand the depth to him, you basically understand all the emotion behind the not-so-great actions he does. Whereas with Jeremiah, you just see him come on the screen and you’re like ‘why?’ So, and to quote one of my good friends, Conrad liked her before she turned pretty.”
Through each season, all the different characters have their own character development and storyline. Each season builds new themes, lessons, and explores deeper into the characters’ relationships. Whether it’s heartbreak, emotional growth, or tragedy, the characters all go through something that resonates with the audience.
“I loved the first season because it established everything and it was great to see everything come to life,” Theisien said, “The second season is just chaos. [I love] the third season because we get to see the actors all grown up and Jenny directs one of the episodes.”
