Everyone’s favorite summer show is back!

Background

Based on Jenny Han’s popular book trilogy, The Summer I Turned Pretty follows teenager Isabel (Belly) Conklin and her romance with the two Fisher brothers as she spends summers at Cousins Beach with her brother, mom, mom’s best friend, and her kids. Belly has been going to Cousins her whole life and has always been fascinated by Conrad Fisher, the older of the two Fisher brothers. Everything changes the summer she turns 16, when she gets involved with Conrad and Jeremiah in a new way.

The books had been out for over a decade before it got picked up to be a TV adaptation led by Amazon Prime. Season one premiered in the summer of 2022 and was an instant hit. Season two followed a year later, in the summer of 2023. Season three has had a longer wait time, but after two years, it is finally time for the final season!

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What Has Happened So Far

Season ones release instantly took the internet by storm, leading to the team Conrad vs team Jeremiah debate, as viewers picked which brother they wanted for Belly to be in a relationship with. However, season 1 ends with Belly choosing Conrad over Jeremiah and entering a new relationship. The season’s end also revealed that Susannah(the boy’s mom and Belly’s mom’s best friend) had her cancer return.

Season two picks up a year later, when Belly and Conrad are broken up, Susannah’s dead, and everything’s a mess. Conrad is missing, and Jeremiah and Belly go to find him, only to see him at the cousins’ beach house because he learned Suasannah’s sister plans to sell the home. They manage to get the house back. However, in a turn of events, Belly and Jeremiah end up together, while Conrad is left alone and moves to Stanford for college and medical school. Now, we are finally at season three!

Season 3 Release Information

The Summer I Turned Pretty’s third season has been releasing weekly episodes. The first two episodes debuted on Amazon Prime on July 16th, with the third episode following a week later on July 23rd, the fourth episode on July 30th, and the fifth episode on August 6th. Prime will continue these weekly drops until the show’s finale on September 16th.

By the release of season three, most of the show watchers are Team Conrad. Conrad is the book’s endgame and is considered the more popular choice between the brothers. If the show stays accurate to the books, Belly will end up with Conrad. However, Jenny Han, the author, was hinting that some things in the show could be different from the series, making fans scared that Belly would choose herself or Jeremiah, instead of Conrad. Changes from the books to the show have happened. This can be seen with characters like Belly’s brother Steven(who plays a much bigger role in the show than in the books), Sky(who never existed in the books), Shayla (who also did not exist in the books), and Taylor( who had a far less important role in the books). Additionally, Taylor and Steven’s romance, which is a big plot in the show, never happens in the books. These are just a few discrepancies between the show and the original trilogy, which are differences that the fans, creators, and actors have noticed and acknowledged. Because of these changes, the story could take a completely different turn and end in a way that’s nothing like the books. However, this would significantly shift away from the original story and probably cause outrage among many of the show’s fans.

What's Happened in Season 3 So far

This part might contain some season three spoilers, so proceed with caution! In the episodes released, we have seen love, lust, truth bombs dropped, drama, and some heartwarming moments. Episodes one and two show Belly as she learns that Jeremiah cheated on her in Cabo when he thought they were broken up, but she only thought they were on a break.

Then Belly’s brother Steven gets into a car crash, and in a turn of events, Jeremiah proposes to Belly in hopes of forgiveness, which she accepts. However, later in episodes three and four, when Belly and Jeremiah reveal their engagement, their news is met with backlash from their family, especially Belly’s mom, Laurel. Episode five follows Belly’s wedding planning with Conrad out of all people, as Jeremiah gets stuck at work. Episode six is expected to be released this week, with fans speculating the end of Belly’s and Jeremieah’s relationship approaching soon, as scenes are hinting at it, and Belly is spending more time with Conrad. Additionally, viewers noted that Jeremiah’s character is slowly becoming more immature as this season progresses, making more people lean towards team Conrad again for this third season. We will see what happens next month!

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Other Recommendations

If you are a fan of Jenny Han, some of her other works have been adapted into movies/shows, such as To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. These movies, starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo, were very popular years before The Summer I Turned Pretty blew up. It’s a great series, and the movies are fun to watch!

Additionally, these movies have a spin-off series called XO Kitty on Netflix. Jenny Han plays a significant role in the production and release of these projects, so definitely check them out.

Conclusion

Have a great time watching TSITP this summer! I am team Conrad, so I am rooting for the show to stay true to the books, but my fingers are crossed!

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