The Summer I Turned Pretty
2022
Original language: English
- drama
The story
Every summer, Belly and her family head to the Fishers’ beach house in Cousins. Every summer is the same ... until Belly turns sixteen. Relationships will be tested, painful truths will be revealed, and Belly will be forever changed. It’s a summer of first love, first heartbreak and growing up — it's the summer she turns pretty.
What it’s like
Warm, saturated summer light spills across beach-house interiors and sun-faded coastal lanes, with sandy boardwalks, pastel bedrooms and golden-hour shorelines framed in soft, easy camera moves. The palette leans honeyed and sun-bleached, with a bright pop soundtrack of indie and pop songs swelling over the lazy rhythm of bike rides, bonfires and ocean swims. Its vibe is sunny nostalgia with a bittersweet undertow, the kind of show that suits a long summer afternoon, a comfort rewatch on the couch, or a lazy evening with a drink. Pacing is brisk and episodic, with the emotional register shifting from giddy and flirtatious to tender and wistful, and the central arc follows a teenage girl caught between two brothers as her adolescence sharpens into heartbreak and self-discovery, with grief and illness woven through the family drama. Intensity is mild: romance and kissing, some sexual tension handled chastely, and an emotionally heavy storyline around serious illness, but no violence, gore or graphic content. It is made for viewers who want sweet, melancholic coming-of-age romance and friendship, the warm glow of a summer that changes everything.
More TV shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved The Summer I Turned Prettyand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
