{"id":40553,"date":"2025-08-02T00:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T00:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/40553\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T00:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T00:02:11","slug":"summer-i-turned-prettys-sean-kaufman-teases-ending-amid-book-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/40553\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer I Turned Pretty’s Sean Kaufman Teases Ending Amid Book Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

With all those promises that The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/a> would be different from the books, it should come as no surprise that even the cast didn\u2019t know how the show would end while filming the final season.<\/p>\n

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Sean Kaufman revealed how much<\/a> he knew about where his character Steven\u2019s story was going in season 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely open-ended. I had no idea. And [creator] Jenny [Han] likes keeping us all on our toes, which is always fun,\u201d Kaufman, 25, teased. \u201cI was just kind of along for the journey. It\u2019s definitely one where \u2014 as an actor \u2014 I love to know where I end up so I can see the full arc and know where [my character is] headed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaufman found it an \u201cinteresting challenge\u201d to switch up his approach.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c[It felt like] I don\u2019t know where I am. I think I kind of related that to Steven in the moment where he doesn\u2019t know where he\u2019s at,\u201d he noted. \u201cEspecially after the car crash, he actually doesn\u2019t know what the future holds or what the next step is. So I tried to play with that uncertainty in adult life a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on Han\u2019s book series, The Summer I Turned Pretty explores a love triangle between Belly (Lola Tung) and the Fisher brothers: Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). Following the show\u2019s Prime Video premiere<\/a> in 2021, viewers have grown attached to other characters \u2014 including Belly\u2019s scene-stealing brother (Kaufman).<\/p>\n

\"TSITPAmazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n

Fans who read Han\u2019s books have been waiting for We\u2019ll Always Have Summer to be adapted in season 3. The show\u2019s creative team and the cast have hinted, however, that the show isn\u2019t just sticking to its source material.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI will say Jenny has a lot of surprises. Some of the other actors maybe might not have [their arcs] as mapped out as you think,\u201d Kaufman, whose role on the show was expanded compared to in the books, teased to Us. \u201cYou saw in seasons 1 and 2, so many scenes were obviously directly from the books, which is amazing. Fans love that and the writers love it, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cBut one thing that Jenny and the writers talked about with Rain [Spencer] and I was that whatever they want and whatever they choose, they can write. So I do think that that\u2019s a beautiful part of Steven\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Season 3 reintroduced Us to Steven after a significant time jump. After graduating (early!) from Princeton, Steven is still figuring out what he wants to do in his professional life while working for Conrad and Jeremiah\u2019s dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of thinking about finally being an adult. In the first season, I was playing 16 years old or 17 years old, and in real life, I was 21. So I was having to take it down a notch. I think that this season being closer to my actual age, I was really allowing myself to think about all that time, because four years is a big time jump,\u201d Kaufman explained to Us. \u201cI was thinking to myself, \u2018Well, what happened in those four years for me? Some bad stuff and some sad stuff.\u2019 I just allowed myself to go back to those dark places that often you don\u2019t associate with an innocent child.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the character evolution also came different dynamics. Last time the audience saw Steven, he was closer to Conrad and hopeful about his future with love interest Taylor. Fast-forward to season 3, and Steven was closer to Jeremiah while in an off-and-on romance with Taylor.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"WhichErika Doss \u00a9 AMAZON<\/p>\n

\u201cI know at the end of season 2, you see Steven and Conrad so close and there\u2019s such a bond there. But I think people kind of forget that season 2 was one week \u2014 it all took place in one week and then Steven goes to college,\u201d the actor noted. \u201cAnd Conrad goes off to California and all this stuff happens. I don\u2019t think that either one of them has bad intentions toward the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steven and Conrad\u2019s awkward reunion \u2014 before the season 3 restaurant scene heard around the world \u2014 is meant to represent real friendships.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is both their faults because communication is a two-way street. So either one of them, obviously, could have reached out at any point. But I loved that. I loved that scene at the restaurant,\u201d Kaufman recalled. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen each other in four years. Steven doesn\u2019t know what to talk about or how to even with him anymore. I am sure if they hung out a little more, it\u2019d be a little easier. At that point, Steven doesn\u2019t even know that Conrad isn\u2019t going right back to California, so he is like, \u2018I\u2019m never going to see this dude again for another couple of years. Why would I try even?’\u201d<\/p>\n

The issues don\u2019t stop there for Steven. After putting himself out there with Taylor earlier in the season, Steven was shut down and ended up in a coma following a car crash. Steven woke up days later with a new outlook on life<\/a>, which started with him giving up on his undefined romance with Taylor \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know if he is going to live. He thinks he\u2019s going to die and the last thing that he remembers hearing before potentially everything ends is that this girl doesn\u2019t want to be with him,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cTo hear that right before you could have potentially died is earth-shattering and life changing. So when he wakes up, he takes a real look in the mirror and thinks about what he wants in life and what he\u2019s been doing and how it\u2019s not shaping toward what the future can hold for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

While The Summer I Turned Pretty will likely wrap up everyone\u2019s story by the end of the season, that doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s not room for more. Amazon executive Vernon Sanders recently walked back possible plans to expand<\/a> The Summer I Turned Pretty, but some of Us still remain hopeful \u2014 especially if that means getting a Steven spinoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always more story to tell. It\u2019s up to Jenny and what she thinks and if she does have more story to tell,\u201d Kaufman teased. \u201cI trust Jenny with all my whole heart. She knows what she\u2019s doing more than anything. But it\u2019s very mixed. I\u2019m glad people want more and I hope that means we\u2019re doing something right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SummerErika Doss \u00a9 AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC<\/p>\n

For now, Kaufman is looking forward to other projects post-TSITP. He has already filmed a role on season 5 of For All Mankind<\/a> and in the supernatural horror film Other Mommy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only criteria [for each new project] is it has to be different. So I really liked stepping out of the comfort zone of a YA show and stepping into horror and this VFX world and sci-fi,\u201d he told Us. \u201cIt was such a new challenge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaufman isn\u2019t ruling out more romantic roles, though. In response to Us\u2018 pitch about him leading a rom-com of his own, Kaufman replied, \u201cI would always be down. Never say never. I\u2019d absolutely love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The actor has also been exploring his passion for writing \u2014 playwriting, to be more specific \u2014 and hopes The Summer I Turned Pretty fans could possibly see the cast reunite in the future on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201c[To write something that stars my TSITP costars] would be a big dream of mine. If I could get them, are you kidding me? They probably wouldn\u2019t do it,\u201d he quipped. \u201cI\u2019d have to pay \u2018em a lot. Chris is off-Broadway right now. He\u2019s killing it. He\u2019s incredible. Lola\u2019s been on Broadway and Rain is doing these incredible plays in L.A all the time. So if I could get them, I\u2019ll take them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Summer I Turned Pretty airs on Prime Video Wednesdays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With all those promises that The Summer I Turned Pretty would be different from the books, it should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[353,49,48,362,75,282,4150,44,348],"class_list":["post-40553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-celebrity-news","tag-entertainment","tag-exclusive","tag-interview","tag-news","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}