{"id":633832,"date":"2026-06-11T22:22:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/633832\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T22:22:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:22:16","slug":"every-year-after-ending-explained-showrunner-author-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/633832\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Every Year After’ Ending Explained: Showrunner, Author Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSome stories refuse to stay on the page. The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Beyond the Book<\/a> column explores what happens when books<\/a> make the leap to screen and beyond \u2014 unpacking what changed, how it was done and why it matters with the creatives who made it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\t[Warning: This story contains major spoilers for Prime Video\u2019s Every Year After<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

\n\tCelebrated author William Falkner once wrote, \u201cThe past isn\u2019t dead; it isn\u2019t even past.\u201d The Nobel Prize laureate likely didn\u2019t intend for his now-famous phrase to describe a romance novel, which on June 10 debuted its highly anticipated TV adaptation, Every Year After, on Prime Video. But it\u2019s a fitting sentiment nonetheless for the kind of story that unfolds within author Carley Fortune\u2019s 2022 book Every Summer After.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe New York Times best-selling second-chance romance traces how the relationship between best friends turned lovers Persephone \u201cPercy\u201d Fraser (Sadie Soverall) and Sam Florek (Matt Cornett) once fell apart. A love story deconstructed and reconstructed across alternating timelines, their past becomes present when Percy returns to Barry\u2019s Bay, the lakeside town where she spent her summers as a teen, and first fell in love with Sam.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Percy arrives in Barry\u2019s Bay to attend the funeral of the Florek brothers\u2019 mother, the two are forced to learn how to navigate each other again. Eventually, Percy\u2019s overbearing guilt \u2014 and Sam\u2019s interest in rekindling their past connection \u2014 leads her to finally confess the reason she put distance between them 10 years ago. After Sam left for college and they broke up, Percy slept with his older brother Charlie (Michael Bradway).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBut not before she and Sam face a series of relationship hurdles, followed by him suggesting it\u2019s best for them to put things on hold while he focuses on college. Vulnerable and heartbroken, Percy finds comfort in Charlie in a short-lived tryst, before an ashamed Percy leaves Sam, Charlie and Barry\u2019s Bay behind.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWithin a brief \u201cReader\u2019s Guide\u201d that follows Fortune\u2019s book, the author admits that her central character\u2019s betrayal might be hard to stomach. But in 2020 when she wrote the novel, she not only \u201cknew I wanted it to have a happy ending,\u201d but also wished to \u201cwrite about people who screw up but ultimately try their best to do better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor some readers, Percy\u2019s betrayal will be unforgivable,\u201d Fortune wrote. \u201cThe characters in this book are all flawed. I hope that makes them all the more compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cFor Some Readers, Percy\u2019s Betrayal Will Be Unforgivable.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cIt\u2019s a betrayal. It\u2019s a betrayal of Sam, and it\u2019s a betrayal of herself,\u201d Fortune says of Percy\u2019s secret. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCate Cameron\/Prime<\/p>\n

\n\tLike the book, much of Prime Video\u2019s series adaptation Every Year After explores a life shaped by the consequences of two people\u2019s impulsive childhood choices. An aftermath riddled with guilt and shame after Percy loses the love of her life, both stories on page and screen demonstrate how a single decision can reverberate across more than a decade, affecting someone\u2019s self-perception and relationships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBut in its own twist, Prime Video\u2019s eight-episode adaptation alters a key aspect of Sam and Percy\u2019s breakup and eventual makeup, specifically who knew about Percy\u2019s betrayal and when. In the novel, it\u2019s revealed that Sam was already aware of what had transpired between Percy and Charlie because Charlie confessed it to his brother years ago. In the series, helmed by showrunner Amy B. Harris, Charlie never reveals their secret and it\u2019s Percy who comes clean to Sam. Upon learning the truth, Sam spirals, cutting both Percy and Charlie from his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBoth Fortune and Harris express having great empathy for the protagonist, who was an insecure girl that had an irresolute boyfriend and made a grave mistake. \u201cWith Sam and Percy, their relationship as young people doesn\u2019t feel safe to Percy, because he\u2019s being a teenage boy, very wishy-washy. She\u2019s really vulnerable. I think what I tried to do, and I think what the show does a good job of, is show [that] she makes a mistake. We\u2019re very flawed, and we do make mistakes, but we are still worthy of good things, and love, and that\u2019s the journey that Percy\u2019s on,\u201d Fortune tells The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show also acknowledges that Percy\u2019s pattern of emotional immaturity played a role in what happened between her, Sam and Charlie. \u201cI think we made it pretty clear, she\u2019s starting to understand that she lashes out at Sam when he hurts her. She would kiss other boys, she would throw a boyfriend in his face. \u2026 I think she\u2019s learning these painful lessons, and I hope the way we told the story of how Charlie and Percy ended up hooking up, was [because] that relationship [between Sam and Percy] had become so hard and so difficult, and Charlie was fun and a breath of fresh air,\u201d Harris says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tFortune disagrees with fans who describe Percy\u2019s behavior as cheating, saying she views it more as a betrayal. \u201cTo me, it doesn\u2019t really matter, but I know to readers it does,\u201d she tells THR. \u201cPeople have used the word adultery, which I think is absolutely inappropriate when they\u2019re 17. It\u2019s a betrayal. It\u2019s a betrayal of Sam, and it\u2019s a betrayal of herself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the author and showrunner are firm in their understanding of Percy\u2019s decision and the fallout, the response to the betrayal has in the few years since the book\u2019s release proved divisive among readers. While some fans question whether Percy truly cheated on Sam if they were broken up, others have charged that neither Percy nor Charlie is redeemable as a character.<\/p>\n

\n\tFortune acknowledges that Percy gets \u201cthe most heat\u201d from her readers compared to Sam and Charlie despite it being \u201cforeshadowed from the first chapter,\u201d adding it has been surprising to see Percy\u2019s choice considered \u201cworse than a murder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarris welcomes the debates, and suggests that the criticism of Percy could be harsher because the novel is told through her perspective. \u201cPercy made a huge mistake in sleeping with Charlie, but Sam had been very inconsistent,\u201d Harris tells THR. \u201cYou could say, \u2018She\u2019s too needy\u2019 and \u2018She needed too much from him,\u2019 and that\u2019s fine, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the case, actually. I think Sam, when things got hard, always pushed her away. When he got scared, he would be like, \u2018We have our serious lives to take care of, and we have to pursue our own dreams, and we can\u2019t be together.\u2019 That was incredibly painful for Percy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a departure from the novel, viewers are able to see Sam unravel, putting a spotlight on his flaws and journey toward taking accountability for the role he played in Percy and Charlie coming together. For Harris, the show was an opportunity to \u201cbe able to explore his realization [that] he threw himself into his med school and his life because he didn\u2019t really know how to be fully emotionally intimate with Percy, even though he thought he did. I think he had a lot to learn,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cI think he had a lot to learn,\u201d Harris says of Matt Cornett\u2019s Sam Florek. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCate Cameron\/Prime<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cThe Characters in This Book Are All Flawed. I Hope That Makes Them All the More Compelling.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of female characters who are very messy and make a lot of mistakes,\u201d says Harris.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Percy\u2019s not the only one who made a summer mistake. Behind adult Charlie\u2019s confident, fun and successful persona is a deep pain over his choice. \u201cIn the book and in the show, at that moment he is not living a life that is true to himself, and he has a lot of regrets. You really get to be on that journey with him in the show, and I think that\u2019s where he was in my mind anyway. Percy coming back for the funeral brings a lot up for him,\u201d Fortune says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPercy has actually done way more than what she set out to do when she came to Barry\u2019s Bay. She has really owned her decisions, and Charlie is where I suspected he would be emotionally, which is not in a good place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBradway notes that like Percy, Charlie also stayed away from Sam, even when their mom was sick, because \u201cCharlie\u2019s biggest fear was losing\u201d his brother.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCharlie really felt like if he could make all of this money, he could make his problems go away, and if he supported Sam from afar and paid for his medical school, that eventually Sam would forgive him. If the truth did come out, Charlie would be able to have all of this evidence of him being a good brother,\u201d Bradway says. \u201cSo I did understand his reasoning. Would I have done the same thing? Probably not, but I completely understand where he\u2019s coming from and why he did [what he did].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong readers, Charlie telling Sam the truth may have made them more empathetic to him. \u201cAfter Every Summer After, there were readers who really despised Charlie, but then I had way more readers who wanted him to have a love story, and I would get multiple messages a day for his love story. People would come up to me at my book events and pitch me ideas and demand justice for Charlie. So he had this fan club,\u201d Fortune says.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut his silence in the series could change viewers\u2019 perceptions of him, raising questions about where the line between empathy and excuses lies. In the show, after Sam becomes aware of his brother\u2019s betrayal, he attacks Charlie\u2019s character, accusing him of poisoning things and of being someone who isn\u2019t capable of remorse. \u201cI\u2019m sure it will change some perspectives,\u201d Fortune says. \u201cCharlie gets a lot of credit for telling [Sam]. I think it was really important for me in the story that Charlie owned up to it. I think it\u2019s really important in the show to see Sam react to the news. Does that make Charlie less empathetic? Maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite losing his brother, Charlie is still navigating how much he struggled over the years holding on to the secret. \u201cI hope the audience is going to have a lot of empathy for both Charlie and Percy. In that shed scene in particular, they really talk about how heartbroken they are and how it changed the trajectory of their lives, and not necessarily in great ways emotionally for either of them,\u201d Harris says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBradway argues that Charlie staying mum about the secret \u201conly helps his journey\u201d going forward. \u201cI think the fact that Charlie really felt like they could keep this from Sam forever is crazy because it\u2019s gonna come out. But I think that Charlie was thinking that\u2019s a problem for later,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople\u2019s perspectives are going to be this roller coaster of emotions. You\u2019re gonna love them, you\u2019re gonna hate them, and then you\u2019re gonna love them again. And as an actor that\u2019s so fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cIn that shed scene in particular, they really talk about how heartbroken they are and how it changed the trajectory of their lives,\u201d Harris says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCate Cameron\/Prime<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cI Knew I Wanted to Tell a Love Story, and I Knew I Wanted It to Have a Happy Ending.\u201d\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tDeparting from the novel\u2019s second twist not only upped the stakes for TV, but also set the foundation for a new kind of emotional reckoning for Fortune\u2019s characters. \u201cI wanted it to be a big dramatic thing that changed the trajectory of where all the characters are going. It allowed us in the later episodes to explore the aftermath of that in a really emotional and dramatic way, which was very exciting for me,\u201d Harris tells THR.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a choice that leaves Every Year After\u2019s leading trio at a crossroads by season\u2019s end. After revealing the secret and later having an emotional goodbye with Sam before she returns to Seattle, Percy is seen being able to move on with her life without the weight of guilt and shame hindering her. She begins writing again and attempts to live the life she\u2019d been preventing herself from having, after finally achieving the forgiveness she\u2019d felt was undeserved. She later returns to Barry\u2019s Bay given she now owns the tavern once owned by Sue Florek, via an inheritance from the family matriarch\u2019s will. Sam, working as a cardiologist, also returns to Barry\u2019s Bay, where he finds Percy in the revamped tavern\u2019s kitchen. \u201cYou came home,\u201d she tells him, in an ending scene that mirrors their first reunion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, Charlie is left to grapple with the loss of his brother \u2014 his only family left given their parents have both died \u2014 his friendship with Percy and himself. His season ends with a heart attack, mirroring his father\u2019s cause of death \u2014 and a major tease for his story continuation in the One Golden Summer novel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tShould the show return for a season two, Every Year After will once again ask the audience to examine their level of empathy for an ensemble of flawed characters. \u201cThese are real things that happen, and audiences are allowed to be ticked off,\u201d Harris says. \u201cI hope for every person who has judgment, who is angry at them about that betrayal, that the show will provide some understanding of why they\u2019re worthy of empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn terms of the season finale, Harris was intent on treating that betrayal not as an obstacle quickly overcome, but that would set the stage for a new beginning for the characters. \u201cI think this season was about will they-won\u2019t they, and next season will be about how will they. I think that\u2019s something that isn\u2019t explored as much as I would like in TV shows. Although I hope the audience feels like they\u2019re coming to a happy ending at the beginning of season one, to me, it\u2019s just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cI think this season was about will they-won\u2019t they, and next season will be about how will they.\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCate Cameron\/Prime<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tEvery Year After is currently streaming on Prime Video.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some stories refuse to stay on the page. The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Beyond the Book column explores what happens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[214493,457,96,214494,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-633832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-beyond-the-book","tag-books","tag-entertainment","tag-every-year-after","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}