{"id":10474,"date":"2025-07-15T01:42:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T01:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/10474\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T01:42:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T01:42:03","slug":"the-summer-i-turned-pretty-creator-on-season-3-book-changes-ending-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/10474\/","title":{"rendered":"The Summer I Turned Pretty Creator on Season 3 Book Changes, Ending Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since chatter about the third and final season of \u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d<\/a>\u00a0began, creator and author Jenny Han has teased that the ending of her book series might not determine exactly how \u2014 and with which Fisher brother \u2014 Belly\u2019s journey might end.<\/p>\n

Han, who published the last novel in the trilogy, \u201cWe\u2019ll Always Have Summer,\u201d well over a decade ago in 2011, is used to fans shipping Belly (Lola Tung), with either Conrad (Christopher Briney) or Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno). But she admits the fandom for the Prime Video series has upped the ante, leading to plenty of speculation about how the love triangle might end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always thinking about my book fans,\u201d Han said. \u201cThere\u2019s Team Conrad book fans, and there\u2019s also some Team Jeremiah book fans \u2026 there were teams even when I was writing them years ago, so it\u2019s not new, although it is pretty intense with the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While remaining tight-lipped about how the season plays out, Han admitted she has \u201cno idea\u201d how fans will react to changes from the book in the upcoming season, but she finds the conclusion to be a \u201cvery satisfying ending \u2026 as far as a TV show goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me as a storyteller, I have to feel good about what I\u2019m making, and I have to feel proud of it, and I have to be excited by it,\u201d Han said. \u201cI just write what I think is the best story, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ll stand by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Han embraced a change from the book early on into crafting the season as she elongated the time jump in the books from two years \u2014 which saw Belly closing out her first year of college \u2014 to four years in the series, with Belly now finishing her junior year while Jeremiah finishes his senior year at Finch and Conrad is well into med school.<\/p>\n

\"The-Summer-I-Turned-Pretty\"Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Belly (Lola Tung) in \u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d Season 3 (Erika Doss\/Amazon)<\/p>\n

The time jump \u2014 which sees Tung, 22, Briney, 27, and Casalegno, 25, playing their characters closer to their own ages \u2014 \u201craises the stakes on everything because anything is possible,\u201d according to Han. The age gap certainly makes Belly and Jeremiah\u2019s engagement a bit more palatable \u2014 which happens in the book and the trailer confirms to happen in the show \u2014 while still meriting backlash from Belly\u2019s mom, Laurel (Jackie Chung).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always really hard when you\u2019re getting older and you have a lot more independence, you\u2019ve been living outside of the house, and you don\u2019t always agree with what your parents want for you \u2026 but they\u2019ve raised you to be independent and somebody who can make their own decisions,\u201d Han said, adding that both Belly and Laurel are quite stubborn, leading to more \u201cfriction\u201d within their \u201cpower struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Belly\u2019s struggle with her mom underscores what Han identifies as the season\u2019s themes \u2014 growth and coming into adulthood \u2014 which trace back to the first season of the YA series. \u201cThey\u2019re all figuring out what is next for them \u2014 where do I belong, and what should I be doing \u2014 all of them, in different ways, are grappling with those questions,\u201d Han said. \u201cLosing Susannah accelerated everyone, in a way, to have to grow up overnight, and then now seeing her in college and ready to make these \u2026 big decisions and choices for her future is the next natural progression for [Belly].\u201d<\/p>\n

While mulling over getting married to Jeremiah sets up for a dramatic close to the series, Season 3 will also see Belly explore her interests in college, prompting her to figure out what kind of student she wants to be and where she wants to focus her time.<\/p>\n

For Jeremiah, on the other hand, college has given him a change to slow down after his mother\u2019s death and enjoy the college experience, according to Han, though that might lead to some friction as Belly attempts to find her own way at Finch. \u201cHe loves Belly so much and they\u2019re so close. But he also has his fraternity brothers and his college friends, and he has created a real family for himself at Finch,\u201d Han said.<\/p>\n

Likewise, heading to California gave Conrad the freedom to be \u201ca different version of himself without all the baggage of people knowing about the pain in his past,\u201d according to Han.<\/p>\n

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

As Season 3 plunges viewers into college and young adulthood, the series introduces several new players to the scene, including series regulars Isabella Briggs and Kristen Connolly\u00a0and recurring\u00a0cast\u00a0members include Sofia Bryant, Lily Donoghue, Zo\u00e9 de Grand\u2019Maison, Emma Ishta and Tanner Zagarino.<\/p>\n

And of course, Season 3 welcomes back Sean Kaufman as Steven and Rain Spencer as Taylor. After pivoting from the book to include a romance between the pair in the Prime Video series, Han said crafting their Season 3 journey was \u201cone of the most challenging parts of writing the season, because there\u2019s so many places they can go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wrote a lot of story that we never even see on screen, just so we knew what the history was, and we knew where the fault lines were in the relationship,\u201d Han said, adding that their love story as lots of rich backstory given Taylor\u2019s crush on Steven since they were kids. \u201cThat\u2019s always such juicy fodder for a relationship \u2014 the \u2018she fell first, he fell harder\u2019 \u2014 I think they epitomize that.\u201d<\/p>\n

To fill in the gaps of the four years, Han gave both couples \u2014 Tung and Casalegno and Kaufman and Spencer \u2014 questionnaires about their character\u2019s relationships, which included everything from, \u201cwhich side of the bed do you sleep on?\u201d to \u201cwhat\u2019s your pizza order?\u201d to \u201cwho usually pays when going out to eat?\u201d <\/p>\n

Han also sent both pairs on scavenger hunts to gather various photos of each couple in different scenarios as set dressing, with Han explaining \u201cI just needed a variety of things to really make it feel real and to populate their spaces with photos.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also made a competition \u2014 they\u2019re all very competitive,\u201d Han said. \u201cI think Sean and Rain did theirs first, and they were cute, and then Lola and Gavin did theirs, and those were really good, and then Sean and Rain were like, \u2018This is not fair \u2026 we didn\u2019t have a third person traveling with us to take our photos. We need another chance of this.\u2019 And so then they did again, and then their photos were so good \u2026 it was a tie they were all amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The-Summer-I-Turned-Pretty\"Steven (Sean Kaufman) and Taylor (Rain Spencer) in \u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d Season 3 (Erika Doss\/Amazon)<\/p>\n

As Han closes out the existing \u201cSummer I Turned Pretty\u201d triology, she hasn\u2019t fully closed the door on a potential return to Cousins \u00e0 la \u201cTo All The Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before\u201d spinoff series \u201cXO, Kitty,\u201d which was renewed for a third season at Netflix.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know in the future,\u201d Han said about the potential for a spinoff series, noting she\u2019s \u201ctaking a beat\u201d as the flagship series reaches its end. \u201cTo me, it starts with story and what feels creatively exciting, and if the stars were to align, then, I\u2019m always happy to go back to Cousins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until then, Han hopes the third season leaves viewers of all ages with a renewed sense of hope that you can always start over again and grow from your past mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can make big mistakes and blow up your life, and there\u2019s still a path forward for you \u2014 it doesn\u2019t mean that your life is like over because you didn\u2019t get into the college you wanted to go to, or you had a breakup,\u201d Han said. \u201cLife is long \u2026 be gentle with yourself. You can learn from your mistakes, but I think that having grace for those mistakes is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d Season 3 premieres Wednesday, July 16, on Prime Video.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ever since chatter about the third and final season of \u201cThe Summer I Turned Pretty\u201d\u00a0began, creator and author…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[223,88,10551,10552,7048,10553,5135],"class_list":{"0":"post-10474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-jenny-han","11":"tag-lola-tung","12":"tag-prime-video","13":"tag-the-summer-i-turned-pretty","14":"tag-what-to-watch"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}