Jenny Han, author and co-showrunner of The Summer I Turned Pretty, discloses her reasons behind the changed ending of the show from the book.
The Summer I Turned Pretty, the TV adaptation of Jenny Han’s book of the same name, debuted on Amazon Prime Video on June 16, 2022, starring Lola Tung, Gavin Casalegno, Christopher Briney, David Iacono, Jackie Chung, and Rachel Blanchard.
Jenny Han, also known for the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series, shares the answer to the changed ending in the TV adaptation.
But first, a little about the plot. Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) has been visiting Cousins Beach for as long as she can remember. Her family was accompanied by the Fishers—Susannah “Beck” Fisher (Rachel Blanchard) and her two sons, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
But the summer before her sweet sixteen, it all changes. Her unrequited love for Conrad was finally being returned, but he was not the only one who noticed that she was not a kid anymore. Jeremiah and Conrad’s friend, Cam (David), have also developed feelings for her.
And now, Belly finds herself entangled in a messy love triangle and must choose one, knowing that it would create a rift between brothers and friends. The audience is in for a sappy yet charmingly dramatic ride filled with laughter, love, tears, and heartbreak.
In an interview with Variety after the show’s premiere, Jenny Han revealed the factors leading to the deviation of certain aspects of the story from the book in the adaptation.
She explained how, while writing the show, she felt empathy towards Jeremiah’s heartbreak upon Belly’s rejection in the book and gave him a second chance in the TV series—which is why he has his brief relationship with Belly in the series. Her words are:
“You never know what could happen with the show. I was open-minded going into it. I was considering a lot of different possibilities.”
Han further explained that she didn’t want to make heavy changes to the series, keeping the book’s fans in mind. But they were necessary since the show is still a different medium, and thus something new needed to be added.
“It’s a bit of a balancing act because I really had to weigh what the fans are expecting with where the show is going creatively and find that balance.”
She talked about maintaining a healthy balance between the original plotline and a creatively fresh look for the TV adaptation.
The show brought more depth to the teenagers and rounded out the stories of the adults in charge. The ending added slight ambiguity to the end and left the door open for a second season, which Jenny Han has admitted she is currently working on.
About The Summer I Turned Pretty
The Summer I Turned Pretty is a coming-of-age romance drama based on Jenny Han’s book of the same name. The Amazon Prime Video Original Series aired its first season on June 17 2022, with a second season in the wings.
The story centers around teenager Belly Conklin and her messy love life. Stuck in a love triangle between the Fisher brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah, Belly must face heartbreak and tears to find love and happiness.
The show stars Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, and Gavin Casalegno in the lead. Recurring cast members include David Iacono, Summer Madison, and Rain Spencer. The show was directed by Jesse Peretz, Jeff Chan, and Erica Dunton.
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