The Summer I Turned Pretty

I actually thought that this would have been a different teen romance compared to the other stuff we've seen. But I was wrong about that.

The show is definitely not bad but it falls into to the case of bad writing and poor development. A lot of these characters are very stereotypical which makes the show really predictable. Certain things happen throughout the show that just leaves me in disbelief and the decisions made by these characters are just plain laughable.

The love triangle didn't really get momentum until the later episodes and the various subplots dragged the show down. The only storyline besides the main that I actually enjoyed was with the parents surprisingly.

Overall, the show was pretty much mid from the get-go. Nothing really convinced me that this was a good show and it just made me dissatisfied.

Season Two, 2023: It is July 2023 and the second season of this limited series is available on Prime. My wife and I watched the first two episodes and we are not impressed. This season has none of the novelty and charm of the first season. It is focusing almost solely on the relationship triangle, Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. And frankly it isn't scripted very well and comes across as too juvenile. This whole series of episodes are written and directed by a number of different people and it seems they didn't really know a good path forward after season one. We might watch additional episodes but it doesn't have that "must watch" feel that season one had. We are mildly disappointed.

Season One, 2022: My wife and I just this evening finished this Amazon streaming 7-episode limited series. Each part about 45 to 50 minutes long. It focuses heavily on four teenagers, two boys from one family and a boy and a girl from the other. They have been knowing each other essentially all their lives and grew up mostly like brothers and sister, their moms are best friends. The story is told mostly from Belly's (Isabel) point of view, she is the one, just turning 16, that became pretty that summer.

There are a few side stories going on, some involving an ex-husband or an estranged husband. And the usual "on again, off again" teenage friendships. The 16-yr-olds getting ready for the debutante ball. But the most significant is the illness of one of the mothers.

While we, grandparents in our 70s, are not the target audience for this type of teen-focused programming we enjoyed it quite nicely. With a show like this it hinges on whether you can care about the characters, if you can easily put aside the fact that you are watching actors playing fictional roles. And we were able to do that with this series.

The last episode ends in a way that it certainly sets up for a sequel and my wife tells me that a second season is in the works. We will also watch that when it becomes available.

This is more like a 6.5/10 for me. It was a sweet and fun. I liked the setting and the chill beachy vibe. It was a pretty easy binge watch too. But it felt a little shallow and repetitive. I feel like we've seen this story many times already. And that's totally fine, but I just wished this series had had something more interesting that would have made it stand out from the other stories. Some of the interactions between the characters felt unnatural to me as well.

It's alright, good binge material if you're bored.

Decent acting in season 1, the second season however fails to deliver. The story lacks depth in both seasons and is very predictable.

The source material feels as though it was taken straight out of Wattpad, no idea why there's so much hype out there.

I take it the books are better?

I kinda liked season one. It was sweet, although a bit messy. Belly ended up with the right brother.

But season two?

Oh, my ... What a trainwreck. It makes no sense to me why anyone would ruin a nice romance story like that.

I also don't get how teenagers get to do whatever they want with whomever they want whenever they want, and noone is keeping an eye on them. Belly is only 16, and the boys not much older.

The whole thing with Aunt Julia also seems forced and ridiculous.

The entire season two is just one, big, ridiculous mess. I hope they won't make a season three, 'cause I will have to watch it to see what happens to the only likeable brother.