The Summer I Turned Pretty S3: Makers warn ‘heartbreaking’ finale as Belly Conrad’s story diverges from the Book

The Summer I Turned Pretty finale prepares for an emotional twist

The Amazon Prime Video show is based on Jenny Han’s YA book trilogy. The first season premiered in 2022 and became an instant hit. Season 2, which dropped in 2023, was even bigger and ended with Belly breaking things off with Conrad and choosing his younger brother Jeremiah instead. Since then, the fandom has remained divided between the two brothers. Now, season 3 finally arrives on July 16, and the big question is: who will Belly choose this time? In the book, the female lead ends up with Conrad. But Jenny Han, in a recent interview with ET, warned fans not to assume anything beforehand. “There are surprises. And there are things that aren’t exactly like the books,” Han teases. The story stretched so long that the makers even debated splitting it into two parts, but ended up with showrunner Sarah Kucserka deciding to give us a supersized final season, 11 episodes. “Three books, three seasons. It feels right to me,” she says.

The cast, on the other hand, are enjoying watching fans online trying to guess what happens next. But they’re all very tight-lipped about the ending, and even during interviews, they sidestep questions about the finale. “You don’t really know,” says Gavin with a smile. “You have no clue,” adds Lola. Briney jokes, “You haven’t read the scripts!” All those smirks and mysteries are enough to give fans butterflies in their stomachs. But the biggest bombshell comes from Jenny Han, who isn’t interested in giving readers the same ending twice. She wants fans to watch the show and feel that nervous excitement. “That’s an experience worth protecting,” she says. “Whether they want me to or not.” The makers, however, never revealed whether the changes would impact the original storyline and ending. She knows the Conrad vs. Jeremiah debate is intense online, but in the end, the cast knows they can’t make everyone happy. “I have to please myself first, as a storyteller,” Han says. “Even if people aren’t happy, they know they’re getting a good, quality story,” Lola added.

The show picks up two years after season 2 ended. Earlier, the full trailer of The Summer I Turned Pretty was released, teasing Belly and Jeremiah’s love story and happy dating life as they go back and forth between college and home, which feels lonely after the brothers’ mom died. But Belly’s presence keeps sunshine alive. The teaser in the last episode showed Conrad making his comeback, and just then, Taylor Swift’s songs do enough to create excitement as the music changes from Daylight to Red, signifying Belly’s inner feelings for Conrad as their eyes meet.