The Summer I Turned Pretty: Why Millennials Can't Get Enough Of The Show

Just one episode remains in the final season of The Summer I Turned PrettyHas The Summer I Turned Pretty pretty much consumed your entire personality for the past few months? Don’t worry, I totally get it.I’ve been watching the much-hyped TV adaptation of Jenny Han’s books since the first season came out in the summer of 2022, and nothing could have prepared me for how quickly the show would become a full-blown obsession for me.The romantic drama tells the story of a teenage love triangle, in which protagonist Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung in her first ever on-screen role) finds herself torn the brothers Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher, played by Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney, respectively.Set in the fictional seaside town of Cousins, the two families at the centre of it all have been spending summers together since they were kids, until one year everything changes and friendships begin to turn into something more. On first glance it’s a show with all the ingredients for a low-stakes, feel-good summer binge: a gorgeous holiday beachhouse, relatable coming-of-age storylines and butterfly-filled summer romances.But long-time viewers of the show will know that it also delves deeper into mature themes that give The Summer I Turned Pretty a lot more depth than people would like to give it credit for. There are thoughtful depictions of grief, careful portrayals of mental health issues, relatable interfamily disputes and generally just a lot of tear-jerking moments.Playing Belly in The Summer I Turned Pretty has been a breakout role for Lola TungAt least, these are the lines of argument that I – a 29-year-old woman who was born in the bordering years between millennial and Gen Z – told myself while trying to understand why I liked a show that was likely intended for much younger people.Eventually, I realised that I was living in denial, and had to come to terms with the fact that I was watching each episode twice in one day, and blushing over Conrad fan edits on TikTok. Only then was I finally able to accept that this wasn’t just a show that I enjoyed, but actually loved.By making this confession, I not only became free, but soon discovered that the millennial obsession for The Summer I Turned Pretty is actually a bit of a phenomenon.Now approaching the end of its third and final season, more millennials than ever are speaking about their affinity with the show. Here’s why…There’s a strong sense of nostalgia at the heart of the showMany fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty have noted that the show is deeply nostalgic, making us long for a simpler time.In a recent article for Vogue Australia, one author aptly remarked that “the show might sound like it’s for children because it sort of is, but that hasn’t stopped the series from capturing the hearts and souls of millions of millennials like me”.The article goes on to explain how “the show manages to seamlessly blend nostalgia with romantic intensity, offering a comforting kind of escapism that reminds us all of how we behaved at that age”.Christopher Briney as love interest Conrad in The Summer I Turned PrettyThe summer vibe offers the perfect kind of escapism Look, we millennials (and many members of Gez Z, to be fair) have had it hard this past decade – stagnant wages, impossible housing and rent costs, the lingering impact of the 2008 financial crisis. Sometimes we just want to watch our silly little summer show and disappear for a bit.In a recent piece interview for Yahoo, one fan remarked how the summer vibe made them feel “like you’re transported onto a summer vacation when you’re watching it”, bringing them back to a time when the responsibilities of life and work weren’t so suffocating. I know that when I go back to my season one rewatch next summer, I’m most definitely going to find an excuse for my own Fourth of July party and whip up a batch of Belly’s pomegranate margaritas.The Summer I Turned Pretty's sun-drenched setting provides escapism for fansIt resembles many other teenage shows that millennials grew up watchingAs many other millennials have noted, for an age demographic that grew up watching TV shows like The Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we’re responding to The Summer I Turned Pretty with so much enthusiasm.@momminalatteshopJust a millennial mom hooked on this teen show bc nostalgiaaaaa 🤭 . . #tsitp#thesummeriturnedpretty#millennial#funny#trending♬ tsitp intro - ashyrami@brittanypaigedesignsits just bringing me back ya know #thesummeriturnedpretty#theoc#teendramas#oth♬ original sound - Brittany PaigeNeed we also remind people what growing up in the era of Twilight did to millennial women and the culture at large, dividing us into either Team Edward or Team Jacob, a phenomenon which has now brought us to Team Jeremiah vs. Team Conrad?One millennial TikTok user also noted how she’s been trying to “relive her glory days” of rooting for either Team Stefan or Team Damon from The Vampire Diaries or Team Dan or Team Nate in Gossip Girl, insisting that no other recent shows had come close to recreating that feeling.Millennials have a big soft spot for Black Cat boyfriendsAll of this also ties in with the internet’s recent obsession with Black cat boyfriends, the antithesis to the formerly championed golden retriever boyfriend.If a golden retriever boyfriend is a happy-go-lucky, energetic companion, the Black cat boyfriend is the complicated, brooding love interest trying to work through their stuff. The most famous Black Cat Boyfriends include Jess from Gilmore Girls, Twilight’s Edward Cullen and Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass.There’s no denying that those types of characters make things far more interesting. And after all, we all love a bit of yearning. The Summer I Turned Pretty’s soundtrack is so millennial-codedTaylor Swift has practically become her own character in the show at this point, when you consider how many of her songs soundtrack pivotal moments.Granted, her appeal is intergenerational, but the pop icon is also a millennial herself, so we do get to claim her in that way.Taylor Swift needle-drops have become something of a staple in The Summer I Turned PrettyAnd while the soundtrack is hugely varied, when there are throwback moments like U2’s With Or Without You (aka. Ross and Rachel’s song from Friends), you can’t blame us for losing our minds.There’s also plenty of nostalgia for Gen X in there, from Fleetwood Mac, Otis Redding and Billy Joel.The Summer I Turned Pretty just gets girlhoodLook, we can do all the decoding and investigating we want, but there’s no denying that The Summer I Turned Pretty just understands what it feels like to be a teenage girl with lots of feelings and making a mess of them all.In another article unpacking the show’s unique appeal, a writer for Elle explored how the show captures “that in-between space where girlhood and desire blur, and everything feels both electric and uncertain”, adding that it was this “messy, persistent feeling” that “makes it so resonant for women like me”.Rain Spencer and Sean Kaufman in the final season of The Summer I Turned PrettyThe article even quoted a therapist who explained that the show “blends nostalgia, emotional intensity, and romantic fantasy in a way that taps into our earliest understandings of love and longing”.We may have spent three seasons rooting for either Conrad or Jeremiah, but ultimately watching The Summer I Turned Pretty has been about revisiting that time in our lives where we just felt everything so much. Not many shows get that right – but this one has nailed it. The Summer I Turned Pretty concludes on Wednesday 17 September on Prime Video.MORE TV:These Are Our 11 Top Picks Of The New Shows And Films To Stream On Netflix In September 2025This Wednesday Star Just Confirmed Their Character Is Getting A Spin-OffThought The Cast Of Hostage Looked Familiar? Here's Where You've Seen The Stars Before

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