- Network: Prime Video
- Series Premiere Date: Jun 17, 2022
Critic Reviews
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Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a fun summertime watch, the TV equivalent of "a beach read." Though not every moment is light and summery, it is a perfect ode to summer and young love.
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The whole show is summer escapism (if your escapism can handle some longing and heartbreak) in TV form. The beats of The Summer I Turned Pretty might be familiar—predictable, even—but it’s a good familiarity, like your favorite summer spot coming into view for the first time on vacation.
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There’s plenty to enjoy about the series, which is warm and inviting and fun. Belly proves herself to be a great protagonist.
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If you loved The Last Song, Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, or have the vaguest notion of what “coastal grandmother aesthetic” means, you’ll eat it all up with a spoon. ... There’s a slightly more grown-up but nonetheless delightful escapism in Laurel’s setup as a single mom who, apparently, gets to spend the whole summer smoking weed and lightly co-parenting with her rich best friend.
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The finale braids together the series’ many narrative throughlines with enough tearjerking emotion to earn the already-greenlit second season — though it’s telling that even then, the most affecting moments emerge from the family units and friendships and not from the ostensible couplings.
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While “The Summer I Turned Pretty” doesn’t exactly reinvent the breezy teen summer series, it’s a bit like an overly sweet icy pop. Not very nutritious, messy af, but fun while it lasts.