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- Author Jenny Han says The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s final season is “very satisfying.”
- Stars Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, and Gavin Casalegno reveal how they feel about where their characters end the series.
- The third and final season premieres with two episodes on July 16.
It’s the beginning of the end.
The Summer I Turned Pretty finally returns for its last season on Wednesday, meaning the series finale (and the ensuing heartbreak) is looming closer than ever. While we’ve still got a ways to go before we find out who Belly (Lola Tung) chooses between Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and Conrad (Christopher Briney), the stars and creator are already teasing the ultimate ending.
“Personally, it feels very satisfying,” author and co-showrunner Jenny Han tells Entertainment Weekly.
Tung reveals she was “very emotional” throughout the entire final season, but especially as she filmed her last scenes as Belly.
Courtesy of Erika Doss/Prime Video
“I cried, naturally, many, many times,” she tells EW. “I was 18 when I first got cast, and I just finished my first year of college, and I was 22 when we wrapped this year. And I really, really do feel like I have grown up a lot on the show and through the show and with the character, and because of that, it’s just been such a big chapter of my life — in a very important part of my life. It felt very special, very emotional, and (I’m) very proud and just happy with how everything’s gone and how the story’s been received.”
Han admits that while she didn’t tear up while wrapping the series finale, she “definitely cried” watching the actors film pivotal scenes throughout the season.
“It was, in some ways, surreal,” Han says of finishing the series. “I remember Lola was like, ‘You’re not crying that hard,’ and I was like, ‘I’m always going to know you, and it doesn’t feel a goodbye to me.’ Lola is so special and dear to me. This is such a moment in time, but this girl, I’ll see her soon.”
The Fisher brothers similarly felt positive as they finished filming the show. Casalegno especially loved where the story ends for his character, Jeremiah, and enjoyed his time bringing those final scenes to life on set.
“It was fun, especially on my side of things, seeing how much the character grew throughout the season and how you could really see the maturity in the decisions towards the end of the series,” Casalegno says. “So the final scenes were kind of a nice, happy button for Jeremiah — at least, I hope that people watching feel that way.”
Han agrees, adding that “some of my favorite stuff was writing that arc” for Jeremiah.
“All the work he was doing in the back half of the season, it was like a real pleasure to see,” Han says of Casalegno.
Courtesy of Erika Doss/Prime Video
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Briney adds that it was “bittersweet” wrapping his arc as Conrad.
“But I just treated every season like, ‘Hopefully we get another one,'” Briney adds. “It’s nice to finish our trilogy and to capstone that story that we signed up to hopefully get to the end of. It was good.”
For more on The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s final season, check out EW’s cover story. The series premieres with the first two episodes on Wednesday, July 16, and releases episodes weekly until the series finale debuts Sept. 17 on Prime Video.
