In 2022, the Prime Video platform released a series, a literary adaptation by author Jenny Han. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” gained popularity since its launch. The story of a girl's first love, a decision between two boys, summer encapsulated in chapters, and a soundtrack with Taylor Swift was the orchestrated formula to attract a large segment of the female audience.

Currently, the show is in its final season, experiencing a surge that has gone viral on the internet.  According to the portal “Deadline”, following the debut of the third season (on July 16), the first two episodes reached 25 million global views in their first 7 days of streaming.

On TikTok there are 1 million videos under the #TheSummerITurnedPretty. From content creators analyzing the series to clips of bars filled with people watching the weekly episode have appeared on users' “For You Page”. The sports world (traditionally male) has also joined this trend: the MLB (Major League Baseball), Formula 1 teams, clubs like Juventus, and even the Argentine National Football Team have declared themselves “Team Conrad” (one of the protagonists) on this app.

Why does “The Summer I Turned Pretty” generate this effect? Not only among the teenage audience, to whom the series is directed, but also among adults who have already gone through this stage and had their own series with this structure.

NOSTALGIA.

The Summer I Turned Pretty, written by Jenny Han, is originally a trilogy of books published between 2009 and 2011. The plot revolves around the summer when the protagonist, Belly, “becomes pretty,” when she first received male attention and was reciprocated by her childhood “crush,” Conrad.

During that time, it attracted the teenagers of the moment (millennials); however, the emotions Belly experiences are not tied to a year of birth, but to something intergenerational.

Sara Randin writes for the magazine ELLE the article “Why Almost Every Woman You Know Is Obsessed With The Summer I Turned Pretty?”, in which she describes her own experience watching the series as a 36-year-old woman, expressing that the show reminded her of her own experiences: “laughing in the mall, sneaking off to parties, talking to boys. Like the protagonist Belly, I remembered the first time a boy noticed me—how exciting and confusing it felt. I didn't know what I wanted, just that I wanted to be loved.”

This series focuses on the space where emotions awaken for the first time. It captures the moment when everything feels electric and uncertain at the same time. It reflects youth, the feeling of eternity, the passion and enthusiasm with which romance is experienced at this stage. The development of Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah, the first loves, the fear of being alone, and the emotional chaos they experience throughout the seasons represent experiences that the audience can relate to.

GIRLHOOD: A COMMUNITY

During the years that The Summer I Turned Pretty has been on air, various debates have arisen around what happens in the series. On Instagram, there are 114 thousand posts under the #teamconrad and 68.5 thousand with the #teamjeremiah. Meanwhile, on TikTok, content creators like Andrea Rodgue (@andyrodgue), who has over 600 thousand followers on the platform, constantly share their analyses of what happens in the plot as episodes are released.

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” not only generates an online conversation that adds thousands of views but also creates an emotional bond with those who share their opinions. Posting a story while watching an episode can lead to an ongoing conversation with someone else who is also doing it. The format of weekly episodes allows the audience to break down the content they are presented with, whether in their close circle or on a social media platform. TSITP brings back the anticipation, the shock, the excitement that leads you to the next episode.

This phenomenon is capitalizable; on several occasions, reaction videos of fans gathered in a restaurant, club, or park have gone viral.  One example is the “Blue Haven Sports Bar” located in New York (United States), originally created to attract a sports-oriented audience, this place opens its doors every Wednesday night to girls and women who eagerly await the new episode of TSITP as if it were an NFL (National Football League) final. The local account has become popular on platforms like TikTok and has inspired this experience to be replicated in other states and countries.

ESCAPISM AND HOPE

The success of Prime is not highlighted by a deep social critique or detailed psychological development. Belly's story retrieves the sensations generated by popular programs from the 2010s through its script and setting, such as The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017) or Twilight (2008-2012). It revives the “Teenage Drama” and adapts it to the new generation.

In a TikTok with 47 thousand views, Mar (marrtoscano) expresses that “those series or movies that abstract you a little from the real world are necessary” referencing The Summer I Turned Pretty.

In the article from Elle (2025) “Why Almost Every Woman You Know Is Obsessed With The Summer I Turned Pretty” Deborah Robbins, a therapist specializing in relationships and attachment, points out that the show offers much more than just an escape. “Although we no longer like fairy tales, most of us still have that little voice that asks: what if it could end in a ‘happily ever after’?” She also expresses that this mix of fantasy and familiarity is precisely what makes the series connect so deeply with women who came of age in the early 2000s.

TSITP is not just a teenage series; it is a box of memories that, when opened, transports you back to the summers of your girlhood, the time when chaos and electricity came together and made the world appear under a golden spotlight. It reminds us of the version of ourselves that once existed and lives somewhere within us.