The well known summer show, The Summer I Turned Pretty has led to the years long debate over which character is best. They appear on t-shirts, stickers, social media, and apparently my AP Psychology class debates. The characters behind this dispute consist of Conrad, Jeremiah, and (of course) Belly. The third and final season started to roll out every Wednesday starting on July 16th. Here’s what you need to know.
This show came about from the best selling author, Jenny Han. She took the world by storm with her two separate book series; To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty. Specifically, TSITP sold over 4.5 million copies in just one single year. The summer of 2022 brought out all of the book girls when she announced a Prime Video series for her famous books.
The series sparked debates around the world on whether Jeremiah Fisher or Conrad Fisher was a better match for Isabel Conklin. The series brings the audience through her love lives with both brothers (weird, I know). In the story line, she eventually falls in love with both boys which obviously stirs up drama. Belly constantly falls between both brothers in attempts to pick the brother she will eventually marry.
Since Belly obviously cannot make up her mind, the very heavily opinionated audience tends to argue for her. This summer’s season especially has raised personal issues for the actors. Gavin Casalegno, Jeremiah’s actor, has opened up about how the hate affects him. He knows that he is now referred to as, “the internet’s most hated boyfriend” (Gupta). As of recently Casalegno apparently does not check social media due to the effect it has on his mental health.
The streaming service that Jenny Han uses to put out these controversial episodes, Amazon, has also had to release a statement in regards to bullying. The social media pages for The Summer I Turned Pretty released posts stating, “The show isn’t real but the people playing the characters are” (@thesummeritp).
I’m sure that Jenny Han never intended to spark this immense amount of controversy all over the world. She has continued to craft episodes and story lines with more Easter eggs and hidden messages than most series. Her work is loved by most; just not the characters.
Sources Used:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/style/summer-i-turned-pretty-jeremiah-gavin-casalegno.html#:~:text=Gavin%20Casalegno%2C%20who%20plays%20Jeremiah,the%20internet’s%20most%20hated%20boyfriend.
https://www.amreading.com/2017/05/10/author-jenny-han-on-diversity-in-ya-books/
