Premiere - The Summer I Turned Pretty: Montreuil celebrates the end of a generation-defining series

By Mulder, Montreuil, EVA Paris-Est, 17 september 2025

On September 17, 2025, the EVA Paris-Est in Montreuil turned into a true celebration space as the French audience gathered for a one-of-a-kind event: the red-carpet watch party of the final episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty. This American coming-of-age romantic drama, created by Jenny Han for Amazon Prime Video and adapted from her bestselling novels, has grown into a cultural touchstone over three seasons. What was remarkable on this Parisian evening was not just the screening itself but the palpable emotion in the air, as fans who had lived with these characters for over three years finally came together to say goodbye—an ending that, as we now know, will not be the last word, since a feature-length film was officially announced that same day.

The event drew an impressive lineup of the cast who have become emblematic faces for a new generation of viewers. Rachel Blanchard, Rain Spencer, Gavin Casalegno, Jenny Han, Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Sean Kaufman, and Jackie Chung were all in attendance, giving the fans a chance to experience not only the final chapter of the story but also the warmth of the actors who embodied it. The ambiance on the carpet mixed youthful excitement with an undeniable sense of nostalgia, as if Cousins Beach itself had been temporarily transported into Montreuil. Attendees shared stories of how they discovered the show, with several recalling binging the first season during lockdowns in 2022, and how its music-driven emotional pull became the soundtrack of their summers.

Looking back, The Summer I Turned Pretty was more than a straightforward teen romance. Jenny Han, who already won readers over with her To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series, managed to craft an adaptation that preserved the intimacy of her novels while elevating them with audiovisual storytelling. With Lola Tung as Belly Conklin, the story of a girl navigating first love, heartbreak, and family bonds at Cousins Beach became a mirror for millions of viewers’ own rites of passage. The chemistry between Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno, as brothers Conrad and Jeremiah, gave depth to the classic love triangle dynamic, while Jackie Chung and Rachel Blanchard grounded the series in themes of friendship and motherhood that resonated with older audiences. The production’s careful choice of filming locations in Wilmington, North Carolina—Carolina Beach, Fort Fisher, and more—added authenticity and a dreamy seaside atmosphere that became synonymous with the show’s identity.

One of the show’s best-kept secrets, and a vital ingredient in its cultural success, was its use of music. With Zachary Dawes composing the original score and a carefully curated soundtrack, the series leaned heavily on needle drops that struck emotional chords. The integration of Taylor Swift’s re-recorded catalog was no accident. From “This Love (Taylor’s Version)” in the first teaser to “Daylight” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in the final season, the songs felt less like background music and more like a parallel narrative voice, almost as though Swift herself were an invisible character at Cousins Beach. Anecdotes from production revealed that Jenny Han personally wrote a handwritten letter to Taylor Swift to secure permissions—an old-fashioned gesture that paid off by embedding the series into pop culture memory through shared soundtracks. As several critics have noted, few shows have managed to so effectively tie their emotional beats to the discography of a single artist.

The journey to this Paris watch party was not without turbulence. Production of the final season was delayed by the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, forcing the cast and crew to pause a story that fans were desperate to see resolved. When filming resumed in Wilmington in 2024, there was a sense of urgency to deliver a closing season that would feel conclusive yet true to its characters. The creative team—Jenny Han, Gabrielle Stanton, and Sarah Kucserka—shouldered the responsibility, balancing youthful longing with the inevitable maturation of their characters. By the time the third season premiered on July 16, 2025, anticipation was so high that Prime Video released the earlier seasons for free on YouTube, ensuring the widest possible audience could catch up.

What made the Montreuil event particularly memorable was the collision of American storytelling with French fan culture. French audiences, known for their loyalty to teen dramas from Dawson’s Creek to Euphoria, approached this finale with the same seriousness as a premiere at Cannes. The screening room was filled with gasps, laughter, and tears as the episode unfolded. Fans could be overheard debating the merits of Team Conrad versus Team Jeremiah long after the credits rolled, proving that even as the series bows out, the emotional investments remain. Several young attendees shared with us that the show inspired them to read Jenny Han’s original novels in English, while others noted how it rekindled their love for seaside vacations, associating them forever with Cousins Beach.

The announcement of a feature-length film continuation, revealed on the very day of the finale, felt like a well-timed gift. Rather than closing the book entirely, Jenny Han and Amazon Prime Video left the door open for one last summer together. This decision mirrors a larger trend in streaming platforms, where shows with dedicated fanbases evolve into cinematic chapters to extend their legacies. For The Summer I Turned Pretty, a series that already blurred the line between television and cinematic experience with its sweeping cinematography and curated soundtracks, the leap to film seems less like a surprise and more like a natural evolution.

As fans filtered out of EVA Paris-Est under the late-summer sky, the event carried the feeling of a communal rite of passage. The red carpet may have been temporary, but the emotions were lasting. For Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, and the rest of the cast, this evening marked both an end and a beginning: a farewell to the weekly rhythm of episodes, and a promise of reunion on the big screen. Just like Belly’s summers at Cousins Beach, the series has always been about the inevitability of change, the ache of growing up, and the bittersweet comfort of knowing that some stories never really leave us.

You can discover our photos in our Flickr page

Synopsis :
Isabel “Belly” Conklin spends her summers at Cousin's Beach with her mother and older brother, as well as her mother's best friend and his sons. During one particular summer, she experiences her first love, but also her first heartbreak.

The Summer I Turned Pretty
Created by Jenny Han
Based on The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Showrunners : Jenny Han, Gabrielle Stanton, Sarah Kucserka
Music by : Zachary Dawes
Executive producers : Hope Hartman, Mads Hansen, Nne Ebong, Jesse Peretz, Karen Rosenfelt, Gabrielle Stanton, Jenny Han, Sarah Kucserka, Megan Griffiths, Paul Lee
Producers : Marty Scott, Deborah Swisher, Jenny Zhang, Nicole Colombie, Sarah Choi
Starring : Lola Tung, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Alfredo Narciso, Minnie Mills, Colin Ferguson, Tom Everett Scott, Rain Spencer, Elsie Fisher, Kyra Sedgwick, Isabella Briggs, Kristen Connolly
Cinematography : J.B. Smith, Sandra Valde-Hansen, Tarin Anderson
Editors : Jamie Kennedy, Lauren Schaffer, Lindsay Armstrong, Alisa Lepselter, Sean Fawcett, Victor Du Bois, Martin Wilson, Kate Hickey, Isabella Dinh, Isla Nobel
Production companies : Amazon MGM Studios, wiip, Sunswept Entertainment, Jenny Kissed Me, Big Red Bus, Neon Stories
Network : Amazon Prime Video
Release June 17, 2022 – September 17, 2025
Running time : 39–79 minutes