\n<\/p>\n
The plot thickens! The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em> made quite a splash with its debut<\/a> on Prime Video \u2014 and Belly\u2019s (Lola Tung<\/strong><\/a>) love triangle with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney<\/strong><\/a>) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno<\/strong><\/a>) is only going to get even more complicated in season 2.<\/a><\/p>\n Ahead of the season 1 premiere, which aired in June 2022, creator and showrunner Jenny Han<\/strong><\/a> broke down her attempts to adapt the book series into a TV show.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI approached it like, What do I think are the most important elements of the story to keep? And what do the fans care the most about? I am able to pull from all the emails, letters, and comments I\u2019ve seen over the years from fans, so that\u2019s how we looked at this adaptation,\u201d she told Collider<\/em>. \u201cWhat do the original fans care most about?\u201d<\/p>\n Han added: \u201cAnd then, also for me, what\u2019s going to be most like fun and exciting to explore? Because I think as a writer, you have to feel like you\u2019re doing something new in a way, too. That it\u2019s not going to be just the exact same thing, but what\u2019s the new approach? And how do I make this feel fresh?\u201d<\/p>\n According to the author, getting to incorporate Taylor Swift<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s music into season 1 was one of her favorite additions<\/a>. \u201cFans of the books have asked me over the years if there could be Taylor [Swift] music and I always of course wanted it, but I can\u2019t promise anything because it\u2019s like not up to me,\u201d she explained to The Wrap<\/em> that same month. \u201cBut that was the most joyous part for me was able to give the fans that gift because I knew what it would mean to them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time, Han also gushed about getting to see Tung bring Belly to life in her own way<\/a>. \u201cI really wanted to find actors that felt real and natural and fresh. There\u2019s a feeling of discovery about that. The linchpin was going to be Belly because everything hangs around her,\u201d the Virginia native shared with Variety<\/em> in June 2022. \u201cShe\u2019s the main character and so it was the most important that we found our right Belly.\u201d<\/p>\n For the To All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before<\/em> author<\/a>, the newcomer brought a much-needed perspective to her lead character. \u201cLola had this freshness to her. She was still 18 when we cast her and she turned 18 on the show, but I think it\u2019s really hard to manufacture a kind of innocence or newness to things,\u201d she continued. \u201cThis is our first part and she had never done it before. There\u2019s so many meta elements to that \u2014 to Belly\u2019s big summer and Lola\u2019s big summer.\u201d<\/p>\n Tung, for her part, also opened up about her introduction to The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em> franchise<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a fan of Jenny, a little bit. I hadn\u2019t read The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em> until I booked the role, but I was a fan of the To All The Boys<\/em> movies and I did often Netflix party them with my friends because they were so wonderful,\u201d the New York native detailed to Seventeen<\/em> magazine in June 2022. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable, I can\u2019t believe [I\u2019m part of The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em>]. Jenny\u2019s also the best, so it\u2019s really wonderful and wild that I\u2019ve formed that relationship with her too.\u201d<\/p>\n