Justin Morello used to believe it was important to spend his rare TV time only watching critically acclaimed shows with a certain prestige.
Then, his wife turned on the first season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” a few years ago, and the 31-year-old was immediately hooked on the teen romance book adaptation turned viral Amazon Prime show.
“I like watching shows and movies with my wife, and she brought me into watching all these shows that were just enjoyable to watch,” Justin, who lives in the Richmond, Virginia, area with his wife and four kids, said. “This show is low stakes and just fun, and we kind of joke around about it as it’s happening. It’s been, like, really enjoyable.”
“Men who are self-conscious about watching a ‘girly show’ are missing out on entertainment,” he later added. “Put that label on it, you’re missing out on entertainment.”
The Morellos are just one of dozens of couples who have taken to social media to share their dedication to the candy-colored coming-of-age melodrama that’s wrapping up its third and final season. While Justin has been a fan since 2022, partners across TikTok and Instagram who swore their indifference are being exposed for their inability to stay away from Belly Conklin and the Fisher brothers.
“My husband watching the ‘silly little show’ he’s ‘not interested in,’” one TikTok user wrote on a video featuring her spouse silently standing while captivated by a scene featuring Conrad yelling at Belly on the beach.
Based on Jenny Han’s young adult novels, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung), who spends every summer in the fictional seaside town Cousins Beach with the Fisher family. Throughout the series, she navigates her feelings for brooding Conrad (Christopher Briney), who struggles to process his feelings in the aftermath of his mother’s death, and his younger brother, the more easygoing Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), whom TikTokers would most likely describe as a “golden retriever boyfriend” (aka affectionate and playful).
Drenched in nostalgia and paired with a Taylor Swift-filled soundtrack, the show about first love, heartbreak, grief and loyalty has garnered a cult following from both longtime Han fans and new, sometimes initially reluctant viewers. With only three episodes left in the series, it has also spurred intense debate online as fans dissect each episode, host show-themed bridal showers, gather at bars for watch parties, and go to the ends of the earth for “Team Conrad” or “Team Jeremiah.”
“This is my husband not watching my ‘cringe teenage love triangle shows,’” another TikTok user wrote on a video, showing her husband captivated in a dramatic scene while holding their newborn.
For Noah Brockway, a 29-year-old from Pennsylvania who works in medical device sales, the interest in “The Summer I Turned Pretty” did not start until the end of 2024, after his then-pregnant wife, Gabriella, heard about it from a colleague.
“My wife kind of controls the remote, and I just kind of go along with whatever she puts on,” Noah explained. “I’ve watched plenty of shows now that probably wouldn’t be my first choice, but I have gotten to like them.”
As the couple tore through the first two seasons, sometimes in between chores or work, Noah admits that he got “into it too” — sometimes peeking his head in to pay attention and catch up on what was happening while he was doing something else. When the new season premiered in July, he was excited to see how the story would play out and if Belly would end up with his preferred character, medical student Conrad.
“We’re 100% Team Conrad. We hope if we ever have a son, he’s like Conrad,” Gabriella said.
Over the last few weeks, Noah and Gabriella have settled into a new Wednesday routine to keep up with the episode releases. Gabriella, who has been home with their newborn daughter, watches it first thing in the morning as Noah begins work. Sometimes, Noah can come out and peek around the corner to see what is going on, but the pair always watch it later in the evening.
“By like 9:15, we have a bagel in hand, bacon in hand, coffee, and we’re starting it,” Gabriella said, adding that during the second watch in the evenings with Noah, she knows when to record his reactions to big moments. Those reactions have garnered thousands of views on TikTok.
Like the Morellos, the Brockways have taken to TikTok to document their joint interest in the show — and have strong feelings about the show, as it heads into uncharted territory and diverges from the trilogy. Episode eight ended with Belly spontaneously buying a ticket to Paris following her and Jeremiah’s dramatic ending on their wedding day, after her feelings for Conrad — and his feelings back — are revealed.
A trailer released last week for the show’s final three episodes showed Belly in Paris and dancing with new characters while Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Could Happen” plays in the background. In the final scene, Belly sees that Conrad has sent her a letter, and Briney can be heard saying, “Dear Belly.”
“If she ended up with Jeremiah, we would be ticked off,” Laney Morello, 30, said about her and Justin’s feelings around the show’s ending. “Justin still wants her to go to Paris and meet someone there.”
But while both couples are firm in their “Team Conrad” beliefs, have strong feelings about the other characters, and enjoy the family aspect of the show, it’s the fact that the show is an activity they can share that makes it worth the hype.
“We might have to start nap time early,” Justin joked when asked how they plan to watch Wednesday’s new episode. “Maybe we’ll wake up early. We’ll definitely try to get it done by, like, midday.”
Laney added: “We don’t want to get any spoilers!”
The post Is ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ actually a couples show? appeared first on NBC News.
