On Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, the series finale of the Amazon original television show “The Summer I Turned Pretty” aired. This article will not contain spoilers for the television series or books they’re based on.

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” has filled a cultural void that emerged in the past few years. With the ever-expanding online communities on every topic that you could think of, there is a dwindling sense of monocultural society present today.

Fewer and fewer TV shows and movies that were expected to be exceedingly impactful come and go without much fanfare.

Before everyone had their own corners of the internet, there were TV shows that everyone sat down at eight p.m. on Friday night to watch live. If you didn’t see it, everybody was going to be talking about it the next day, and you will have missed out. Obviously, there were–and still are–different genres of television and film that satisfy different demographics, but as our society develops in tandem with the internet, anyone is able to post about any topic, and other like-minded people will gravitate towards each other.

There are countless communities on numerous different platforms that all occupy a very specific and different niche. In the past few years, it has become increasingly difficult to identify what pieces of media are going to have a wider pop cultural appeal. 

For example, with music, it used to be that an artist would release a single from an upcoming album, and that would be the song that plays on the radio. That was primarily how people listened to new popular music.

Now, everyone has access to the entire history of all recorded music at all times, so trying to break through all that noise has become increasingly difficult.

Of course, there are still top one hundred songs that become very popular. However, it’s much easier to discover music that is new to you–but not newly realised–than it has been in years past, making it difficult to achieve that level of popularity. 

As for how this relates to “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” there is an element of randomness to what gives something cultural relevance. You can never be precisely sure about what is going to perform well, but it doesn’t hurt to have an already established fan base and make quality products.

Jenny Han, the series showrunner and author of the books that the TV show is based on, already had that established fan base because of the books and her other very successful project: Netflix’s “To All the Boys” film series. 

Another reason why “The Summer I Turned Pretty” has had such success is the week-by-week release schedule. Netflix pioneered the binge-release model, nearly monopolizing the streaming service market. Then, various major media companies decided that they needed their own piece of the pie, so everyone adopted that same strategy, dropping entire seasons of shows all at once.

When they did that, most of the buzz about that show would burn hot and fast, but die down shortly after its release.

Think about how popular “Stranger Things” seems in the week after a new season drops, but in the years in between seasons, no one really talks about it. We swung so far in this direction that streaming companies are beginning to swing back to how we did things before: releasing shows on a weekly basis.

In my observation, conversions and content related to the show last for much longer when people have time to digest each episode.

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” is far from the first show to re-adopt this method, but the nature of the show–being an emotional drama–also lends itself rather well to the week-by-week formula. It has plenty of dramatic moments and unfinished storylines that viewers wait on the edge of their seats for every week. 

Another drawback of the technology developments in the world of TV: everyone has endless options at all times. Why should anyone spend their time watching this show, specifically when there are hundreds of other options available within moments? 

The difficult part is getting the ball rolling, but once it has traction, more people are talking about it, then more people will want to watch it and that’s how the fan base–and viewership numbers–continues to grow. 

This show, an unapologetically cheesy teen drama, also spurs online conversation because it heavily leans into one of the most infamous teen media tropes of all time: the love triangle.

The absolute cultural dominance that the “Twilight” films had in the early 2010s was largely due to the love triangle aspect of those movies. Team Edward and team Jacob merchandise, signs, conversations and fights were unavoidable at the time. Similar phenomena occurred in other popular teen media that utilized the trope.

Think “Gilmore Girls”, “The Vampire Diaries” and even “The Hunger Games.” This very simple plot device breeds infinite possibilities for character conflict and, therefore, fan conflict. When you can get your fans to rally behind one love interest and other fans another, that creates press.

People will want to argue about who’s the better love interest and theories about who will end up together–activities that are only really possible when you release a show on a weekly basis.  

Aside from the factors in our current pop-cultural climate and the technology involved there, specific aspects within the show itself have also contributed to its success. The nature of the relationship between the three main characters is extremely complex; there’s a shared history between the three of them that contributes to the emotional intensity.

Their lives are intertwined in ways that have many ramifications as they move from childhood to adult life. There are various supporting characters that have grown to become fan favorites, notably Taylor and Steven. They may not have as much screen time as our main three, but still have fully realized personalities that make them feel like characters with depth.

There’s also a family dynamic at play, with the parents of all the main characters playing major roles at different times throughout the show. Not to mention, they also have storylines and relationships apart from their kids that are shown in detail.

The show and its characters manage to feel realistic even though Taylor Swift is playing in the background of every other scene. The show isn’t trying to be something it’s not, and that authenticity is refreshing. 

This show came at a time of shifting consumer behavior and attitudes around television and somehow managed to achieve mainstream success. How? In a time of dwindling monoculture, it’s thanks to fans of the showrunner and her previous works.

By taking advantage of a change in favor towards weekly release schedules, spurring online conversations and character controversy that helps create press for the show. And last but certainly not least, actually making a good show. 

With a host of interesting characters that all have interconnected relationships and history with one another, that manifest in ways that create plenty of delightfully messy drama.

“The Summer I Turned Pretty” has captivated audiences for three years now, and will get to do so again in one final hurrah when the upcoming Movie is released sometime in the coming years.