The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 makes several big changes from the original book storyline

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 opens by rewriting key beats from Jenny Han’s We’ll Always Have Summer: a longer time jump, a Paris study-abroad dilemma instead of Spain, and an original Steven-Taylor arc capped by a car crash.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 also stretches Belly and Jeremiah’s relationship to roughly four years before his spring‑break hook‑up surfaces, raising the emotional stakes after season 2’s choice.

Prime Video dropped the first two of 11 episodes on July 16, 2025, with weekly Wednesdays through September 17, 2025.

Han herself directs one episode, and the core cast, Lola Tung, Gavin Casalegno, Christopher Briney, Sean Kaufman, Rain Spencer, and Jackie Chung return alongside newcomers Isabella Briggs and Kristen Connolly.

These shifts track with Han’s public stance that the adaptation will not be a page-for-page transposition.

Big swings the show takes from the book’s roadmap

Instead of picking up after freshman year like the novel, the series jumps to Belly’s junior year and Jeremiah’s senior year, with Conrad already deep into med school.

Belly’s potential semester abroad shifts from Spain (book) to Paris (show), and she actively claims the nickname “Belly” on campus rather than reverting to “Isabel.”

Jeremiah’s Cabo/Lacie infidelity lands later in the timeline, making the engagement fallout heavier.

The Prime Video version also builds a full romantic arc for Steven and Taylor, including that T‑bone collision, absent from the source text, and toys with Laurel and John’s rekindled connection.

As per the ELLE report dated July 9, 2025, Jenny Han remarked,

“There are surprises. And there are things that aren't exactly like the books...There are a couple of moments that people really love from the books that I knew that people were wanting to see,...I wanted to make sure that I was going to really service those fans who’ve been following the story for a really long time.”

Why the creative team stretched time and character arcs in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3

Han told TheWrap she “embraced” expanding the book’s two-year gap into four, letting the actors play closer to their ages and “raising the stakes on everything.”

The longer span justifies Belly and Jeremiah discussing marriage while still provoking Laurel’s pushback, and it gives space to show Conrad, Jeremiah, and Belly processing Susannah’s death in different collegiate settings.

As per TheWrap report dated July 14, 2025, Jenny Han stated-

“For me as a storyteller, I have to feel good about what I’m making, and I have to feel proud of it, and I have to be excited by it,...I just write what I think is the best story, and that’s what I’ll stand by.”

The cheating question, release plan, and who’s behind the camera

Season 3 replays Jeremiah’s spring‑break hook‑up, but Han frames the morality as subjective. As per a People exclusive report dated July 16, 2025, she said it’s:

“debatable whether or not that's considered cheating or not.”

Prime Video confirmed an 11‑episode run: a two‑episode July 16 launch, then Wednesdays at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT through September 17.

Han is the showrunner and executive producer, writing alongside returning EPs, she directs one installment.

Directors across the season include series regular helmers (Prime Video has not released all credits publicly yet), but the creative spine remains Han’s room.

The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 ultimately treats We’ll Always Have Summer as a foundation, not a lockstep guide, timelines broaden, side characters are remixed, and Belly’s final choice is still teased as fluid.

Whether the ending matches the book’s wedding remains intentionally unclear.

Stay tuned for more updates.