Taylor Swift Girlies, Here’s Why You Should Watch ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’
Jul 4, 2023 • Kyzia Maramara
Jul 4, 2023 • Kyzia Maramara
Mark your calendars for July 14 because The Summer I Turned Pretty is officially back with a second season. The Prime Video’s series is based on a book of the same name by Jenny Han (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) and is a coming-of-age tale that follows Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) and her romantic endeavors. It already promises to be a great binge-watch, based on the plot and the charming actors alone, but what makes it even better is that it heavily features Taylor Swift songs — a win for Swifties everywhere. There’s a Taylor Swift song for every moment of Belly’s life which, if we’re being honest, we can relate to on a personal level.
So if you’re a Swiftie and you’re looking for reasons to start binge-watching The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSTIP), here you go:
TSITP is so Swift-coded it’s like every Swiftie’s dream manifested. The first season’s OST included “This Love (Taylor’s Version)”, released ahead of the much-anticipated 1989 (Taylor’s Version), “Lover,” and “The Way I Loved You (Taylor’s Version)” that played over that iconic dance scene.
Swifties can expect Season 2 to feature multiple tracks from Blondie too. For starters, the trailer included “August” and “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)”, a song everyone heard for the first time ahead of the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) July 7 release. It’s safe to say TSITP has a top-tier soundtrack!
@taylornation @the summer i turned pretty cast’s favorite Taylor songs like ever ever ever… ✨✨✨ #TaylorSwift #SwiftTok #TheSummerITurnedPretty ♬ original sound – Taylor Nation
Green flags, that’s what the cast is. There have been countless interviews where they get asked about their favorite song from Miss Americana herself and these guys pass the test. (Some of the boys have admitted that they don’t listen to Swift songs that much, but that’s okay. It’s only a matter of time. ;) ) Lola Tung who plays Belly is undoubtedly the biggest Swiftie in the cast, citing the nostalgic “You Belong With Me” as one of her favorite songs. Plus, check out her reaction when she first heard “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)” from the trailer:
@jennyhan When Lola realizes it’s Back to December in the trailer 😭 #thesummeriturnedpretty ♬ original sound – Jenny Han
@clabellex your opinion?🫢#conradandbelly ♬ original sound – clabellex
Could anything be more romantic than a friends-to-lovers trope? ICYDK, TSITP is a story about Belly, a girl who fell in love with Conrad, her childhood friend, one she only gets to meet every summer at their vacation house. But baring her feelings is much more complicated now that their families are facing bigger problems than a teenager’s love life. Still, there’s the thrill of a summer crush, the heartbreak, the hoping — in other words, all the scenarios we imagine when we’re on a Taylor Swift streaming mode.
We’re not going to spoil anything, but basically the main conflict is Belly’s struggle picking between Conrad and his younger brother, Jeremiah, who’s also one of her best friends. One might think that the no-brainer choice is Conrad, the boy she’s been in love with for ages. But those who watched the first season of the show might be torn when they see how Jeremiah offers Belly a lot more and is a strong contender as Belly’s love interest. In Season 2, we get to watch their relationships grow and if the trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to be a mess of feelings. Just like what we feel when we listen to Swift’s songs.
There’s romantic love and there’s also love for friends in TSITP. We’re excited to see more of Belly and her best friend back home, Taylor (what an apt name, right?) get into all sorts of trouble in Season 2. While Swift is most known for her love songs, she has a wide range of songs that talk about friendship — and we all know she’s all about great girl friendships. Swift’s friendships with Blake Lively and Selena Gomez and even her childhood best friend Abigail Anderson could be compared to Belly and Taylor’s friendship.
Crying (Taylor’s Version) pic.twitter.com/hVPrQuRAkH
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 30, 2023
Swift herself promoted the series when she shared the trailer on Twitter and captioned it with “Crying (Taylor’s Version).” It’s the sort of series a hopeless romantic like her would binge and honestly, same.
Mark your calendars for July 14 for the premiere of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Prime Video!
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Kyzia spends most of her time capturing the world around her through photos, paragraphs, and playlists. She is constantly on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and a great paperback thriller to pair with it.
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