This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Lola Tung in a scene from the series "The Summer I Turned Pretty." (Dana Hawley/Amazon Prime Video via AP)
NEW YORK — The new Amazon series ” The Summer I Turned Pretty ” is a coming-of-age story about a teenager who finds herself in a love triangle while on summer vacation. For its star, 19-year-old newcomer Lola Tung, along with creator and co-showrunner Jenny Han, filming during the summer of 2021 was an equally memorable time filled with new experiences and life lessons.
Both relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina, to film the show’s first season. It was Tung’s first acting job and Han’s first time as a showrunner. (She shares a co-showrunner title with co-creator, Gabrielle Stanton.). Han wrote the book the series is based on and also is the author of the “To All the Boys” trilogy, which was adapted into films for Netflix.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty,” debuting Friday, follows Isabel “Belly” Conklin who — along with her mom and older brother — spends every summer at the beach with family friends, the Fishers. Belly is the only girl in the bunch and has always been treated as the tagalong little sister. This summer, however, she’s more mature and arrives at the beach as a pretty teenager, turning heads wherever she goes. Soon Belly is in a love triangle with the Fisher brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah, played by Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno.
This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Christopher Briney, left, and Lola Tung in a scene from the series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” (Dana Hawley/Amazon Prime Video via AP)
Tung says she and her younger castmates arrived in Wilmington early to get comfortable with the location and one another.
“We got used to being in Wilmington, we got used to being together and were able to form this bond that was similar to the bond with your childhood friends and that we needed to have for the show.,” she said.
Showrunners aren’t always present for filming, but Han wanted to be there for the duration to match the tone she created for the book.
“It’s not a super-high concept show in that it’s not a big mystery to be solved or like a procedural or fantasy. It’s really this little moment in one girl’s life, and to me that’s personal. And I wanted to it to feel personal.”
Han’s presence gave Tung the confidence she needed to play Belly.
This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Lola Tung, left, and Christopher Briney in a scene from the series “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” (Dana Hawley/Amazon Prime Video via AP)
“I always had access to her if I had any questions about scenes or questions about character,” Tung said. “She always knew how I was feeling and how to comfort me and be there for me.”
As a showrunner, Han also learned on the job and says the most difficult aspect was becoming a problem solver-at-large.
“Everyone looks to you for answers all day long, and you are holding the whole story in your hands. You have just a million different problems to solve. It used to be as a novelist of just solving my own problems and my character’s problems, but on a show, you have a lot of other people’s problems to figure out.”
Amazon has already ordered a second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” and Tung says she’s not picking a favorite between Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. “I’m team Belly,” she laughs.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PHILADELPHIA – The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley announced that the Evzones, the Presidential Guard of Greece will be participating in the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 20.
O oceanic you sing and sail
White on your body and yellow on your chimeneas
For you're tired of the filthy waters of the harbors
You who loved the distant Sporades
You who lifted the tallest flags
You who sail clear through the most dangerous caves
Hail to you who let yourself be charmed by the sirens
Hail to you for never having been afraid of the Symplegades
(Andreas Empeirikos)
What traveler has not been fascinated by the Greek islands, drawn by the Sirens’ song of a traveler’s dreams?
TNH and our video show ‘Mission’ marked the change of the season by transporting viewers into the heart of summer.
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