Cruel Summer (TV series)

Cruel Summer is an American teen drama mystery thriller anthology television series created by Bert V. Royal. The first season follows two teenage girls in the mid-1990s and the repercussions on everyone's lives after one disappears and the other seemingly takes her place. The second season follows the rise and fall of an intense teenage friendship between two girls in 1999 and 2000.

The series premiered on Freeform on April 20, 2021. In June 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered at the ATX Television Festival on June 2, 2023, ahead of its broadcast premiere on Freeform on June 5, 2023. In December 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Season 1: Jeanette and Kate
The first season takes place between 1993 and 1995 in the fictional town of Skylin, Texas, and follows two teenage girls: Jeanette Turner and Kate Wallis. Sweet, socially awkward Jeanette blossoms after beautiful, popular Kate disappears without a trace, with Jeanette even going as far as adopting various aspects of Kate's life. Over a year later, Jeanette becomes nationally despised after Kate is rescued alive and accuses Jeanette of witnessing her abduction but failing to report it. As a legal battle ensues, families and friends must determine who is telling the truth; however, Jeanette and Kate may be hiding something.

Season 2: Megan, Isabella, and Luke
The second season takes place between 1999 and 2000 in the fictional town of Chatham, Washington, and follows three teenage friends: Megan, Isabella, and Luke. Megan, an aspiring coder, and her family welcomes Isabella, a foreign exchange student, into their home for a year. Megan and Isabella develop a friendship that quickly becomes complicated when both become romantically involved with Luke, Megan's childhood best friend. Within months, things unravel quickly when a leaked sex tape results in Megan and Isabella becoming prime suspects in Luke's murder.

Main (season 1)

 * Olivia Holt as Kate Wallis, a popular girl who goes missing without a trace
 * Chiara Aurelia as Jeanette Turner, a nerdy girl who takes over Kate's life after her disappearance.
 * Froy Gutierrez as Jamie Henson, Kate's, and later Jeanette's, boyfriend
 * Harley Quinn Smith as Mallory Higgins, one of Jeanette's best friends before her newfound popularity, and later Kate's best friend
 * Brooklyn Sudano as Angela Prescott, a bar owner and Greg's new girlfriend
 * Blake Lee as Martin Harris, the new vice-principal of Skylin High School who held Kate captive
 * Allius Barnes as Vince Fuller, one of Jeanette's best friends before her newfound popularity
 * Nathaniel Ashton as Ben Hallowell, Jamie's best friend
 * Michael Landes as Greg Turner, Jeanette and Derek's father, Cindy's ex-husband, and Angela's boyfriend

Recurring (season 1)

 * Sarah Drew as Cindy Turner, Jeanette and Derek's mother and Greg's ex-wife
 * Barrett Carnahan as Derek Turner, Jeanette's older brother and Cindy and Greg's son
 * Nicole Bilderback as Denise, Jeanette's lawyer
 * Andrea Anders as Joy Wallis, Kate's wealthy self-centered mother with a Southern accent
 * Ben Cain as Rod Wallis, Joy's second husband and Kate's stepfather
 * Jason Douglas as Nick Marshall, Kate's lawyer

Main (season 2)

 * Sadie Stanley as Megan Landry, an intelligent high school student and coder who wants to go to the University of Washington as a Computer Science major after high school
 * Lexi Underwood as Isabella LaRue, an exchange student who is living with the Landry family for a year
 * Griffin Gluck as Luke Chambers, Megan's best friend who comes from a well-known family
 * Lisa Yamada as Parker Tanaka, a friend of Megan and Luke's
 * Sean Blakemore as Sheriff Myer, the Sheriff of Chatham, Washington
 * KaDee Strickland as Debbie Landry, Megan's single mother

Recurring (season 2)

 * Braeden De La Garza as Brent Chambers, Luke's older brother
 * Nile Bullock as Jeff, one of Megan and Luke's friends who is always filming life around him with his camcorder
 * Ben Cotton as Ned, an irascible loner with a grudge against Steve Chambers who becomes Megan's coder mentor
 * Paul Adelstein as Steve Chambers, Luke's father
 * David James Lewis as Tom Galvin, Megan's lawyer
 * Jessica Hayles as Rebecca, Isabella's lawyer and advisor

In addition, Jenna Lamb co-stars as Lily Landry, Megan's younger sister.

Development
On September 25, 2019, Freeform gave Last Summer a pilot order. On January 17, 2020, Last Summer was picked to series. The series was created by Bert V. Royal who was also expected to executive produce alongside Jessica Biel, Michelle Purple, and Max Winkler who also directed the pilot. The production companies involved with the series are Entertainment One and Iron Ocean Productions. On May 18, 2020, Last Summer was retitled as Cruel Summer. On June 15, 2021, Freeform renewed the series for a second season. On July 6, 2021, it was reported that Royal has exited the series after the pilot after disagreements with a network executive. On April 21, 2022, Elle Triedman was named as the new showrunner for the second season, replacing Tia Napolitano who boarded the series after Royal left. However, Napolitano is set to remain as an executive producer. It was also reported that the series is an anthology series. On December 8, 2023, Freeform canceled the series after two seasons.

Casting
On November 13, 2019, Michael Landes, Brooklyn Sudano, Harley Quinn Smith, Chiara Aurelia, Mika Abdalla, Froy Gutierrez, Allius Barnes, Blake Lee, and Nathaniel Ashton were cast in series regular roles. By May 18, 2020, Olivia Holt had replaced Mika Abdalla. On October 30, 2020, Sarah Drew joined the cast in a recurring role. On March 11, 2021, Barrett Carnahan, Andrea Anders, Benjamin J. Cain, and Nicole Bilderback were cast in recurring roles. On April 21, 2022, Sadie Stanley, Eloise Payet, Griffin Gluck, KaDee Strickland, Lisa Yamada and Sean Blakemore joined the cast in starring roles while Paul Adelstein was cast in a recurring role for the second season. On April 27, 2022, Lexi Underwood joined the series, replacing Payet in a recasting. On May 6, 2022, Braeden De La Garza, Nile Bullock, and Jenna Lamb were cast in recurring capacities for the second season.

Music
Besides Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman serving as the main composers, the series heavily relies on a 1990s-inspired soundtrack.

Filming
The first season of Cruel Summer was filmed over six months in Dallas, Texas. The second season began filming on April 21, 2022, and concluded on September 7, 2022, in Richmond, British Columbia.

Broadcast
The series premiered on Freeform on April 20, 2021. Following its premiere at the ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, on June 2, 2023, the second season premiered on Freeform on June 5, 2023, with two new episodes.

Critical response
Cruel Summer received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 94% based on 33 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critics consensus states, "Though it may have a bit too much going on, Cruel Summer delicious twists and delightful turns from its young stars are never less than entertaining." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 15 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club gave the first season a B and wrote, "Cruel Summer manages to overcome its convoluted storytelling because it finds interesting, grounded ways to explore the impact of society's expectations of these young girls, and how their town and own families contribute to the pressure they face."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 69% based on 9 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. On Metacritic, it holds a weighted average score of 63 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ratings
On April 30, 2021, Cruel Summer was the most-watched overall series debut ever on Freeform with an average 3.81million total viewers across multi-platforms for its first week.