Creator, co-showrunner and executive producer of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty,' Jenny Han, chats with THR about heading into the final season of the show and says, "It was really emotional." Plus, she reflects on whether fans will be satisfied with Belly's fate in the final season and discusses the show's online fan discourse.
00:00Congratulations. This is the final season. Finish the sentence for me. It's not summer without this.
00:10Cousins?
00:11Love it. Perfect. Very on brand.
00:14So, like I said, it is the final season. What was it like going into those final days of shooting?
00:21Maybe the final table read? What were those emotions heading into it?
00:24It was really emotional. I think we had a really beautiful journey this past season and coincidentally landed around Lola's birthday and it happened that way on season one, too.
00:40So there's something really like full circle and lovely about getting to celebrate her and see her, you know, as a character and also as a person really come into her young womanhood.
00:49Yeah, for sure. And I know online there's a lot of, you know, who is Belly going to end up with? Do you think fans will be satisfied with whatever choice Belly makes in the end?
01:00Yeah, I really believe so. I believe that the journey itself is beautiful and worthwhile and we really get to see her come into her own. So it's really, to me, that's what it's about.
01:12I know that there was some Jeremiah slander online. There's a lot of discourse because the fans are so passionate about the show. But what do you make of the discourse around characters in general online?
01:25So I know the show put out an anti-bullying statement ahead of the release.
01:29I think it's just always good to remember that, you know, it's real people who are playing the characters and they're just playing characters, not them.
01:36And so, yeah, I think it's being sensitive to that and mindful and everyone who worked so hard and wanted to give our best to the fans and wanting to just keep that discourse really, you know, still friendly and kind.
01:53This is the final season, but is there any way in which we would want to revisit these characters or do you think that it's better left untouched?
02:02I mean, I love this cast. I love this world. I love the characters.
02:06And so for me, I would always be really happy to return if I had the right idea that I was super excited about.
02:13What would a spinoff look like of Belly with maybe a time jump, maybe her in her 30s or 40s?
02:20I feel like that wouldn't be a spinoff. That would just be the show, right?
02:23I mean, that would just be the same characters.
02:26So I think that in her 30s or 40s, I guess we'll check back in in 10 or 20 years and we'll see.
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