Stars of megahit Summer I Turned Pretty host Sydney event as new season clocks 25 million views in 7 days
But Prime Video series The Summer I Turned Pretty – based on the New York Times best-selling trilogy by Jenny Han – is delivering a new love triangle that leaves the vampire film franchise in the dust.
And if Wednesday night was any indication, the drama series has a strong following in Australia too.
Its stars Lola Tung, 22, and Rain Spencer, 25, attended the Prime Book Club Live media launch event at Machine Hall in Sydney to promote the third and final season, where it was announced that Season 3 clocked a massive 25 million viewers in the first seven days of its July 16 premiere on Prime Video.
'It's really cool. I can't believe that people keep watching the show,' Tung, who plays protagonist Belly on the series, told news.com.au at the event.
'Thank you to everyone for watching it. It's really, really awesome and I'm very proud of what we did.'
Author, creator and showrunner Han, who was also at the event, told us that she never anticipated her book trilogy would go on to become a global smash-hit series.
'It's really humbling to think we worked really hard on the show and then this many people are tuning in and spending time with us,' she said.
'Everyone's busy in life and I think every minute you decide to be with our story, it's incredible.'
Spencer, who plays Belly's best friend Taylor Jewel, added of the huge viewership: 'I don't really think I could conceptualise that, to be honest.'
'Wow, that's a lot. I'm so grateful and that's so cool. I don't think I have fully wrapped my head around that.'
The launch night was attended by select media and some diehard fans, but the Prime Book Club Live free fan event kicks off at Machine Hall on Thursday evening, where through immersive activations and panel discussions fans get to experience their favourite content live.
It is strictly a ticketed event but ticket allocations have already been exhausted… within 60 seconds of registrations opening.
No surprises given the cultural sensation has captured the hearts of fans around the globe.
The series follows Tung's character Isabel 'Belly' Conklin as she spends her summers at their family friend's vacation home in fictional Cousins Beach, where she finds herself navigating love and heartbreak in the amidst of a love triangle with the Fisher brothers, Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
Needless to say, that's where the Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah discourse comes into play as fans pick sides in this epic love triangle, which all comes to a head in Season 3 when Belly decides which brother ultimately has her heart.
'It's nice to see that people are so passionate about it,' Tung told news.com.au in a separate interview in Sydney earlier this week.
'The discourse is great – it's what you're supposed to feel. I think there should be a back-and-forth pull, especially over the three seasons. Because Belly's not always sure where her heart is leading her.'
'That's what makes it interesting and makes you want to follow on the journey with her,' she adds. 'She's not always making the most perfect decision, but I think that's what growing up is about – making mistakes and learning from them and following your heart.'
Viewers wouldn't know it, but TSITP is actually Tung's very first acting role.
She was studying acting at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama in Pittsburgh when she auditioned for the role of Belly – and now the role has 'absolutely' shaped her as an actress.
'She was the first role in my professional career that I ever played. So I mean, she will stick with me forever,' Tung said.
'I got to grow up with her. It's been an incredible journey, and I will forever be grateful for it. She's a very important part of my life.'
Han's first book of the same title was released in 2009 with the follow-up novel in the series, It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer, released in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
'I was just thinking a lot about that time in a young woman's life where she is stepping into adulthood and I think it can be really scary and also exciting. You're just coming into your power and that's really what her story's about,' Hans reflected on the inspiration behind her novels.
And to be able to translate her story to the small screen as creator, showrunner and writer on series, was just a welcomed bonus.
'I always wanted a really warm-hearted show,' said Han, who is also the author of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before book series, which was turned into a film series by Netflix.
'It's been really incredible. I think being able to tell a story the way that I would like to, and the way that I think the story should be told, it's really been a privilege.'
Prime Video has emerged as the leading streaming platform to take the biggest young adult novels from page to screen.
Along with TSITP, the streamer has adapted bestsellers such as E. Lockhart's We Are Liars trilogy into a series, and Mercedes Ron's Culpables Saga: Culpa Mía (My Fa ult), Culpa Tuya (Your Fault), and, the soon-to-be released, Culpa Nuestra (Our Fault) has gone on to become a film franchise loved the world over.
Spanish-born author Ron was also at the Prime Book Club Live event where she told news.com.au she is elated over her books and the films success.
'It's been a dream come true actually. I always wanted Culpa to be a movie and all the process has been amazing and stressful at the same time,' she told us.
'But at the end, when I watched the movie, I was so happy and I couldn't wait for the fans to watch it – and they love it. So it's been an amazing journey.'
'I thought that in Spain it was going to work really well, but I never expected to be all this phenomenal around the world. But I think people really like it and it's amazing as a writer.'
The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays.
Culpa Mía (My Fault) and Culpa Tuya (Your Fault) are now steaming on Prime Video, with Culpa Nuestra (Our Fault) premiering in October.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
7 minutes ago
- ABC News
Come behind the scenes with Lisa Millar as Back Roads takes on the mighty Snowy River
When Lisa Millar and the Back Roads crew set out to film along the mighty Snowy River, they knew there could be some logistical hurdles involved. "As soon as I got into the water I was immediately reminded that this was not gentle," Millar said. "This is a landscape that can turn on you at any time and that is what was proven to us several times throughout the trip." The week-long trip took Millar and the crew of four from one end of the Snowy to the other. Beginning in the mountains of NSW, the group finished their journey in the coastal town of Marlo, Victoria, where the river meets the ocean. It also involved not one, but two trips into the river by Millar. "It was an experience that first time - the kayaking - and then when I was in the double [raft], the question was how do you keep equipment dry?" The solution required a little out-of-the box thinking. "A trick that [sound operators] do is they put the microphone in a condom, because it's waterproof," Millar said. "I took a photo of it because it was quite funny!" But the crew's challenges didn't end when the kayaking trip did. "There were a lot of times when there were added challenges for the camera crew particularly when you are going into places where you can't take your own vehicle," she said. "Like when we went down with the buggy." Millar said there was one day where the plan was to venture down a track called Betts Creek into a particularly remote area to do a piece to camera by the river. While the track starts out in lush tree fern and mountain ash forest, it soon becomes steep and rocky. But it's the red clay sections that, with even the smallest rainfall, bring people unstuck — as the team found out. Despite all the checks and precautions, the Snowy proved it's not to be messed with. "I was like, 'I'm just gonna finish this piece to camera' and they're like, 'We need to get out of here now'. "As it started to drizzle, the red dirt started to turn into that claggy glue, so there was a real urgency for us to get up and out of there. And that's when we blew a tyre. "Camera operator Stu Heppell and one of the guides began the slow walk uphill to get a phone signal while the rest of us stayed with the buggy, grateful we'd packed snacks and a sense of humour." Heppell and the tour guide eventually made it far enough up the hill to call for help and another buggy came to the rescue. "It was another reminder that the Snowy has the reputation it deserves — that it can be incredible, but it can also be incredibly unpredictable," Millar said. "Even with all of the processes we put in place … you're still reminded of your own vulnerability and your own smallness when you are in that kind of landscape." Even with the unexpected hurdles, Millar was taken aback by the experience of not just the environment, but the people that live and work along the river. She said she was inspired by the "endless passion" they had, even when they were pushed to their limits. She's hoping that, like her, people walk away with a renewed love and awe for the region. "My take away from it all is that I have travelled around the world, for fun as well as work, and yet I just didn't have the appreciation of what was on our own doorstep." Stream the new season of Back Roads free on ABC iview or watch Thursdays at 8pm on ABC TV.
News.com.au
33 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Can't be true': Aussie shares huge US shock
After going viral last week on the topic of Aussies and their pub meat trays, musician G Flip has stunned yet again by revealing another huge difference between the US and Australia. The latest revelation even prompted their American wife to declare it simply 'couldn't be true'. The Aussie drummer and singer, who primarily lives in the US and uses they/them pronouns, dropped a bombshell with wife and Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause, educating her on the topic of the pen licence – a badge of honour for Aussie school kids. 'Today I found out Americans don't get their pen licence when they're a kid,' the GAY 4 ME singer revealed. 'So in Australia, when you're like eight or nine, you do a test to deem whether you're ready to upgrade from a pencil to a pen. 'You've got to make sure it's all legible and the letters look great, and then your teacher will grade you.' At the end of this process, students are gifted a certificate that allows them to use a pen for all writing tasks, known as a pen licence. 'But apparently, Americans, y'all don't get a pen licence and you're out here using pencils until you're in your teens,' the Disco Cowboy singer added. 'That's a lot of sharpening!' The comments section of the video was filled with stunned Americans, as well as other followers from around the world sharing they had something similar and guilty Aussies confessing to never securing their pen licence — but still using a pen anyway. Stause, who tied the knot with G Flip in 2022, was shocked by the key cultural difference between her wife's home country and her own. 'This cannot be true — you have never told me this,' Stause commented. One person said: 'I am an Australian who didn't get their pen licence. I moved schools in year 5, and the school I went to did the licence in year 4 so I missed it. 'But the school I left did it in year 5, so also missed it. I've been writing unlicensed for years and I carry that guilty secret with me every day.' 'Aussie here, NSW. I failed pen licence in year 3. Tried again in year 4 — failed! You bet I walked into year 5 with no licence but a three-pack.' 'BIC 4 COLOUR BALLPOINT PEN,' another said. One person said: 'In Ireland, we also get a pen licence, and what a moment that does be!' 'This is wildddddd,' one added. Another said: 'No … this can't be real.' 'Forgot about this. Putting it on my CV,' another commented. One said: 'We have pen licences in the UK too! We even got a special pen in our school when we passed! I kept mine until I was 25.' 'I'm an Aussie and my kids don't do it anymore! They don't hand write anything anymore, it's all on laptops and iPads,' one commented. Another said: 'Anyone else left handed and have their pen licence taken off them when they smudged the ink across the page?' 'We don't do this in Canada,' one said. One added: 'I never passed so I've had to use a pencil forever. I'm 40. So focus kids and work hard because it can affect you forever.' 'Oh wow. Never heard that before,' one remarked. One social media user commented: 'I never got my pen licence …. Don't tell anyone. It's my biggest shame.' 'As a primary school teacher, I can't tell you the joy it gives me to give a student their pen licence,' one commented. Last week, the Drink Too Much singer confused many by revealing the Australian tradition of the meat tray raffle. 'I'm an Aussie who lives in America and I have an American wife and I think one of the funniest things to explain about Australian culture is that you can win a meat tray in the pub,' they told followers. 'So you go to the pub and they hand out raffle tickets to win a meat tray. And you just win a tray of various meats and sausages. 'You go home with the meat tray. And everyone who's American that I've ever told that to is like, 'What the f***.'
News.com.au
37 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Outback Wrangler Matt Wright's high-profile conspiracy trial nearly ‘aborted' following ‘unfair' A Current Affair episode
A Territory judge has savaged a national television program for airing 'unfair' coverage on the eve of the trial of reality star Outback Wrangler Matt Wright. The Aussie reality television star has pleaded not guilty to three allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice, following the chopper crash death of his mate and co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson three years ago. It took two hours for a jury pool of 107 Territorians to be whittled down into the final team of 12 jurors and two reservists on Tuesday. However overnight that careful selection process was put in jeopardy following the episode by A Current Affair. On Wednesday Justice Alan Blow ripped into the Channel Nine segment which he said threatened to 'abort' the high-profile celebrity trial. 'It was a piece of journalism that was aimed to suggest that Mr Wright is guilty of something — and that's not what TV journalists should be doing,' Justice Blow said. 'It's very important that Mr Wright gets a fair trial and watching that program could interfere with his right to a fair trial.' Justice Blow told the 12-person jury and two reservists that the program published a 'stale' witness list and a photo from the fatal helicopter crash site. 'This isn't a case about why the helicopter crashed,' he told the jury. 'It's not suggested that Mr Wright was responsible, in any way, for the crashing of the helicopter. 'If you watched the program, you might get the impression that he was responsible, and that he was guilty of something and that he's headed to jail for it. 'It was quite unfair and it created a danger of this trial having to be aborted.' Only one juror out of the 14 members said he had watched the segment. Under questioning from Justice Blow, the juror said he would be able to remain impartial, and had not discussed the ACA show with any of his fellow jurors. Justice Blow then warned the remaining 13 Territorians to not try and access the program played on Tuesday night. 'It's an excellent example of what I told you not to do yesterday,' he said. 'Please don't try to find out about that program.' Both prosecutor Jason Gullaci and Defence senior counsel David Edwardson said they were comfortable with the current jury continuing. The trial continues.
