Here’s Why Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty has taken over pop-culture in India and Around the World

Be it the heartbreaking beach confession between Conrad and Belly, to the iconic summer looks sported by the entire cast, The Summer I Turned Pretty is all we see on our social media feeds, and the Jenny Han created drama is certainly worth the hype. The hard-hitting yet relatable plots of the young-adult drama are perfectly Bollywood-coded, with eager fans expressing their love as the desi edits pour in everyday. With weekly releases, the streaming giant has managed to hook viewers with every plot-point, as theories, fandoms and ship theories flood the internet even across India. This popularity is accompanied by the fact that the other two Originals currently trending worldwide on Prime Video are the Maggie Q-led crime drama Ballard, and Daniel Dae Kim’s Korean drama Butterfly, both featuring alongside The Summer I Turned Pretty have successfully been breaking viewership records worldwide.

According to Vernon Sanders, Head of TV at Prime Video (US), these successes are the result of a long-term strategy to find organic ways to tell stories that would resonate all around the world. The popularity of these shows, particularly The Summer I Turned Pretty with its 25 million global viewers in its first week, confirms that a broad and diverse approach to storytelling is paying off for the streaming service and proves that female-led shows can attract a large audience and that Asian leads can captivate viewers in stories where race isn’t the central theme.

“When you try to force something, sometimes you don’t get the results you’re looking for. So we’ve been at this a while,” Sanders explained. “Albert Cheng and I used to be co-Heads of TV together, and it was something we talked a lot about a lot back in the days, about how we find organic ways to tell stories that would resonate all around the world? Because we do have a global audience, and we are passionate about making sure that we’re telling stories that really cover the globe and cover the spectrum of people across the world.”

The Summer I Turned Pretty is more than just a show, it’s a global phenomenon. The third season has absolutely taken over, especially among young women who have connected with its heartfelt story on a massive scale. Based on Jenny Han’s beloved book trilogy, the show beautifully captures the messy, exhilarating, and sometimes painful journey of growing up.

“We had a big gap between Season 2 and Season 3, and we were a little nervous about whether we would end up seeing a dip in [viewership],” Sanders admitted. Instead, he says the response to the third and final season has been “quite the opposite.” He further indicates that these series have shown a huge increase in Prime Video subscribers, “There has been just a massive explosion of people coming into the service.”

The overwhelming global viewership for shows with universal themes, often told from perspectives that were previously underrepresented, validates a long-term strategy of creating content that resonates with a global audience. With the current excitement surrounding The Summer I Turned Pretty, the audiences across India and age groups are all looking forward to the highly anticipated grand finale of the coming-of-age drama on September 17.