Cousins Beach isn't a real place you can find on a GPS, but for a huge chunk of the internet, it might as well be home. We’ve all been there. That weird, sticky humidity of a coastal July where every glance feels like a life-altering event. When Jenny Han’s trilogy jumped from the page to Prime Video, the pressure was actually immense. Book fans are protective. They’re territorial. If the cast of summer i turned pretty didn't have that specific, unteachable chemistry, the whole thing would have folded faster than a beach chair in a hurricane.
Honestly, it worked.
It worked because they didn't just hire actors; they found people who somehow inhabit the messy, often frustrating skin of these characters. You've got Lola Tung, who basically walked off a theater stage and into a global spotlight, carrying the entire emotional weight of Isabel "Belly" Conklin on her shoulders. Then you have the Fisher brothers. Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno. It’s a classic trope, sure. The brooding one versus the golden retriever. But tropes only work if the actors believe in them, and these guys clearly do.
The breakout energy of Lola Tung
Lola Tung is a bit of an anomaly in Hollywood. Before she was Belly, she was a student at Carnegie Mellon. She didn't have a long IMDb trail of guest spots on procedural dramas or Disney Channel background roles. That freshness is exactly why the cast of summer i turned pretty feels so grounded. When Belly cries, it’s not a "pretty" Hollywood cry. It’s that scrunchy-faced, snotty, "my heart is actually breaking" kind of sob that anyone who survived being sixteen remembers too well.
She has to play the bridge between childhood and whatever comes next. It’s a narrow tightrope.
One minute she's jumping into a pool with the reckless abandon of a kid, and the next, she's navigating the crushing grief of losing Susannah, played by the ethereal Rachel Blanchard. The chemistry between Tung and Blanchard is arguably the most important "romance" in the first season. It sets the stakes. Without that bond, the rivalry between the brothers wouldn't have any teeth.
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Christopher Briney and the burden of being Conrad
Conrad Fisher is a difficult character to like sometimes. Let's be real. He’s moody, he’s secretive, and he pushes people away when he needs them most. Christopher Briney plays him with this constant, simmering tension. Briney himself has mentioned in interviews that he’s much more of a "golden retriever" in real life, which makes his performance as the stoic, anxiety-ridden Conrad even more impressive.
Fans often debate the "Team Conrad" versus "Team Jeremiah" labels. It’s a blood sport on TikTok. But Briney gives Conrad a soul that prevents him from just being the "jerk" love interest. You see the panic attacks. You see the weight of his mother's illness.
He’s not just a guy in a sweatshirt staring at the ocean; he’s a kid who was forced to grow up way too fast.
Gavin Casalegno brings the sunshine (and the sting)
Then there’s Jeremiah. Gavin Casalegno was perhaps the most "seasoned" member of the core cast of summer i turned pretty, having appeared in The Vampire Diaries as a younger version of Damon Salvatore. He brings a very specific energy to the screen. If Conrad is the storm, Jeremiah is the sun—but the kind of sun that can still burn you if you aren't careful.
The shift in Jeremiah’s character from Season 1 to Season 2 was jarring for some, but it felt honest. He went from the fun-loving "easy" choice to someone with deep-seated resentment and a desperate need to be seen. Casalegno plays that transition with a lot of nuance. He isn't just the "backup" option. He’s a guy who’s tired of being the person everyone expects to be "fine."
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The adults in the room
We can’t talk about the cast of summer i turned pretty without mentioning Jackie Chung as Laurel Park. In a genre that often treats parents as furniture, Laurel is a powerhouse. Her friendship with Susannah is the literal heartbeat of the story. It’s a rare depiction of female friendship that feels as intense and complicated as any teenage romance.
When Susannah dies, the show doesn't just focus on the kids. We see Laurel’s world collapse. Jackie Chung plays that grief with a quiet, devastating stillness. She's the "cool" mom who isn't actually trying to be cool; she’s just trying to survive the loss of her soulmate while raising two kids who are spinning out of control.
Supporting players who steal the scene
- Sean Kaufman as Steven: Belly’s brother could have been a one-note annoying sibling. Instead, Kaufman makes him hilarious and deeply protective. His bromance with the Fisher boys is one of the show's highlights.
- Rain Spencer as Taylor: Every protagonist needs a best friend who tells them the blunt truth. Taylor is that person. Her evolution from a "mean girl" archetype to a ride-or-die sister is one of the best arcs in the series.
- David Iacono as Cam Cameron: The "perfect on paper" guy who never stood a chance. Iacono brought such a sweet, nerdy charm to the role that half the audience was low-key rooting for him to just take Belly away from the Fisher drama entirely.
Why this specific group works where others fail
Chemistry is a weird, fickle thing. You can put two beautiful people in a room and have zero sparks. Just look at some of the big-budget rom-coms of the last decade that felt like watching paint dry. The cast of summer i turned pretty has it because they actually seem to like each other. If you follow them on social media, it’s not just curated PR stops. They’re actually hanging out.
That comfort translates to the screen. When they’re all sitting around the dinner table at the beach house, the overlapping dialogue and the inside jokes feel unscripted. It feels like a family that has spent every summer together since they were in diapers.
Looking toward Season 3 and beyond
With the third season looming, based on We’ll Always Have Summer, the stakes are shifting. The actors are aging up, and the story is getting heavier. We're moving away from "summer flings" and into "life choices."
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There are rumors about new additions to the cast of summer i turned pretty, but the core remains the same. The challenge for these actors now is to show the transition into adulthood. College, weddings, career paths—the bubble of Cousins Beach is bursting.
It’s interesting to see how the fans have stayed so loyal. Usually, these "teen" shows lose steam after the first couple of years. But the way this cast handles the source material—respecting Jenny Han’s vision while adding their own layers—keeps it relevant. They’ve managed to capture that specific ache of nostalgia that defines the books.
Actionable ways to engage with the series
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world the cast has built, don't just stop at the show. The layers of these performances often come from the source material and the behind-the-scenes insights the actors have shared.
- Watch the "Behind the Scenes" features on Prime Video: They actually show the screen tests between Lola, Chris, and Gavin. You can see the exact moment the producers realized they had the right trio.
- Listen to the "The Summer I Turned Pretty" official playlists: Music is a character in this show. The cast has frequently mentioned how certain Taylor Swift songs (obviously) helped them get into character for specific emotional beats.
- Follow the cast’s interviews on "The Wayne Ayers Podcast" or "Variety": This is where you get the real talk about the filming process in Wilmington, North Carolina, and how they handled the heavy emotional scenes of Season 2.
- Re-read the third book: If you want to see where the cast is headed, We’ll Always Have Summer is the roadmap. Pay attention to Jeremiah’s POV chapters; they offer a lot of context for Gavin Casalegno’s performance choices.
The magic of this show isn't just the pretty lighting or the beach house. It’s the fact that these actors make us believe that these summers actually happened. They make us feel the salt on our skin and the heartbreak in our chests. That’s not just good casting; that’s lightning in a bottle.