Why the Music 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Works So Well

The Summer I Turned Pretty is only on its second season but it’s already cemented itself as the bona fide show of the summer. Streaming on Amazon Prime, the series is based on the book trilogy originally written published in 2009 by Jenny Han, who also happens to be the show’s creator and showrunner. Throughout the three books and two seasons (with a third and final season confirmed for release in the near future), we follow Isabel “Belly” Conklin as she confronts her complicated relationships with Conrad and Jeremiah, two brothers whom she has spent every summer of her life with at their family beach house and has feelings for. Along the way, she also deals with the loss of their mother Susannah and her changing relationships with her own mother and brother Steven.

For me, there are a lot of reasons to love the show–the visual aesthetic, the themes, how it transcends every known demographic division, the love triangle-fueled teen drama that is currently fanning the flames of TikTok–but none are as dear as the music, which has only improved in the second season. The show is good enough on its own but every song feels so intentional both within individual moments and throughout the larger series, so much so that it feels like a narrative arc that can stand on its own and by extension, shapes the show’s identity. By using callbacks and references to earlier scenes, the show weaves a complex, expansive web of nostalgia, romance, and warmth that breathes with life, which makes it that much more addicting and easy to binge.  More than just an ambitiously curated playlist, it’s become a score to the story with lyrics corresponding perfectly to the script playing out on screen or working as an underbelly to a character’s hidden feelings, everything they won’t or can’t say. And that’s not an accident.

Throughout the years, Han has been very open about how much music played a part during the writing process of the book trilogy. In fact, that’s true for many writers, so much so that it’s become popular to create Spotify playlists for their book, series, or even individual characters. For Han, that was Taylor Swift, especially her Fearless album. Luckily, Swift is just as popular today as she was back in 2009, arguably even more, and has released many albums since then. As a result, the show is peppered with Swift’s songs from her various eras like “august,” “Delicate (Taylor’s Version),” and “Back to December,” appealing to a widely aged audience, especially if they grew up with both. And because there was such a natural connection between the books and the music from the beginning, there’s a natural marriage in the show as well. Even if you’re not a Swiftie, every one of her songs just feels perfect, true, and genuine. 

But there are other ways that the show honors the current cultural landscape of music as well. Weeks after the season premiere, I still get chills thinking about Belly driving around in her car missing Conrad as Olivia Rodrigo’s iconic “drivers license” played in the background, in a way that felt grand and cinematic. Not to mention other songs from modern artists like Tyler, The Creator, Lil Nas X, Remi Wolf, One Direction, Ariana Grande, Phoebe Bridgers, and many more, displaying a wide range of music knowledge from the show’s team.

Moments like these never feel patronizing or forced or desperate to seem “cool” to attract and appeal to teen viewers; instead, it shows that the showrunners understand their teen and young adults audience and respect them enough to know what they’re listening to. Even when it’s from older artists like Fleetwood Mac or Guns N’ Roses, it’s clear that they’re well-aware of the show’s appeal to older generations as well (it’s literally become a TikTok trend for parents to watch and react to each episode), so it simultaneously becomes music exposure and education for younger viewers and a shout-out to older ones.

I’m sure there’s intention behind every song choice that is made in any series but for whatever reason, The Summer I Turned Pretty has become one on a short list of shows–Atlanta, Glee, Stranger Things, Gilmore Girls, for example–that have become known and identified by their soundtracks. Where the music is symbotic with the show itself, fusing two otherwise separate industries together, and fans flock to each episode solely to see what song will play next. So often, the music plays without real presence or purpose but hopefully TSITP’s success shows that music can, in fact, not only tell a story of its own but also that it’s worth listening to.