“The Summer I Turned Pretty” series at Amazon has cast Lola Tung, Rachel Blanchard, Jackie Chung, and Christopher Briney, Variety has learned.
The series is based on the Jenny Han YA novel of the same name. It is described as a multigenerational drama that hinges on a love triangle between one girl and two brothers, the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children, and the enduring power of strong female friendship. It is a coming-of-age story about first love, first heartbreak, and the magic of that one perfect summer.
Tung will star in the lead role of Belly. Belly used to be gawky and awkward, but this summer she turns 16 and she is starting to turn heads-and it’s taking some getting used to. Conrad Fisher (Briney), the boy she’s loved forever, the boy who never even looked in her direction-is paying attention to her. It’s exhilarating to her to suddenly be an object of desire, but it’s also scary.
Tung is a graduate of La Guardia High School of The Performing Arts in New York City and is currently studying at Carnegie Mellon.
Blanchard will play Susannah. Susannah is warm-hearted and free spirited. She is the best friend of Belly’s mother Laurel (Chung). She hosts the two families every summer in her luxurious beach town home.
Blanchard most recently starred in the series “You Me Her,” with her other TV credits including “Another Period,” “Fargo,” and “Peep Show,” and “Flight of the Conchords.” She is also known for starring in the “Clueless” TV series from 1996-1999. On the feature side, she will next be seen opposite Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas in “Deep Water.”
She is repped by Buchwald, Thruline Entertainment, and attorney Ryan Nord.
Chung has been cast as Laurel. A novelist with a wry sense of humor and an aversion to technology, Laurel is Belly’s mom. Since her divorce a year ago, Laurel has been stressed and unfocused, which is affecting her writing for the first time in her career.
Chung recently starred in the feature “Coming Home Again,” while her TV credits include “Station 19,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Deadbeat.”
She is repped by Momentum Talent Management, SMS Talent, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Briney has been cast as Conrad. A straight-A student, a star athlete, Conrad has always been responsible and serious-and the boy that Belly has yearned for her whole life. Belly arrives at his family’s summer house to discover that Conrad has become moody and distant. Something has changed in him, but he’s not saying what.
Briney recently completed filming “Dali Land” for director Mary Harron opposite Sir. Ben Kingsley.
Amazon Studios has cast series regulars Lola Tung, Rachel Blanchard, Jackie Chung and Christopher Briney in the television adaptation of Jenny Han’s best-selling series The Summer I Turned Pretty co-produced by wiip.
Amazon has given “The Summer I Turned Pretty” an eight-episode order. Han wrote the pilot for the series and will also serve as executive producer and co-showrunner. Gabrielle Stanton will also executive produce and co-showrun. Karen Rosenfelt will also serve as executive producer along with Paul Lee, Nne Ebong, and Hope Hartman for wiip. The series is a co-production between Amazon Studios and wiip.
The first novel in the “Summer” series was originally published in 2009. The sequels “It’s Not Summer Without You” and “We’ll Always Have Summer” followed in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In addition to those three books, Han is known for writing the “To All the Boys” books, which have been adapted into a series of hit films at Netflix. The Amazon series will mark her first television writing credit.
Tung is represented by GSA Entertainment and attorney Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein. Chung is represented by Momentum Talent Management, SMS Talent and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer. Briney is managed by Kyle Luker at Industry Entertainment, and is also repped by CESD and Peikoff Mahan.