Why The Summer I Turned Pretty's Story Ends In A Movie And Not Season 4

Fans of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" — the Amazon Prime series helmed by Jenny Han, who also wrote the novels — are waiting with bated breath to catch up with Isabel "Belly" Conklin (Lola Tung), Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney), and the rest of the beach house gang in the forthcoming movie. So why is the three-season series getting a movie in the first place instead of a fourth season?

In November 2025, Lexy Perez spoke to Han for The Hollywood Reporter about the movie and asked why Han, who's also writing and directing the film, wants to expand Belly and Conrad's happy ending. "I just see the movie as an opportunity to really just have fun and spend more time with these characters. It's a very complete kind of story," Han told Perez of the forthcoming film. "It's not one that I would spend 10 episodes on, so I think [it's to] give it more as a gift to the fans. But a gift to myself as well because it's been a very joyful experience writing it."

Han stressed, while speaking to Perez, that it feels really early to talk about the movie, but Perez did ask a few more pertinent questions. Though Han demurred when Perez asked if fan reactions to the finale might influence, Han said, "I've already written the movie, so I guess we'll just see!" Han gave similar responses when asked if any of the classic movies referenced in "The Summer I Turned Pretty," like "Sabrina" and "It's a Wonderful Life," influenced the film at all, or whether Taylor Swift's music would be as heavily featured in the movie as it was in the show. In a separate interview, though, Han revealed something important about the movie's release date — we'll all be waiting a while for it.

During an appearance at TheWrap's 2025 Power Women Summit, Jenny Han told a crowd that, as of December 2 of 2025, nothing has been filmed for the movie just yet. "[I] just wrote it," Han said. "We have not filmed anything yet. I know that everyone was hoping that it was coming out this Christmas, but unfortunately, not happening, not possible." (The reason for that, if you're not all that familiar with "The Summer I Turned Pretty," is that Christmas tends to be a big deal on the show and is the centerpiece of a huge romantic moment between Conrad and Belly.)

As Han correctly pointed out, though, the third and final season of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" started its run on Amazon Prime in July 2025 and wrapped up in September, so there also just hasn't been any time to get everyone back to film just yet. "So it was really up to the last minute on the show, so that we wouldn't have had time to film the whole movie," she revealed.

There's a lot for Han to get excited about when it comes to "The Summer I Turned Pretty" film, because she's making her feature film debut as a director. Throughout "The Summer I Turned Pretty," Han directed four episodes, preparing her for her work on the film. "I loved every single part of it," Han said of her first experiences as a director. "To me, it's just another extension of storytelling. I'm really excited to do the movie as well, just because ... it's a privilege ... to be the one to tell the story." So what is the story, if you're unfamiliar?

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" introduces audiences to teenage Belly Conklin just as she "turns pretty" — although, to be fair, Lola Tung is insanely gorgeous even when they slap fake braces on her in flashbacks. When the prettification happens, Belly finds herself torn between two brothers she's known for her entire life, eldest son Conrad and his often bratty younger brother Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), and essentially ping-pongs between them for the show's three seasons. (Yes, it's weird that Belly almost exclusively dates two brothers, but if you can let that go, the show is extremely dishy and fun.)

By the time "The Summer I Turned Pretty" comes to a close, Belly is in Paris instead of her hometown outside of Philadelphia and attempting to find herself without being distracted by either one of the Fisher brothers ... until Conrad comes to the City of Lights to find her. Finally, the couple puts aside their many issues and differences, including Belly's previous engagement to Jeremiah, and end up together, but we don't really see them when they return to the fictional New England town of Cousins Beach, home to the gorgeous Fisher beach house. 

With that in mind, we might get to see Belly and Conrad readjust to life in the United States and the somewhat complicated dynamics they'll face with their families, and after three seasons of strife, fans will finally get to see Conrad and Belly as a happy couple ... probably. There's no question that Jenny Han will come up with more hurdles for this young couple, but they'll undoubtedly still get their happily-ever-after.

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" is streaming on Amazon Prime now.