Staylor Strong! The Summer I Turned Pretty might follow the love triangle between Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah, but we’re a bit more obsessed with the relationship between Steven and Taylor! Keep reading to see details on the Amazon Prime series, all things Staylor and their relationship timeline.
ICYMI, the summer romance series was originally a book series written by Jenny Han, who is also the writer behind To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Unlike the Netflix film series, Jenny was able to have a bigger hand in TSITP, as she is the writer, producer and showrunner of the series! Season 1 premiered in June 2022, while season 2 dropped in July 2023.
“Jenny Han brought in her fandom with her — all of these people that she’s helped practically raised with her books,” Rain Spencer, who plays Taylor, told Elite Daily in July 2023. “It’s generations of people, and so to be a part of it has been mind-blowing. I’m just so grateful to know her and go on this journey.”
One of the biggest changes from the book to the Amazon Prime, was the prevalence of Taylor and Steven’s characters, along with their apparent love story. In the books, Stephen is rarely mentioned, while Taylor also has less of a role compared to her TV character.
“There are some very, very diehard fans, and it has been incredible to see the overwhelming support,” Sean Kaufman, who plays Stephen, told Elite Daily. “I can’t tell you the number of people who have come up to me on the street and been like, ‘Hey, your show means the world to me. Thank you.’ Just to know that we could have that kind of impact in general is something I can’t wrap my head around.
As the first season focuses more on Belly’s love life, the joy of summer and Cousins Beach, season 2 faces the hardships that come after Susannah dies from cancer.
“There’s a fantasy of Season 1 — the fantasy of Cousins, the fantasy of the beach house, the fantasy of Susannah,” Sean said. “And in Season 2, it kind of comes all crashing down and makes everybody take a look around and realize who’s there. Steven does a lot of reflecting to understand that Taylor’s been there for him before this fantasy was ever a thing. And now when this family and the Fishers are at their lowest, she’s still there. I don’t know if I saw it coming, but it certainly was a welcome surprise.”
Click through our gallery to uncover the relationship timeline between Stephen and Taylor in TSITP.
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