12 Best TV Shows Like The Summer I Turned Pretty

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The tradition of frothy teen love triangles is about as old as the sun-kissed coming-of-age melodrama, of which Prime Video's "The Summer I Turned Pretty" is a key example. Based on the novel series by popular YA writer Jenny Han, the show revolves around the exploits of Isabel "Belly" Conkin (Lola Tung), who has spent every summer of her life in the upscale beach town of Cousins with her family and the Fishers, whose matriarch is her mother's best friend. The Fishers have two sons — Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) — and as Belly matures, the relationship between the three of them becomes a bit more ... hormonally driven. 

"The Summer I Turned Pretty," which has run for two seasons so far, quickly grew into prime guilty pleasure viewing, making the upcoming third and final season hotly anticipated by fans. But for those who are impatiently waiting to see whether Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah will be endgame, there are plenty of other teen dramas worth watching to sink your teeth into until season 3 arrives on Prime Video.

Over the course of "The Summer I Turned Pretty," Belly can fairly be accused of being more than a little self-involved at times. Because of this, she's a perfect match for James Van Der Beek's Dawson Cleary, whose show title — "Dawson's Creek" — is not just a reference to its title character, but a reflection of how he views the world. Dawson has serious main character syndrome, and everyone else in the show is merely operating within his periphery, including his best friend Pacey (Joshua Jackson) and girl-next-door Joey (Katie Holmes). 

But as much as Dawson may not realize it, "Dawson's Creek" is an ensemble drama, and its greatest strength is the depth of the sprawling supporting cast, who each made audiences fall in love with their characters. As Dawson and his friends come of age in their sleepy tourist town, their relationships are in a constantly evolving state, leading to love, enlightenment, heartbreak, and many solemn conversations along the riverbed of Dawson's creek. A classic teen drama, "Dawson's Creek" captivated viewers in the '90s, but is just as likable when watched in 2025. It also has one hell of a soundtrack.

The central narrative of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" may revolve around the exploits of Belly and her two romantic interests, but without the long and enduring friendship of their mothers, they never would have met in the first place. Laurel (Jackie Chung) and Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) were so committed to maintaining their relationship, they organized the annual beach trip to Cousins so that their families could spend every summer together. And it's this friendship that calls to mind "Firefly Lane," making the Netflix drama a perfect watch for those hoping for another taste of the more mature dynamic that Laurel and Susannah bring to the table.

Starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke, "Firefly Lane" tells the story of two best friends — the glamorous Tully (Heigl) and more down-to-earth Kate (Chalke) — who have been each others' rock since they first met as teenagers. Although they've had more than a few bumps in the road since then, the friendship is all the more endearing for the challenges it has faced. "Firefly Lane" ran for two seasons on Netflix before wrapping up in 2023.

Writer Jenny Han not only gave us "The Summer I Turned Pretty," but also the gold standard teen rom-com "To All the Boys I've Loved Before," which was given a well-received three-film adaptation starring Lana Condor on Netflix. If you want to spend a little more time in that world, she also served as the creator for the spinoff series "XO, Kitty," which follows Lara Jean's (Condor) younger sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) as she attends boarding school in her late mother's home country of South Korea. 

While there, she experiences not only culture shock (since her mother died when she was young, she was raised by her white American father) but also the kind of romantic hijinks that would not be out of place in a typical K-drama. "XO, Kitty" was a hit with the audiences who made its predecessor so popular, and in February 2025, it was announced that the series would be renewed for a third season.

The Outer Banks in North Carolina may be a slightly less upscale beach destination than Cousins, and the antics of its characters may be a bit more wildly dramatic, but "Outer Banks" is nonetheless a great viewing option as the steamy older sibling of "The Summer I Turned Pretty." Within the North Carolinian community, we've got a sort of "West Side Story" divide going on, with tensions rising between the working-class locals (referred to within the series as the "Pogues") and the rich tourists who have beach houses along the coast (they're called the "Kooks"). 

Between class-based conflict, near-constant relationship drama, and "Goonies"-like adventures to hunt down buried treasure, there's pretty much a guarantee that there's always something exciting happening in the world of "Outer Banks." The show was a sexy summer hit for Netflix, and ended up lasting for five seasons, the final of which has yet to air on the streamer. But if you want to go further down this teen drama rabbit hole, here are some other shows like "Outer Banks."

A classic of teen television, "The O.C." dominated the pop culture landscape for a few sweet years in the mid-2000s. It stars Ben McKenzie as Ryan Atwood, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who ends up being adopted by the wealthy Cohen family and discovering an entirely different world in their elite Orange County community. Like "The Summer I Turned Pretty," it luxuriates in its beach vibes, soaking up all the sun that Southern California has to offer. Also like "The Summer I Turned Pretty," it features as a male lead a stoic character who isn't exactly the greatest at expressing his emotions or coping with his trauma. (No offense, Conrad.) 

There's even an entire debutante storyline in "The O.C.," although it doesn't stretch out over the course of the entire first season. To be fair, though, the debutante ball in "The Summer I Turned Pretty" doesn't end with someone's dad getting punched out for committing bank fraud, so we guess they both have their strengths. "The O.C." undeniably peaked over the course of its first few seasons, and it slumped along after dramatically killing off Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) before being canceled in 2007. Millennials were never the same. But hey, we'll always have the famous "Whatcha Say" shooting scene.

Compared to the rapid-fire dialogue of "Gilmore Girls," some of the characters on "The Summer I Turned Pretty" may as well be mute (we're looking at you, Conrad). But despite the differing levels of quippiness between the two shows, they both revolve around a teenage girl trying to carve out a path for herself, though "Gilmore Girls" unfolds in the sadly fictional New England town of Stars Hollow while following the sometimes contentious relationship a teen girl has with her mother. In "Gilmore Girls," Rory (Alexis Bledel) is the precocious daughter of free-spirited former teen mother Lorelei (Lauren Graham), who came from a wealthy family but chose to make her own way through life rather than accept help from her parents that may have come with strings attached. 

But when Rory needs money for tuition at a prestigious private school, Lorelei reluctantly reforges a connection with her estranged parents — a decision that complicates their lives but makes it much richer (in all senses of the word). "Gilmore Girls" found a devoted fanbase of viewers who fell in love with the flawed but deeply bonded Gilmore women, as the aspirational connection between Rory and Lorelei flourished over the seven seasons (plus one revival limited series) that the show was on the air.

You know how "The Summer I Turned Pretty" finds Belly being a little bit recklessly impulsive? Well, she's got nothing on Devi's (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) exploits in "Never Have I Ever." After the sudden and devastating death of her father, Devi seems to take a "burn it all down" approach to her life, coping with trauma and grief by throwing herself into a seemingly endless escapade of poor decision-making. But whatever mistakes she makes along the way with romance, friends, and school, we can't help rooting for Devi, whether she's attempting to take down her academic rival and sometimes boyfriend Ben (Jaren Lewison) or trying to lose her virginity to Paxton (Darren Barnet), the hottest guy in school. 

"Never Have I Ever" is perhaps best known for taking a blowtorch to South Asian stereotypes, creating an Indian-American character who, while intelligent and driven, is also a sex-driven mess in her own right. As Devi grows over the course of her high school career (quirkily narrated all the while by famously rage-filled tennis legend John McEnroe), it's difficult not to become emotionally invested in her surprisingly poignant friendships, family issues, and boy drama. "Never Have I Ever" put star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on the map, just as "The Summer I Turned Pretty" did for Lola Tung.

So far, the conflict between Conrad and Jeremiah, the two Fisher brothers competing for the conflicted attentions of Belly in "The Summer I Turned Pretty," has been fairly sedate. (Although that changes at the tail end of season 2, and will likely ramp up even further in the next season. Frankly, we're not sure how these two crazy kids are ever going to have a relationship again, since both of them have been in love with Belly their entire lives and only one of them can actually be her end game.) But you know what other show had a tempestuous dynamic between two brothers? That's right — "One Tree Hill." 

Nathan (James Rafferty) starts out as the villain of the piece, while Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) is the kid from the wrong side of the tracks with limitless talent and potential. These two high schoolers are actually half-brothers, both the sons of Dan Scott (Paul Johansson) who begin the series as rivals but eventually — and often begrudgingly — develop a bond with one another. "One Tree Hill" may not have aged as well as some of its 2000s counterparts, but when it comes to teen drama, it's an all-timer.

Let the beach vibes from "The Summer I Turned Pretty" continue with "Surviving Summer," where a troubled teen is sent to Australia after being expelled from her New York City high school. (Maybe we're just getting old, but this is not how we were punished when we were growing up.) Since Summer Torres' (Sky Katz) parents have friends in Victoria, Australia, they ship her Down Under, hoping that in a new environment she'll flourish and be able to get a fresh start. 

While there, Summer falls in with a crowd of surfers, finding an unexpected passion for the sport, as well as new friends, love interests, and rivals. With beautiful scenery and exciting surf action, there's plenty to recommend the show beyond just the traditional teen drama that it also showcases. "Surviving Summer" streamed on Netflix for two seasons, but it struggled to find an audience, and it was canceled in 2023 after its second season. 

While "The Summer I Turned Pretty" has a gauzy, romantic, fairly chaste approach to teen relationships, "Sex Education" jumps right into the deep end, fully exposing their teenagers as the hormonal little gremlins they are. (We say this with love.) Otis (Asa Butterfield) is a high schooler whose repressed sexuality is likely the result of his mother (Gillian Anderson), whose career as a sex therapist leads to near-constant embarassment. Nevertheless, Otis somehow finds himself operating in a similar capacity to his mother at his local high school, guiding his fellow classmates through their relationship issues and sexual foibles. 

After four seasons on the air, "Sex Education" is perhaps now best known for providing a launching pad for its many young performers — it counts among its number Ncuti Gatwa (who gamely returned for the show's fourth season, despite being tapped to play the Doctor in "Doctor Who"), Emma Mackey ("Barbie"), Connor Swindells ("Emma."), Aimee Lou Wood ("The White Lotus"), and Simone Ashley ("Bridgerton"). The strong acting across the board within its young cast combined with writing that had unexpected depths made "Sex Education" one of the best teen shows around, able and willing to tackle any complicated or embarassing issue with aplomb.

If you liked "The Summer I Turned Pretty" creator Jenny Han's other popular teen outing "To All The Boys I've Loved Before," here's your chance to watch more from its star, Lana Condor. In "Boo, B****" (yes, we have to censor the title, sorry), she plays Erika, an unpopular high school student whose efforts to make an impression during her senior year are met with an unexpected wrinkle when, after a collision with a moose, she discovers a corpse wearing her shoes. Now under the impression that she has shuffled off this mortal coil, she adjusts to her new life (afterlife?) as a ghost — but she only has a certain amount of time to resolve her unfinished business before disappearing for good. 

Alongside her best friend Gia (Zoe Colletti), she attempts to win over her crush and make the most of her teen years, before it's too late. "Boo, B****" only ran for a single season on Netflix, but that may have been for the best. It was praised for its strong performances, but much like its ghost, its narrative had a limited shelf life, and trying to stretch it out probably would have done more harm than good.

There's nothing quite like young love, as shows like "The Summer I Turned Pretty" and "Dash & Lily" evince. While the former is strictly a summer series, "Dash & Lily" takes full advantage of holiday cheer, as warm and inviting as a mug of hot cocoa. Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Frances) are two strangers in New York City who connect via a shared notebook. 

When Dash is pretty much abandoned at Christmas, he finds a journal at the Strand Bookstore with a series of clues written on the inside — clues that will, presumably, lead him to its author. Lily, a lover of all things holiday, is responsible for leading him on this literary scavenger hunt, and is overjoyed that Dash is going along with it. When they meet in person, their connection is immediate, their chemistry exactly what you hope for in a YA romance. Free from the endless drama of some of its counterparts, "Dash & Lily" feels like the TV version of a nice warm hug.