Television series
The Summer I Turned Pretty
A dreamy, hormonal tug-of-war between two brothers and one increasingly complicated teenage girl, set against endless sun-bleached summers at the same beach house. It plays as soap opera dressed up as literary YA — voiceover narration, needle-drop soundtrack, a love triangle escalated to competitive sport. Sincere rather than ironic, made for feeling every ache of first love, best watched with someone to argue with about who Belly should pick.
If you liked this
To All the Boys I've Loved Before2018
Same author's DNA — warm, low-stakes teen romance built on a swoony love-letter premise with real charm and none of the angst overload.
But It's one film, not seasons of slow-burn tension, so the pining resolves fast and the stakes stay small.

Outer Banks2020no page yet
Beach-town teens, treasure hunts, and tangled hearts deliver the same sun-drenched wish-fulfillment with higher stakes and way more plot.
But Trades quiet emotional nuance for pulpy action and conspiracy; it's less interested in what anyone's actually feeling.
Normal People2020
The same slow-burn will-they-won't-they ache, but rendered with devastating restraint and real emotional intelligence instead of melodrama.
But Much heavier and more explicit; the cozy beach-read comfort gets replaced by genuine, lingering heartbreak.

The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
A Summer Place1959
Same blueprint: teenagers falling for each other at a coastal resort while their parents' old histories complicate everything. This is the ancestor the whole genre keeps quoting without knowing it.
The film that basically invented the sun-bleached, forbidden-romance beach movie — lush, scandalous for its time, unapologetically melodramatic.
But Glacially paced by modern standards, and what once counted as shocking will now read as almost quaint.

More like this (8)
Dawson's Creek1998
The original teen love triangle by the water, all yearning glances and overwrought dialogue — meet the tropes' ancestor.
But Dated fashion and pacing; the earnestness occasionally tips into unintentional comedy for modern eyes.

The Vampire Diaries2009
Brothers, one girl, impossible choices — the exact triangle skeleton wrapped in supernatural stakes and relentless cliffhangers.
But Vampires and apocalyptic plots replace beach-house nostalgia; tonally darker and sillier by turns.

Virgin River2019no page yet
Small coastal town, longing looks, buried secrets — the same cozy romance comfort food, just for a slightly older crowd.
But Skews adult and slower; the specific chaos and urgency of teenage friend groups is gone entirely.
Never Have I Ever2020
Same coming-of-age messiness and boy trouble, but sharper and funnier, with a wickedly good sense of humor about teenage delusion.
But Leans comedic rather than swoony; if you want pure romantic yearning, this one's laughing at it instead.

The O.C.2003
Beach houses, old money, love triangles and family drama collide in glossy early-2000s teen soap perfection.
But Bigger cast, more chaos, and less focus on one central romance — messier and campier by design.

Sweet Magnolias2020no page yet
A close-knit Southern town with layered friendships and slow-building romance offers a gentler, more grown-up version of the same comfort.
But Centers women in their forties, not teenagers, so the specific ache of first love is traded for midlife reinvention.
5 Centimeters per Second2007no page yet
Strip away the soap-opera plotting and the raw material is identical: loving someone as the seasons change and people drift apart. Same emotional frequency, completely opposite register and medium.
A hand-drawn, achingly beautiful Japanese film about first love stretched and lost across years and shifting seasons — quiet, gorgeous, devastating.
But No love triangle payoff, no happy ending — this is melancholy meditation, not wish-fulfillment romance.
Big Little Lies2017
Same sun-soaked coastal community where everyone's business is everyone's business and hearts stay tangled — proof that premise can carry real weight, not just romance, once you age it up.
A gorgeous beach-town setting, tangled relationships, and a stacked ensemble cast — but the stakes are adult trauma, not teenage heartbreak.
But Considerably darker material, with domestic abuse and grief running under the glossy surface — nothing to do with sweet nostalgia.

People
Cast
Writing
- Jenny HanCreator
Production
- Gabrielle StantonExecutive Producer
- Jenny HanExecutive Producer
- Karen RosenfeltExecutive Producer