“If you thought Season 1 was twisty, just you wait,” promised Cruel Summer executive producer Michelle Purple during an ATX TV Festival panel following a big screen premiere of the Season 2 opening episode. The hit Freeform mystery returns with two episodes on Monday, June 5th, at 9/8c, both of which will stream on Hulu the next day. After the runaway success of the first season, the team decided that continuing the show as an anthology series was better than crafting a new story for the characters from the first season, which wrapped everything up nicely. What is the same, however, is the three-timeline structure that keeps audiences guessing. And this time, the story is set in the summer and winter of 1999 and the summer of 2000.
At the center of the season is a love triangle between Megan, her best friend Luke, and the exchange student spending a year with her family, Isabella. Lexie Underwood plays Megan, who talked about the friendship between her character and Isabella as being one of the big tonal changes from the first season, which pitted two girls at odds against each other. And behind the scenes, while filming in Vancouver, Sadie shared that an authentic family was created amongst the cast. Part of the fun of the season will also be experiencing Megan’s transformation from a “goody two shoes” extrovert in the summer of ‘99 to a reclusive edgy girl by the summer of ‘00.
Lexie Underwood plays Isabella, using the analogy of a duck on water to describe her character. Above the surface, the duck looks peaceful, as if floating on the water comes naturally. But if you look underneath, you’ll see that their legs are constantly paddling, trying to stay afloat and give off that effortless appearance. Through her friendship with Megan, she is able to let her guard down and be vulnerable… until something terrible happens.
Griffin Gluck revealed that he met Sadie at a game night party two weeks prior to being cast as Griffin, with neither knowing that the other was going out for the show. Casting for this season took place over Zoom, and he also recalled being nervous when, in the middle of his audition, executive producer Jessica Biel popped on the call to watch. As for his character’s fate, which is revealed in the season premiere, Griffin shared that he was told upfront about the outcome, which actually freed him up to be more playful with the character.
Bill Purple is Michelle’s husband and another executive producer on the series, in addition to directing. He had previously worked with Griffin on Private Practice and shared that the mini-reunion this season was accidental. Paul Adelstein and KaDee Strickland are the other two Private Practice alumni on the season, who play Griffin’s dad and Megan’s mom, respectively.
As for the shocking final reveal of the season, Michelle added that it was so tightly under wraps that, outside of the creative team, only the actors involved in that scene are aware of how it will all unfold. That means all involved, from the supporting cast to the non-essential crew and, most importantly, the fans, will have to tune in each week to see how it all plays out.
Cruel Summer returns tonight at 9/8c.