As soon as it was broadcast across the Atlantic in the spring on Freeform, the pretty Little Liars and
The Bold Type, series Cruel Summer was very successful. She’s been meeting the same since it was uploaded Friday to Prime Video. It must be said that the addictive potential is there, as much by its history as by its device. The series follows and alternates three eras, the summers of 1993, 1994 and 1995, to tell how the shy Jeanette became popular after the disappearance of the high school queen Kate, then an outcast on her return.
“Television is changing, you have to elevate the game to make a difference,” comments showrunner Tia Napolitano, who joined the project after its creation by Bert V. Royal and after the shooting of the pilot. The exploded structure is both exciting and satisfying, for the characters, the stakes, and the mysteries. And mysteries and twists there are, until the last frame of the tenth and final episode.
Sensitive subjects and a complex reality
Corn Cruel Summer also makes the difference by the delicate subjects it tackles, and how it tackles them. A warning card also opens each episode, and evokes domestic violence, manipulation,
grooming… Because – small spoiler – Kate had not only disappeared, she was sequestered by the vice-principal of the school, Martin. Did he kidnap her? Did Jeanette know about it? It is complicated.
The series thus advances in a gray area, on a crest path, and almost never looks away from a complex reality, whether it is the liberation of speech (for Kate) or the misnamed cancel culture (for Jeanette). “We talk about serious things, sensitive subjects, but it is not because they frighten us that we should not explore them, explains Tia Napolitano. We wanted to tell them in the most responsible and respectful way possible, so we consulted a lot of people and associations, we even had a therapist in the writer’s room. “
“I educated myself on violence against women”
Olivia Holt, Kate’s interpreter, adds: “The weather couldn’t have been better. These topics are in the news, but they’ve been around for so many years, decades. I personally had to do long research, educate myself on violence against women, on the gaslighting for example. It was not a question of romanticizing or glamorizing what is happening between Kate and Martin, but to show it in a raw and transparent way. We are in 2021 and these problems are still a reality. “
But in the “reality” of the series, sex does not exist, is not mentioned, which becomes problematic, especially in episode 9, a key episode. “We especially did not want the relationship between Kate and Martin to appear romanticized or consenting, and showing sex would have been a huge mistake, responds the showrunneuse. This is not the story we wanted to tell. We preferred to leave it out, digest it and finally talk about it when Kate is safe. “
Society must listen to women
Cruel Summer chooses its subjects, its fights, from violence against women to “the pressure of society on young women, adds Tia Napolitano, this culture of happiness at all costs, of being popular, of having a boyfriend. “For Chiara Aurelia, Jeanette’s interpreter, the series shows that it is difficult for a young girl to grow up in the 1990s as it is today, and that society must listen to women:” If the series can open a door, provoke discussions between friends, in family ”.