How Cruel Summer reinvented itself after 1 season

There's no mystery behind why Cruel Summer became an anthology series for season 2 — why mess with perfection?

Freeform's buzzy '90s-set thriller was an undeniable hit throughout its first season — it was the network's most-watched series in history, the acting was impressive, and the twists were downright scream-inducing. (We're still not over those final seconds in the finale.) That's why it wasn't a surprise when Freeform renewed the series only hours before the last episode of season 1 aired in June 2021. The real question then became what would season 2 look like — would viewers get to continue watching Kate (Olivia Holt) and Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia) after that shocking-yet-perfect ending, or would the teen drama take on a new story with an all-new cast of characters instead?

Justine Yeung/Freeform Griffin Gluck, Sadie Stanley, and Lexi Underwood in 'Cruel Summer' season 2

Freeform went with the second option: Cruel Summer completely reinvents itself for season 2, moving the action to an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest to follow the rise and fall of an intense teenage friendship and the love triangle that forms between Megan (Sadie Stanley), Isabella (Lexi Underwood), and Megan's best friend Luke (Griffin Gluck), all chronicled in three different timelines surrounding Y2K and a central mystery connecting them all.

Gluck explains that executive producers Jessica Biel, Bill and Michelle Purple, and Tia Napolitano, as well as showrunner Elle Triedman all "know exactly what they're doing" when it comes to introducing a brand new mystery in season 2. "We talked to them about the reason why they did an anthology instead of continuing [the same story in] season 2, and in season 1, the story had been told," he tells EW. "And that was the best version of that story. The best option was to go anthology, it opens it up for a new story every season. You're going to fall in love just as you did with season 1: The story's just as good, the mystery's just as awesome, the characters are just as great."

When mysterious foreign exchange student Isabella comes to live with Megan's family for their senior year, the two girls form a friendship that changes their lives forever as a mysterious death rocks the town. The identity of the victim and the circumstances leading to their death will keep viewers guessing throughout the entire season.

"We have all of the same exciting pieces and the same formula as season 1 — we have the three different timelines, two girls going through something really huge together — but what's special about our season is that the girls really are going through it together," Stanley tells EW. "And honestly, the stakes are higher. We're dealing with a death here. And not just a death, but everything that led to it. Every episode, you're going to be suspicious of somebody different and you're never going to know what's going to happen next."

Paul Adelstein in 'Cruel Summer' season 2

"If you liked going along on the ride, coming up with different theories, and just the whole whodunnit situation that was occurring in season 1, then you're going to like going on the ride with season 2 as well," adds Underwood.

The first season follows Kate Wallis, a popular girl with a charmed life who one day goes missing, and Jeanette Turner, the nerdy wannabe accused of being connected to Kate's disappearance, but season 2's main characters are a lot more connected. Megan, Isabella, and Luke become a close trio ... which means the drama between them gets even messier.

"Megan Landry is a pretty normal teenage girl, but she did have to grow up fast because she does have a single mom," Stanley says. "She has big plans: She wants to go to college, and she wants to get a scholarship because her family can't afford to send her to college, so she's a straight-A student, a Goody Two-Shoes, and doesn't really get out much or have the normal kid teenage experience. That's where Isabella comes in for Megan."

When Isabella arrives to live with Megan for their senior year, she shakes up everything for the formerly sheltered teen. "This is Isabella's first time being in the States after almost 18 years of constantly moving around her entire life," Underwood says. "But when she gets to Chatham, she's really excited because she views it as this fresh start, a new opportunity to be able to live out her all-American high school dreams that she's always hoped and craved for."

Thanks to Isabella, Megan starts to come out of her shell and experience the fun side of being a teenager — much to her BFF Luke's delight. "Isabella gets her to loosen up and have those classic teenage experiences of partying, kissing a boy for the first time, getting a boyfriend, all that kind of stuff," Stanley says. "We also see her relationship with Luke grow and how that changes her as a person too."

KaDee Strickland and Lexi Underwood in 'Cruel Summer' season 3

"Luke is not as simple as he might seem," Gluck says. "He is a cool, popular, rich kid, who comes from a very powerful, affluent family. He doesn't seem to have many problems, but he's got a lot of issues that he buries deep, deep below the surface."

Of course, these teens aren't just dealing with normal teenage angst. This is Cruel Summer, after all. Everything changes when a mysterious death rocks Chatham, and Megan, Isabella, and Luke are all connected to it. "This terrible, horrible thing happens, and her whole world is shaken up and shattered, and she has to figure out how to pick up the pieces," Stanley says. "The big mystery of this season is a murder. Somebody dies and it's very tragic, but they can't figure out how it happened, or who did it. It's a whodunnit story, and it's a lot more complicated than you might think it is. It's not as simple as: Who did it?"

Gluck jumps in to add, "I'll say this: It's less about who did it and more about how did it happen, and how did we get to that point."

"How did things get so messed up so quickly, and what are Megan, Isabella, and Luke going to do to fix it?" Stanley finishes.

Find out when the first two episodes of Cruel Summer season 2 premiere Monday, June 5, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Freeform.

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