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The Summer I Turned Pretty poster

Shows that feel likeThe Summer I Turned Pretty (2022–2025)

Every summer, Belly and her family head to the Fishers’ beach house in Cousins. Every summer is the same ... until Belly turns sixteen. Relationships will be tested, painful truths will be revealed, and Belly will be forever changed. It’s a summer of first love, first heartbreak and growing up — it's the summer she turns pretty.

If you loved The Summer I Turned Pretty, the closest series we have are Looking for Alaska (2019), Young Royals (2021) and Heartstopper (2022). All three share The Summer I Turned Pretty's contemplative and warm feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Merlí. Sapere Aude (2019).

★ 7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · Prime Videocreated by Jenny Hancontemplativewarmwistfulromantic
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video
Stream it:Prime Video ↗

If The Summer I Turned Pretty hit the spot, these will too

Looking for Alaska poster
Looking for Alaska
2019 · 1 season · Hulu
★ 8drama

Common ground in both: friendship and romance

Miles enrolls in a new boarding school seeking adventure. There, he befriends a group of quirky students led by the captivating and troubled Alaska. As they pull pranks and explore dark secrets, a night of celebration takes a tragic turn, forcing the group to grapple with loss and the complexities of growing up.

Young Royals poster
Young Royals
2021–2024 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.2dramaNetflix

First love that aches because the world keeps deciding for the lovers

The difference: Colder Swedish boarding school — duty and scandal, no beach-house glow

Prince Wilhelm adjusts to life at his prestigious new boarding school, Hillerska, but following his heart proves more challenging than anticipated.

Heartstopper poster
Heartstopper
2022–2024 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.5dramaNetflix

First crushes treated as world-shaking events, never as filler

The difference: Far gentler — no love-triangle agony, mostly uncomplicated sweetness

Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love.

Normal People poster
Normal People
2020 · 1 season · BBC Three
★ 8.4dramaHulu

Two people who keep finding and losing each other as they grow up

The difference: Adult and quietly devastating — one series, no comfort-watch glow

Marianne and Connell weave in and out of each other's lives in this exploration of sex, power and the desire to love and be loved.

Never Have I Ever poster
Never Have I Ever
2020–2023 · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.8comedy · dramaNetflix

A teen girl making chaotic romantic choices while carrying a loss

The difference: Plays it for laughs — snappy comedy where you want wistfulness

After a traumatic year, all an Indian-American teen wants is to go from pariah to popular -- but friends, family and feeling won't make it easy on her.

Merlí. Sapere Aude poster
Merlí. Sapere Aude
2019–2021 · 2 seasons · TV3
★ 7.7comedy · dramaNetflix

Young love and self-discovery taken seriously, never mocked

The difference: College-set and franker about sex — the innocence is gone

In this drama set at a university, a wayward philosophy student navigate life on campus while seeking guidance from an intriguing new professor.

Love Alarm poster
Love Alarm
2019–2021 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.5drama · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

A heroine torn between two boys who both genuinely deserve her

The difference: The app gimmick keeps you at arm's length — concept over warmth

Love Alarm is an app that tells you if someone within a 10-meter radius has a crush on you. It quickly becomes a social phenomenon. While everyone talks about it and uses it to test their love and popularity, Jojo is one of the few people who have yet to download the app. However, she soon faces a love triangle situation between Sun-oh whom she starts to have feelings for, and Hye-young, who has had a huge crush on her.

Gossip Girl poster
Gossip Girl
2007–2012 · 6 seasons · The CW
★ 7.5dramaNetflixMax

Privileged young lives where every romance feels like the whole world

The difference: Cattier and colder — scheming replaces the sun-soaked sincerity

An exclusive group of privileged teens from a posh prep school on Manhattan's Upper East Side whose lives revolve around the blog of the all-knowing albeit ultra-secretive Gossip Girl.

The O.C. poster
The O.C.
2003–2007 · 4 seasons · FOX
★ 7.6dramaMaxHulu

A sun-drenched enclave where each season rewrites who loves whom

The difference: Broader soap swings — brawls and scandals over quiet longing

Ryan Atwood, a teen from the wrong side of the tracks, moves in with a wealthy family willing to give him a chance. But Ryan's arrival disturbs the status quo of the affluent, privileged community of Newport Beach, California.

Merlí poster
Merlí
2015–2018 · 3 seasons · TV3
★ 8.6comedy · drama

Crushes, friendships and growing pains given real emotional weight

The difference: A teacher's classroom drives it — romance is just one thread

He’s surly, unorthodox, unapologetically blunt, and he’s about to change your life. Meet the new philosophy teacher, Merlí, who will help his students view the world in a whole new light, both in and out of the classroom.

Baby Reindeer poster
Baby Reindeer
2024 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 7.7dramaNetflix

One thread runs through both: friendship

The difference: Less wistful, more its own thing

When a struggling comedian shows one act of kindness to a vulnerable woman, it sparks a suffocating obsession which threatens to wreck both their lives.

Off Campus poster
Off Campus
2026– · 1 season · Prime Video
★ 7.8dramaPrime Video

A tutoring deal that melts into real feelings, written to swoon

The difference: Steamier college romance — none of the family or grief layers

Hannah Wells tutors hockey captain Garrett Graham to win over her crush. Their deal becomes real connection as they face their pasts. Friends Logan, Dean, Tucker, and Allie navigate college life and love.

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The best-reviewed series that share The Summer I Turned Pretty’s defining feeling.