Amazon Prime Video’s popular young-adult drama ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has returned with a bang. The show’s third season, which premiered on July 16, has registered an impressive 40 percent jump in viewership over its previous season, the streamer said.

Created by bestselling author Jenny Han and led by a young star cast including Lola Tung, Christopher Briney and Gavin Casalegno, the series clocked 25 million unique global viewers for its first two episodes within just one week of launch.

As per a press release shared by Prime Video, the show’s viewership has tripled since its debut season, cementing its growing global fanbase. Han, who also serves as the showrunner and executive producer, expressed her excitement on the massive response.

“Seeing how ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ has resonated with millions—how the story has sparked so many fan conversations, sent the books back on the bestseller lists, and inspired so many viewers’ reactions across social media—it’s everything I could have hoped for and more.

“I’m grateful we got to make all three seasons, one for each book, and grateful that audiences have been so passionately embracing the story I wanted to tell,” Han observed.

The show has emerged as one of Prime Video’s top performing titles, particularly among women aged 18-34, becoming one of the most-watched returning seasons on the platform. With a massive audience across more than 120 countries, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ was the No. 1 title on Prime Video globally during its debut week, and more than half of its viewership came from international territories.

Explaining the platform’s weekly release strategy, Vernon Sanders, Head of Television at Amazon MGM Studios, said, “Even though they’re craving every episode, we’re able to engage them in a longer conversation. The community that gets built by having that shared experience — it brings so much value to the service. We’ve used this model with shows like ‘The Boys’ and ‘Reacher’, and it works well for ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ too.”

In an effort to maintain a healthy fan environment, the show’s team had also released a pre-season statement urging viewers to be respectful toward the cast, separating fiction from reality. This pre-emptive measure was introduced considering the series’ passionate fandom, especially with book-to-screen adaptations often inviting strong, emotional reactions from audiences.

The current season brings new conflicts and emotional turmoil as Belly’s seemingly perfect summer with Jeremiah is disrupted by Conrad’s unexpected return, prompting a heart-wrenching journey of self-discovery and love. With adulthood knocking and old feelings resurfacing, Belly finds herself at a crossroads.

Season 3 continues under the creative leadership of Han and Sarah Kucserka and features a stellar ensemble cast including Sean Kaufman, Jackie Chung and Rachel Blanchard. Episodes are now streaming every Wednesday on Prime Video in India with availability in six languages — English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

The season finale is set to drop on September 17.