Critically-Acclaimed Mystery Series Gets Rid of Entire Cast, Showrunner

By Allison Schonter

Freeform's critically-acclaimed mystery series Cruel Summer is undergoing a massive overhaul as it begins production on its second season. The network announced Thursday that after the show's breakout first season, Cruel Summer will return for a second season as an anthology series, the show saying goodbye to its Season 1 cast and showrunners and bringing on new talent.

Set in an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest, the second chapter will follow the rise and fall of an intense teenage friendship and will approach the story from three different timelines surrounding Y2K. Per the official synopsis, "the season twists and turns as it tracks the early friendship between Megan, Isabella and Megan's best friend Luke, the love triangle that blossomed, and the mystery that would impact all of their lives going forward." Sadie Stanley stars as Megan Landry, a computer coder and honor student from a blue-collar family who begins to live in the moment and embrace her true self when she meets Isabella, the daughter of foreign diplomats, who is spending a year as an exchange student with the Landry family who is portrayed by Eloise Payet. Griffin Gluck is set to star as Luke Chambers, Megan's lifelong best friend from a prominent family. KaDee Strickland, Lisa Yamada, Sean Blakemore, and Paul Adelstein also star.

Cruel Summer Season 2 is doing an overhaul of more than just its onscreen talent, though. Power Book IV: Force co-executive producer Elle Triedman will replace s Tia Napolitano as showrunner. Napolitano remains credited as an exec producer. A representative for the show told The Hollywood Reporter, "After getting season two of Cruel Summer up and running, Tia Napolitano has stepped back from the show, and as such, will no longer be serving as showrunner. Tia has been instrumental in the success of the show and will remain an executive producer."

Originally premiering back in August 2021, Cruel Summer Season 1 was set over the course of three summers in the '90s and followed Kate Wallis, a popular girl who went missing, and Jeanette Turner, the nerdy wannabe who is accused of being connected to Kate's disappearance. The cast included Olivia Holt, Chiara Aurelia, Michael Landes, Froy Gutierrez, Harley Quinn Smith, Allius Barnes, Blake Lee, and Brooklyn Sudano. According to sources, there was always some thought that the series would develop into an anthology, and the Season 1 cast was aware of this when they signed on. The sources claimed that "the cast was informed of the decision to reset the series with a new story as soon as a formal decision was made some time after the season one finale."

Cruel Summer has been a massive hit for Freeform, becoming Freeform's most-watched series in network history. Production on Season 2 kicked off Thursday. A premiere date has not yet been announced.

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