Amazon Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty is officially back for season 2! The first season of the hit show—which, btw, is based on the best-selling Jenny Han trilogy—saw Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) navigate the messy complex love triangle she found herself in with brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) Fisher, the two boys she’s spent pretty much every single summer with in the fictional town of Cousins Beach.
Though Cousins is said to have been inspired by the Cape Cod area, in real life, a majority of the stunning beach town scenes were filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. Often referred to as the “Hollywood East” or “Wilmywood,” the city has been the setting for a whole host of other teen dramas, like Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill, and even blockbuster hits such as Iron Man 3 and the fifth Scream movie.
According to the Associated Press, prior to filming season 1, many of the actors spent tons of time in the area in order to familiarize themselves with the setting. “We got used to being in Wilmington, we got used to being together and were able to form this bond that was similar to the bond with your childhood friends and that we needed to have for the show,” Lola told the publication.
‘Kay, now that we know a bit about the general location’s ~vibe~, let’s get into the specifics of The Summer I Turned Pretty filming locations from all of your favorite scenes, including the country club in season 1 and *that* beach scene.
Cousins Beach
Interestingly enough, in The Summer I Turned Pretty series, Cousins Beach was written to be in the Cape Cod area. However, when it comes to the show and where all the scenes on the beach town were actually filmed, that’s a different story. IRL, those came to life all around Wilmington, North Carolina and its surrounding beaches, including Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach. The more you know!
Even the “Entering Cousins Beach” sign that’s welcomes you into the fictional town was placed in Southport, North Carolina. More specifically, near the Wilmington Cape Fear Pilots Association’s old lookout tower, according to People. Per the outlet, this area in particular has been used to shoot tons of films and TV shows including Safe Haven, Under the Dome, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. So, yeah, you could say it’s pretty iconic.
Oh, and if you’re wondering where the beach shots were captured—including *that* snowy nighttime scene in season 2—, that would be at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area in New Hanover County, North Carolina.
The Fisher Family’s Beach House
Gorgeous, gorgeous girls stay in gorgeous, gorgeous beach houses for the summer, and our girl Belly is no exception. Enter: The Fisher fam’s stunning home, which is actually located at Porters Neck Plantation in Wilmington. According to its website (yes, it has a website lol), it is:
“A private, gated golf course community offering an appealing blend of friendly, traditional neighborhoods and modern amenities. From the grand entrance to elegant houses lining manicured streets to the handsome Colonial-style Clubhouse, Porters Neck Plantation is a golf course community that borrows from the Low Country’s sense of tradition and history. Once you drive through the private gates, you will quickly realize the community’s dedication to preserving the natural canvas of the North Carolina coast and why it is one of the highly desirable Wilmington NC gate communities.”
‘Kay, personally I have no notes for the copywriter, so let’s move on! Though the home was the location for many exterior shots on the show, pretty much all of the interior shots were filmed on sound stages at Screen Gems Studio, which is also in Wilmington (per People).
“It’s a summer sanctuary for the two families,” season 1 set decorator Beth Robinson dished to House Beautiful. “The rooms are large and well curated throughout. It isn’t pretentious but rather warm and welcoming. It is the kind of place where you can walk in from the beach and put your sandy feet on the coffee table.”
The Country Club
Let’s take it back to the country club in season 1, which was beyond important for two reasons: (1) It was where Jeremiah and Belly’s brother Steven worked, and (2) Belly attended tons of classes and rehearsals in anticipation of her debutante ball there. IRL, all of these moments were captured at Cape Fear Country Club, but the actual debutante ball itself was filmed inside St. Mary Catholic School—the oldest private club in North Carolina founded in 1896—in Wilmington.
Rosie’s
A personal fave in my book, this pie stand—where Belly and Jeremiah briefly visit during their road trip en route to find out wherever the heck Conrad went missing—was filmed at Old River Farms in Burgaw, North Carolina. Ngl, I may or may not have been drooling at the blueberry pie Belly got during her pit stop there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Brown University
Tricky trivia! Though we’d love to tell you that the cast and crew shot the Brown University scenes at….well, at Brown, turns out they were actually filmed at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “It just had that feel that Jenny was looking for,” an insider told People. Apparently, the crew even considered filming at the author’s alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but “with COVID and timing it just didn’t work out.”
Belly’s Prom
This emotional scene in season 2 was reportedly filmed at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington. Yes, it was S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G. No, I do not need to relive the moments that occurred there.
The Boardwalk
Love the friendly competition that goes down here as Belly, Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, Taylor, Conrad, and Jeremiah’s cousin Skye all head to the boardwalk to play games and go on reaaaaaally scary roller coasters.
All of these magical/terrifying moments were captured in two places: the Carolina Beach Boardwalk for the exterior shots and Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park for the interior shots.
Hell’s Kitchen
No, we don’t mean the neighborhood in New York City lol. The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Hell’s Kitchen is actually located in downtown Wilmington and is famous in its own right, since it was used as the bar where Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) and Eddie Doling (Oliver Hudson) worked at in season 6 of Dawson’s Creek.
Assistant news editor
Gretty Garcia is the assistant news editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers all things news, entertainment, and pop culture. Before joining Cosmo, Gretty was a social strategist for Mrs. Dow Jones and a features and special projects editor at Editorialist. She holds an MS from the Columbia Journalism School and studied art history at Harvard College.