The Summer I Turned Pretty was a modest show with no expectations of becoming the breakout success it is today. However, the love triangle between Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah has since become part of a global pop culture phenomenon. Although the show doubled its audience in Season 2, behind-the-scenes salary negotiations have reportedly taken a problematic turn.
Movie deal forced upon ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ cast members?
Season 1 of the show on Amazon Prime Video was moderately successful, with viewership solid enough to warrant a renewal. However, Season 2 became a breakout moment for the series, with a huge jump in viewership and a massive spike in social media discourse. Therefore, ahead of Season 3, the cast members entered renegotiations with production company Wiip to demand a salary hike that reflected the show’s success.
Before the show blew up in popularity, the leads—Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, and Gavin Casalegno—were receiving $35K–$40K per episode. Upon renegotiation, that figure was reportedly bumped to around $100K per episode, with Tung, who plays the main lead, earning slightly more. However, here’s the catch: the actors reportedly had to agree to a movie deal as part of the negotiations. As per Deadline, the movie offer was met with resistance from some cast members, who were told they would not receive their salary hikes if they did not agree to the film.
Sources close to some of the actors told Deadline that they felt they were “forced” to accept the movie deal as part of the renegotiated contract and signed “under duress” in order to secure their raises. However, insiders close to the studio suggest that the actors signed their contracts without any major issues.
Notably, it is quite common for studios to lock actors into multi-project deals to maintain cost control, ensure cast retention, and avoid renegotiation complications. Reportedly, the actors’ representatives reached out to studio executives after the success of Season 3—which remained in Prime Video’s Top 10 for months—seeking higher compensation for the movie, but their requests were denied.
As per the contracts renegotiated after Season 2, the actors are set to be paid roughly the equivalent of three TV episodes for the film. Safe to say, the lead cast will not be receiving blockbuster-level film paydays, with the movie rates effectively locked in during earlier agreements.
Do you think the salary negotiations for The Summer I Turned Pretty cast were fair? Let us know in the comments below.
