Jenny Han on Hopeful Endings

Jenny Han is having trouble enjoying a vacation she rightfully earned. The Summer I Turned Pretty, her YA phenomenon adapted from her own books, has been dominating the Prime Video streaming charts since the series’ third and final season kicked off in July. In many heated corners of social media, debate over how the series’ Sept. 17 finale should play out — namely which brother the protagonist should end up with — suggests stakes akin to sides in a civil war. Having achieved that rare level of ubiquity, Han’s work should be done. But the novelist turned showrunner, who also made Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy, is too deeply invested in the viewer reactions to step away. “I spent the night on TikTok,” Han, 45, says during the Zoom that’s also interrupting her trip to Provence earlier in September. “I can’t sleep the night before an episode drops.”

Perhaps she’ll get some rest now. With Pretty signed off, the writer, director and power producer turns her attention to a feature project, a few series in development and perhaps another book. But first, she has some thoughts on endings.

How much do you know about the composition of your audience? This is technically YA, but I know a lot of people in their 30s and 40s who are watching every week.

I’ve been told it’s like half Millennial, half Gen Z and younger. Anecdotally, the audience feels very diverse. And with this season, the audience got much bigger in terms of reach. I’ll be scrolling my For You Page, and it’ll be women in college and then a 50-year-old man. I think people were curious.

Knowing how generationally split your audience is, does that change your approach to the material?

To me, the only real difference between stories for a YA audience and an adult one is a hopeful ending. You feel a certain measure of responsibility, as an adult telling a story for young people, that you’re not going to cause harm or leave them in a bleak place. Writing for adults, everyone’s a grown-up. If they feel sad or depressed at the end, they can sort that out for themselves. But for young people, they’re still forming. Hopeful endings are part of my DNA as a writer.

What does a hopeful ending mean to you?

Many different things. The end of Hunger Games is kind of bleak, but it’s still hopeful. They survive, yet they’re permanently scarred, damaged and traumatized by war. That’s realistic. So when I say hopeful, it doesn’t mean tied up with a bow. It also doesn’t mean depressing and devastating. (Laughs.)

You’ve talked a lot about how this season deviates from the books. How much debate was there — with Amazon, with your fellow writers — about what to change?

There were certain non-negotiables for me in terms of the things I wanted to keep [from the book]. But I’ve always been open throughout the process. I ask myself, “What do I think the audience needs to see?” Episode eight [of 11] is where the book ended in a way. You didn’t read the fallout of what it looks like to break up a wedding between these two families who’ve known each other their whole lives. Seeing Belly (Lola Tung) go to Paris, seeing her growth in that time and stepping into her own and testing herself, those things I knew I wanted [to add]. It was just is a matter of how to tell that, but I always knew the shape of it.

Shy of maybe Game of Thrones, I’ve never encountered the levels of secrecy over an episode of TV as I have with this finale. Is that Amazon or is it you?

I am very protective of the audience experience. I don’t like spoilers or leaks. I want people to receive a story as it’s intended and to be in suspense. I didn’t want anyone seeing it before the audience. Amazon was very helpful in letting me accomplish that. We had the top tier of security on set, the same as Rings of Power. We didn’t have paper scripts, and not everybody was even getting a script. There has to be an element of danger for the audience to think anything can happen.

There’s got to be desire to create tension for the book readers who assume they know what happens.

Exactly! Otherwise, what’s the point? I know for some people, it’s very anxiety-inducing — especially because they’re used to the binge. But to be having this kind of weekly experience is special. Would it be easier for me if it were all at once? Yes. The reaction can be intense, but then it’s over and people are on to the next. This is slower, so it’s painful for everybody. Yet exquisite.

No judgment, but you could probably make it less painful for yourself if you weren’t so online. I’ve seen some replies to negative comments about this season …

It rarely happens! (Laughs.) But [I did reply to certain comments] around the time of my birthday, so I guess I was in a spicy mood.

How do you approach the scrutiny part with your younger cast, who are new to fame? Amazon had to flag socials this season asking for a civil discourse, yet Gavin Casalegno, who plays Jeremiah, has gotten some vitriolic feedback.

We had a lot of conversations about it [in the beginning] just because I had been through the To All the Boys release. Lana Condor and I talked a lot through that process because it was intense for both of us — even for me, as an adult. I was an author, and I think the average American reads 1.7 books a year. I was used to having a relationship with my readers that was more intimate. My social media was much smaller. Now the challenge is wanting to write with the door closed, where you’re not thinking about what the response is going to be and to feel happy about it as a storyteller.

You said recently that you’re always scanning the horizon for danger. How does that mentality impact your approach to work?

It’s what makes me good at what I do. I’m constantly gaming out potential outcomes, always picturing a leaking ship and running around, stopping up holes before it fills with water. Does that drive me crazy? Sure. It’s something I work on in therapy. But in production, it’s helpful. I’m always checking for everything in my mind, like, “What’s the temperature of the pool? Are there warming tents?” You don’t want cold actors.

Do you have any take on the psychology at play here: Your lead, Belly (Tung), has to choose between Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Casalegno). Are there shared traits between the readers and viewers in either of these two very different camps?

I’ve noticed a lot of older siblings identify with Conrad. And my younger sister has been Team Jeremiah for a long time. Birth order is something I’ve definitely noticed [between the two]. Male viewers are totally split, but whichever team they are … they’re really die-hard. But this season has been rough for Jeremiah. The people who have stayed with him are really riding with him.

What do you mean by rough?

Each character has been put through the wringer at different moments and has had to do things that people didn’t like. The audience is going to be upset. Conrad had a lot of those moments in season one and two. Belly as well. This is Jeremiah’s turn to be messing up and doing things that are very human but challenging for viewers.

You directed for the first time this season. The episode in question was the first to really focus on Christopher’s character. Was that intentional or scheduling?

I knew we were going to do a Conrad POV episode. We did one for Jeremiah in season two and we were going to give Conrad his moment in season three. He is a very interior character, so I wanted to be the one to do it. I wanted to make sure that, visually, it really felt like a different perspective. I wanted everything about it to feel special. We were being afforded a glimpse into this character who’s been on a real journey to reveal parts of himself to people over the past few seasons.

Not to get woo-woo, but how has this experience shifted your own expectations for your career?

I feel satisfied to be at the finish line. I really tried my best. There’s nothing that I left out on the field, and I don’t have any regrets. That feels satisfying. To be allowed to finish it on my own terms is important, and I really appreciate that because I didn’t feel pressure from Amazon to keep going and squeeze out another season with this story. I was very clear about how I wanted it to go, and they respected that. In terms of what’s next, I think I’m in a rare position where I feel like I could do anything. It’s not about the money or even being number one because that’s already been fulfilled for. It’s about how I want to spend my time.

Are there more books in you? You haven’t published one since 2017.

Yes! I’ve been working on several different books over the course of the past 15 years that I’ll pick up and look at again. That’s such a different head space for me. I can’t sit there and have zooms in the middle of a day, so it’s going to be hard to get back into that place.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on a movie, an original idea, and I have a couple of shows in various stages of development.

You’ve implied you’re open to revisiting this series again down the line. Is that still true?

Yeah, if it excites me. I love the world. I love the cast and the people I work with, so it’s really all a matter of the right story and putting that story first. [Editor’s note: a letter from Han that appears during the closing credits of the series finale, “At Last,” further suggests she is open to a spin-off.]

Aside from being hopeful, what do you want viewers to take from the ending of this show?

I’d like for people to leave with a feeling that you can make mistakes but there’s always a path forward. Even if something is broken, that doesn’t mean, with time and work, that it can’t be fixed. Belly’s journey is for her to be able to have grace for herself and put aside some of the shame she has for decisions that she’s made. Be gentle with yourself.

There are many who think you’re breadcrumbing hints that the show isn’t actually ending.

This is the final season of the show. That is a fact.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty finale is now streaming on Prime Video.

This story appeared in the Sept. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.