Unlike so many other ill-fated stabs at the anthology format, the second season of Cruel Summer counts on some rather distinct storytelling techniques, including frequent jumps between three different timelines. Each period is separated by mere months yet signifies a huge shift in the lives of its protagonists—often with the help of unmistakable fashion makeovers and ostentatious color filters. The result is another kitschy season of the Bert V. Royal series that’s nevertheless rewarding for its ambitious, unpredictable thrills.
The show’s first timeline is set in the summer of 1999, with studious 17-year-old Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) dismayed at her mother Debbie’s (KaDee Strickland) decision to host exchange student Isabella Larue (Lexi Underwood), who was born in the United States but spent most of her life abroad. The new girl’s mysterious, globe-trotting history couldn’t be further removed from that of Megan, who’s from a...
The show’s first timeline is set in the summer of 1999, with studious 17-year-old Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) dismayed at her mother Debbie’s (KaDee Strickland) decision to host exchange student Isabella Larue (Lexi Underwood), who was born in the United States but spent most of her life abroad. The new girl’s mysterious, globe-trotting history couldn’t be further removed from that of Megan, who’s from a...
- 6/2/2023
- by Steven Scaife
- Slant Magazine
This story about the docuseries “Stolen Youth” originally ran in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
In 2019, a tight close-up of a middle-aged man’s chubby face dominated the cover of New York magazine. His eyes stared gently — though with absolute power — right at us. The article inside described the shocking story of Larry Ray, who moved into his daughter’s dorm building at Sarah Lawrence College and proceeded to systematically brainwash several students into a forced-labor and sex-trafficking cult.
The whole saga is told in “Stolen Youth,” a three-episode Hulu series that examines the sordid details of the Ray case. He was convicted on 15 criminal counts in 2022. But the show also offers an empathetic platform for his victims, some still in the throes of Ray’s mind control. Oscar-nominated director Zachary Heinzerling (“Cutie and the Boxer”) talked about his approach to this complex, tangled web.
“Stolen Youth...
In 2019, a tight close-up of a middle-aged man’s chubby face dominated the cover of New York magazine. His eyes stared gently — though with absolute power — right at us. The article inside described the shocking story of Larry Ray, who moved into his daughter’s dorm building at Sarah Lawrence College and proceeded to systematically brainwash several students into a forced-labor and sex-trafficking cult.
The whole saga is told in “Stolen Youth,” a three-episode Hulu series that examines the sordid details of the Ray case. He was convicted on 15 criminal counts in 2022. But the show also offers an empathetic platform for his victims, some still in the throes of Ray’s mind control. Oscar-nominated director Zachary Heinzerling (“Cutie and the Boxer”) talked about his approach to this complex, tangled web.
“Stolen Youth...
- 6/1/2023
- by Joe McGovern
- The Wrap
"Cruel Summer" Season 2 Is Full of Twists and Turns: "[Fans Will] Be Really Surprised by the Ending"
Nothing is quite as it seems in season two of "Cruel Summer." Freeform's breakout anthology series officially returns this summer with a new mystery and a fresh cast led by "Little Fires Everywhere" star Lexi Underwood, Disney's Sadie Stanley, and "Locke & Key"'s Griffin Gluck. Set in a small Pacific Northwest town, the second installment centers on a complicated love triangle between friends Megan Landry (Stanley), Isabella Larue (Underwood), and Luke Chambers (Gluck) and a mysterious incident that changes their lives forever.
"I don't want to spoil anything, but the mystery is going to be very hard to move on from," Stanley tells Popsugar. "The events that happen are life-changing. The stakes are really high this season." Though it follows a completely new storyline, similar to the first season, the second chapter is told through three different timelines surrounding Y2K, which is part of what drew Stanley...
"I don't want to spoil anything, but the mystery is going to be very hard to move on from," Stanley tells Popsugar. "The events that happen are life-changing. The stakes are really high this season." Though it follows a completely new storyline, similar to the first season, the second chapter is told through three different timelines surrounding Y2K, which is part of what drew Stanley...
- 5/29/2023
- by Monica Sisavat
- Popsugar.com
In season two of Freeform’s murder-mystery anthology hit Cruel Summer, Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) has big plans. It’s a sentiment that Stanley understands well.
“[Megan’s] kind of had to grow up pretty fast, so I can relate to aspects of that,” says Stanley, 21, who moved to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue acting. In the show, Megan is a computer coder and straight-a student, raised by a single mom in a small town. “She’s going through some really rough things. Her whole life and all of her plans for her life are really falling apart.”
While season one was set in the ’90s, season two (premiering June 5) is set amid the backdrop of Y2K in a waterfront Pacific Northwest town. The story revolves around the friendship between Megan and new girl in town Isabella (Lexi Underwood), the love triangle that comes between them and the tragic mystery that changes their lives forever.
“[Megan’s] kind of had to grow up pretty fast, so I can relate to aspects of that,” says Stanley, 21, who moved to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue acting. In the show, Megan is a computer coder and straight-a student, raised by a single mom in a small town. “She’s going through some really rough things. Her whole life and all of her plans for her life are really falling apart.”
While season one was set in the ’90s, season two (premiering June 5) is set amid the backdrop of Y2K in a waterfront Pacific Northwest town. The story revolves around the friendship between Megan and new girl in town Isabella (Lexi Underwood), the love triangle that comes between them and the tragic mystery that changes their lives forever.
- 5/26/2023
- by Sydney Odman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Movies about possession and exorcism must scratch a very particular itch for American viewers. Going back to the mother of that horror subgenre, "The Exorcist," you can see one of the biggest box office hits of 1973, and in the fifty years since, many movies have played with that premise. A filmmaker can do it relatively cheaply, often just needing to rely on fearless performers willing to contort themselves and speak in tongues. And seeing an ordered world enter total disarray is what horror is all about.
William Brent Bell's 2012 film "The Devil Inside" took that to heart, dealing with the threat of possession through a mockumentary, found-footage lens. In the movie's universe, it's a documentary about Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) as she investigates her mother, particularly the grisly murders she committed when Isabella was a child. The mockumentary takes the form not just of a horror movie, but of an expose,...
William Brent Bell's 2012 film "The Devil Inside" took that to heart, dealing with the threat of possession through a mockumentary, found-footage lens. In the movie's universe, it's a documentary about Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) as she investigates her mother, particularly the grisly murders she committed when Isabella was a child. The mockumentary takes the form not just of a horror movie, but of an expose,...
- 5/26/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Freeform’s coming-of-age drama Cruel Summer will finally return for season two on June 5, 2023 with episode one, “Welcome to Chatham.” New season two episodes will air on Mondays at 9pm Et/Pt.
Season two of the anthology series created by Bert V. Royal stars Sadie Stanley as Megan Landry, Lexi Underwood as Isabella Larue, Griffin Gluck as Luke Chambers, KaDee Strickland as Debbie, Lisa Yamada as Parker, and Sean Blakemore as Sheriff Myer. Paul Adelstein and Braeden De La Garza appear in recurring roles.
“Welcome to Chatham” Plot: In Summer 1999, small-town computer genius Megan resents the arrival of outgoing and mysterious foreign exchange student Isabella. Little does she know how her life will change by Summer 2000.
Griffin Gluck, Sadie Stanley, and Lexi Underwood in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 1 (Freeform/Justine Yeung)
The Season 2 Plot, Courtesy of Freeform:
Set in an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest, the next chapter...
Season two of the anthology series created by Bert V. Royal stars Sadie Stanley as Megan Landry, Lexi Underwood as Isabella Larue, Griffin Gluck as Luke Chambers, KaDee Strickland as Debbie, Lisa Yamada as Parker, and Sean Blakemore as Sheriff Myer. Paul Adelstein and Braeden De La Garza appear in recurring roles.
“Welcome to Chatham” Plot: In Summer 1999, small-town computer genius Megan resents the arrival of outgoing and mysterious foreign exchange student Isabella. Little does she know how her life will change by Summer 2000.
Griffin Gluck, Sadie Stanley, and Lexi Underwood in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 1 (Freeform/Justine Yeung)
The Season 2 Plot, Courtesy of Freeform:
Set in an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest, the next chapter...
- 5/25/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Italian film legend Isabella Rossellini took a break from the tour of her one-woman theater show Darwin’s Smile, to attend this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where she’s among the stars of La Chimera, the highly anticipated new film from Alice Rohrwacher.
The young Italian director, hot off her Oscar nomination in the best live-action short category for The Pupils, has been a Cannes favorite since her 2014 feature The Wonders took the festival Grand Prix. Her 2018 follow-up Happy as Lazzaro won the best screenplay honor.
In the new film, Rossellini plays the mother of the dead lover of Arthur, a black-market archaeologist, played by The Crown star Josh O’Connor, switching between English and Italian throughout the film.
THR Roma caught up with Rossellini ahead of the film’s Cannes premiere to discuss the film, her connection and how she and Rohrwacher (the daughter of a beekeeper) bonded over...
The young Italian director, hot off her Oscar nomination in the best live-action short category for The Pupils, has been a Cannes favorite since her 2014 feature The Wonders took the festival Grand Prix. Her 2018 follow-up Happy as Lazzaro won the best screenplay honor.
In the new film, Rossellini plays the mother of the dead lover of Arthur, a black-market archaeologist, played by The Crown star Josh O’Connor, switching between English and Italian throughout the film.
THR Roma caught up with Rossellini ahead of the film’s Cannes premiere to discuss the film, her connection and how she and Rohrwacher (the daughter of a beekeeper) bonded over...
- 5/25/2023
- by Antonio Monda
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Settle in because Blacklisters are not coming as fast as we'd like.
The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 12 filled that gap by letting us in on how Dembe met Isabella and what his dedication to Raymond cost him over the years.
The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 13 also tried to fill that gap by revisiting Meera's past, showing a decision she made that cost a man his life.
Spoilers for The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 14 tease a slight deviation from the current pattern of revisiting the past as the Task Force investigates a certain missing person while Siya digs into her mother's past.
Even though it shouldn't have, discovering that Meera was not her biological mother upset Siya's worldview to a great extent.
In her books, that was something major for someone to hide. What else could she be hiding if she could hide something that big?
But sometimes, omission is necessary, especially to protect someone.
The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 12 filled that gap by letting us in on how Dembe met Isabella and what his dedication to Raymond cost him over the years.
The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 13 also tried to fill that gap by revisiting Meera's past, showing a decision she made that cost a man his life.
Spoilers for The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 14 tease a slight deviation from the current pattern of revisiting the past as the Task Force investigates a certain missing person while Siya digs into her mother's past.
Even though it shouldn't have, discovering that Meera was not her biological mother upset Siya's worldview to a great extent.
In her books, that was something major for someone to hide. What else could she be hiding if she could hide something that big?
But sometimes, omission is necessary, especially to protect someone.
- 5/24/2023
- by Denis Kimathi
- TVfanatic
Summer is all about getting one’s cover story straight in a newly released trailer for Season 2 of the Freeform anthology series Cruel Summer, premiering Monday, June 5 at 9/8c with two back-to-back episodes, before moving to its regular 10 pm timeslot the following week.
The upcoming installment of the psychological drama features a fresh mystery and an all-new cast, led by Sadie Stanley (The Goldbergs), Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) and Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key, Private Practice).
More from TVLineCruel Summer Season 2: EPs Explain Why They Went Anthology Route, Tease Easter Egg Connection to Season 1Good Trouble's Cierra Ramirez...
The upcoming installment of the psychological drama features a fresh mystery and an all-new cast, led by Sadie Stanley (The Goldbergs), Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) and Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key, Private Practice).
More from TVLineCruel Summer Season 2: EPs Explain Why They Went Anthology Route, Tease Easter Egg Connection to Season 1Good Trouble's Cierra Ramirez...
- 5/8/2023
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
It will once again feel like a Cruel Summer on Freeform this, well, summer.
Season 2 of the anthology series will premiere Monday, June 5 at 9/8c with two back-to-back episodes, before moving to its regular 10 pm timeslot the following week, Freeform announced on Monday.
More from TVLineCruel Summer Season 2: EPs Explain Why They Went Anthology Route, Tease Easter Egg Connection to Season 1Good Trouble's Cierra Ramirez Talks Mariana's Heavy Storyline: 'If You Think This Season Was Emotional, Just Wait!'Cruel Summer Season 2 Trailer Introduces Deadly New Mystery and Complicated Love Triangle
The upcoming installment of the psychological...
Season 2 of the anthology series will premiere Monday, June 5 at 9/8c with two back-to-back episodes, before moving to its regular 10 pm timeslot the following week, Freeform announced on Monday.
More from TVLineCruel Summer Season 2: EPs Explain Why They Went Anthology Route, Tease Easter Egg Connection to Season 1Good Trouble's Cierra Ramirez Talks Mariana's Heavy Storyline: 'If You Think This Season Was Emotional, Just Wait!'Cruel Summer Season 2 Trailer Introduces Deadly New Mystery and Complicated Love Triangle
The upcoming installment of the psychological...
- 4/17/2023
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
Cruel Summer is officially going the anthology route: Season 2 of the Freeform psychological drama will feature a different mystery that will include a new cast and showrunner.
Sadie Stanley (The Goldbergs), newcomer Eloise Payet Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) and Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key, Private Practice) will lead the series, with KaDee Strickland (Private Practice), Lisa Yamada (Little Fires Everywhere) and Sean Blakemore (General Hospital, Greenleaf) rounding out the ensemble. Additionally, Paul Adelstein (Private Practice) will recur, reuniting him with Strickland and Gluck, who played his wife and son on Private Practice.
More from TVLineCruel Summer Boss Talks Finale's Twist Ending,...
Sadie Stanley (The Goldbergs), newcomer Eloise Payet Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) and Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key, Private Practice) will lead the series, with KaDee Strickland (Private Practice), Lisa Yamada (Little Fires Everywhere) and Sean Blakemore (General Hospital, Greenleaf) rounding out the ensemble. Additionally, Paul Adelstein (Private Practice) will recur, reuniting him with Strickland and Gluck, who played his wife and son on Private Practice.
More from TVLineCruel Summer Boss Talks Finale's Twist Ending,...
- 4/21/2022
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
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