Perhaps it’s not the end of the road for “Cruel Summer.”
Hulu and Freeform are in the midst of developing a third season of “Cruel Summer,” which would see Season 1 star Olivia Holt return to the mystery series, according to media reports. If greenlit, Holt would reprise her role as Kate Wallis, who starred opposite Chiara Aurelia’s Jeanette Turner in the first installment of the show.
Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple would return as executive producers via Iron Ocean, while Cori Uchida and Adam Lash have been tapped as showrunners and executive producers. The project hails from Lionsgate TV.
Representatives for Disney and Lionsgate TV declined to comment on this story.
The news marks a potential series revival for “Cruel Summer,” after Freeform canceled the show after two seasons in December 2023, alongside “The Fosters” spinoff series “Good Trouble,” and would reverse the show’s anthology format.
Seasons 1 and 2 of “Cruel Summer” both followed mysteries surrounding two teenage girls in the ’90s, which unraveled in three different semi-distant timelines. Season 1 centered on the twisted relationship between Kate and Jeanette when Kate disappears without a trace, while Season 2 starred Sadie Stanley and Lexi Underwood as best friends whose ride-or-die bond is disrupted by a tragedy involving their friend and romantic interest.
Since starring in “Cruel Summer” Season 1 in 2021, Holt has starred in the horror films “Totally Killer” and “Heart Eyes,” and appeared in Peacock comedy series “Laid.” Her other credits include “Runaways,” “Cloak & Dagger,” “Status Update” and “Same Kind of Different as Me.”
When Freeform canceled “Cruel Summer” and “Good Trouble” in December 2023, it marked a shift away from the scripted YA programming typically found at the Disney-owned cable network, with Freeform subsequently pursuing reality and docuseries to maintain their audience of young women, including the recent “Project Runway” revival. If the revival gets picked up to series, it would potentially open the door for more scripted content for Freeform.
