Five years ago, Olivia Holt signed on to star in the Freefrom thriller series Cruel Summer, which was being executive produced by Jessica Biel. When the show premiered in 2021, it quickly became the most-watched show in Freeform history. It was renewed for a second season that took the anthology route with a different story, cast, and showrunner – and that season didn’t go over as well as its predecessor, so the show was cancelled in 2023. Now, Variety reports that Cruel Summer is coming back! Season 3 is now in development at Hulu and Freeform, with Holt on board to reprise the role of Kate Wallis from the first season.
When Holt was first cast as Kate Wallis, the character was described as “the embodiment of teenage perfection whose life is one to be envied until she mysteriously disappears.” The show itself was said to be an “unconventional thriller” that takes place over three summers — 1993-95 — in a small Texas town when a beautiful popular teen, Kate, is abducted and, seemingly unrelated, a girl, Jeanette, goes from being a sweet, awkward outlier to the most popular girl in town and, by ’95, the most despised person in America. Each episode is told from the POV of one of the two main girls, which will have the viewers’ loyalties constantly shifting as more information is revealed.
The pilot was written/executive produced by Bert V. Royal and directed/executive produced by Max Winkler – and when it was first filmed, Mika Abdalla played the role of Kate Wallis. Her scenes were reshot when Holt was cast. Iron Ocean Productions’ Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple executive produced the series and are back to executive produce season 3 alongside Holt and new showrunners Cori Uchida and Adam Lash. The project is set up at Lionsgate TV.
Variety notes that Uchida and Lash have previously written for shows like Parish, The Thing About Pam; Roswell, New Mexico; and Altered Carbon.
What do you think of Cruel Summer being revived for season 3, with Olivia Holt back as Kate Wallis? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
