''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is an American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

horror television series based on the 1973 novel of the same name by

Lois Duncan Lois Duncan Steinmetz (April 28, 1934 – June 15, 2016), known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist. She is best known for her young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pioneering figure in t ...

. It was adapted for Amazon Prime Video by Sara Goodman and is produced by

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

and

Sony Pictures Television Studios Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

, in association with

Original Film Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. History Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal ...

Mandalay Television Mandalay Television is a television production company, founded in 1995, which is part of producer and businessman Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment. History The television unit was founded at the same time as the parent studio Mandalay Ent ...

and

Atomic Monster Productions Atomic Monster is an American film and television production company, founded in 2014 by James Wan. The company is known for producing films in ''The Conjuring'' Universe, '' Lights Out'', ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Malignant'' and '' M3GAN''. Overvi ...

. Part of the franchise of the same name, the series is a modern take on the original novel and follows a group of friends stalked by a brutal killer one year after covering up a car accident in which they killed someone. It features a cast led by

Madison Iseman Madison Iseman (born February 14, 1997) is an American actress. She is known for playing Charlotte in the CMT comedy television series '' Still the King'', She is also known for playing Rain Burroughs in '' Fear of Rain'', Bethany Walker in '' J ...

, Brianne Tju, Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore, and Sebastian Amoruso, and also stars Bill Heck, Fiona Rene, Cassie Beck, and Brooke Bloom.

announced the series's development in 2019, with Neal H. Moritz and

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the '' Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjur ...

serving as executive producers. It was given a straight-to-series order in October 2020. Filming took place in

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

and began in January 2021. The first four episodes premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 15, 2021, to mixed reviews, with the remaining episodes debuting on a weekly basis. In January 2022, the series was canceled after one season.

Cast and characters

Main

as Allison, Lennon's "good, weird, boring" twin sister with whom she has a rivalry. She is part of what happened last summer. ** Iseman also portrays Lennon, Allison's "partying, popular and sexual" twin sister * Bill Heck as Bruce, Allison and Lennon's father, who hides a secret from them. He owns Ohana Restaurant and Lodging and knows what happened last summer. * Brianne Tju as Margot, the millionaire and best friend of Johnny and Lennon, although she is attracted to her. She is part of what happened last summer. * Ezekiel Goodman as Dylan, Allison's love interest and Riley's best friend. He is part of what happened last summer. * Ashley Moore as Riley, Lennon's friend and drug dealer and Dylan's best friend. She is part of what happened last summer. * Sebastian Amoruso as Johnny, Margot's gay best friend who has a special connection with Allison. He is part of what happened last summer. * Fiona Rene as Lyla, a police officer who carries out the investigation of the murders and is connected to Bruce * Cassie Beck as Courtney, Riley's mother, a somewhat violent woman who works at Ohana Restaurant and Lodging * Brooke Bloom as Clara, a mysterious woman who seems to have a connection with the twins' mother. She knows what happened last summer.

Recurring

Sonya Balmores Sonya Balmores (born June 23, 1986) is an American actress, model, and surfer from Kalaheo, Hawaii who also competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant. Early life and education Balmores was born to a Filipino father and a mother of Irish and Native ...

as Mei, Margot's mother who encourages her to be an influencer * Danielle Delaunay as Hannah, Dylan's hippie-ish mother *

Chrissie Fit Chrissie Fit (born April 3, 1984) is an American actress. In 2007, Fit rose to prominence after she was cast as the character Mercedes Juarez in the medical drama, ''General Hospital''. She also played the roles of CheeChee in the DCOMs ''Teen Be ...

as Kelly, Eric's ex-wife *

Victoria Schmidt Victoria Schmidt is a New Zealand theater, film and television actress. She is most known for her role as ''Aaliyah'' in '' Sione's Wedding'' (2006). She is also a playwright. Biography Schmidt was born and raised in South Auckland, New Zealand ...

as Ulani Kalama, a police officer who works with Lyla In addition,

Spencer Sutherland Spencer Sutherland is an American indie pop singer, songwriter, and actor from Pickerington, Ohio, United States. In June 2017, he was picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month appearing on NBC's ''Today'' show with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee G ...

co-stars as Dale, a young man from the village who saw Lennon's group the night of the event.

Episodes

Production

On July 26, 2019, it was announced that

would develop a television series based on the 1973 novel ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' by

, with Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty of

serving as executive producers and

Shay Hatten Shay Hatten (born March 1993/1994) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his work on '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' (2019), ''Army of the Dead'' and ''Army of Thieves'' (both 2021). Early life Hatten was born ...

writing the plot. On October 14, 2020, Amazon gave the project a series order, and it was announced that Sara Goodman had replaced Hatten as series writer. It was also announced that Goodman and Hatten would serve as executive producers on the series, alongside

Erik Feig Erik Feig is an American film executive and producer. In May 2019, Feig launched Picturestart with backing from Warner Bros., Endeavor Content, and Bron Studios and access to Scholastic Corporation's IP. He served as co-president of the Lion ...

of Original Film and Rob Hackett, Michael Clear, and

of Atomic Monster. On December 9, 2020, Craig William Macneill was announced as the director of the pilot as well as an executive producer. On January 11, 2021,

, Brianne Tju, Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore, Sebastian Amoruso, Fiona Rene, Cassie Beck, Brooke Bloom, and Bill Heck were cast in starring roles. Later than month,

was cast in a recurring role. In the following two months, Spencer Sutherland and

also joined the cast in a recurring capacity. The series began filming on January 25, 2021, on

. A soundtrack album for ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' was released on October 15, 2021, by

Madison Gate Records Madison Gate Records, Inc. is an American record label owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment that specializes in soundtracks and other recordings derived from films, television programs, and other entertainment media. History Madison Gate Records ...

, featuring original music by composers Drum & Lace and

Ian Hultquist Ian Hultquist is an American composer and musician. Hultquist is best known for his score for '' The Diabolical'' and for being a founding member of the band Passion Pit. He is also known for his works on movies such as '' Mommy Dead and Dear ...

. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on the same date, with the first four episodes available immediately and the rest subsequently debuting on a weekly basis. On January 7, 2022, Amazon Prime Video canceled the series after one season.

Reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports a 41% approval rating with an average rating of 5.3/10, based on 44 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A bloodless slasher that fails to congeal, ''I Know What You Did Last Summer''s killer cast can't make up for the show's many plot holes and unsatisfying twists."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 45 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Meagan Navarro, writing for '' Bloody Disgusting'', gave the series three out of five stars. Navarro wrote, "Fantastic deaths and a gripping murder mystery pull you in, even when its mostly unlikeable leads tend to polarize", adding, "The more the series progresses, the murkier things get. It succeeds wholly in ensuring an unpredictable mystery that continues to surprise. When you think you've nailed a reveal, the series makes a shocking left turn", and concluded writing that "They may not engender themselves well to the viewer, but the slow trickle truth of who they are and their many secrets makes for a propulsive watch all the same." Daniel Fienberg, writing for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'', said that, unlike the films, the then-teenagers are users of Instagram, and that "it is only somewhat about Instagram, on a purely practical level, but it takes the myopia exhibited in previous versions of the story to an extreme". He added that while a "new take absolutely has an angle all its own, and a justification for retelling this story", it is "mediocre", and concluded saying there is something "amusingly subversive" about the "kills" that define the genre. Aedan Juvet of '' Screen Rant'' praised the adaptation and its use of "next-gen scream queen" Tju, writing that the actor "bring laughs, screams, and sheer perfection to her role as the series' all-important character".

References

External links

* {{Amazon Video original series I Know What You Did Last Summer (franchise) 2021 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings 2020s American teen drama television series 2020s American horror television series 2020s American mystery television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series American horror fiction television series American thriller television series Bisexuality-related television series Horror drama television series English-language television shows Amazon Prime Video original programming Television series by Amazon Studios Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows based on American novels Serial killers in television Murder in television Television shows about death Television series about teenagers Television series about sisters Television series about twins Identity theft in popular culture Works about stalking Television shows filmed in Hawaii Television shows set in Hawaii