'Cruel Summer' Season 2: Everything to Know

Photo: Frank Ockenfels/Freeform

Freeform’s hit seriesCruel Summerwill look very different when it comes back for season 2.

The first season ofthe Jessica Biel-produced thriller seriespremiered in April 2021 and quickly gained a huge following for its innovative storytelling.

Set in the 1990s, season 1 takes place in three different time periods as itfollows the story of two teenage girls(Olivia Holt and Chiara Aurelia) after one goes missing.

Asthe season 1 finale ended with a major twist, viewers were eager for the story to continue in another season. Whilethe show did get renewed, it was announced that it will continue as an anthology series with a brand-new cast and plot.

However, it will keep the same innovative format of nonlinear storytelling that fans know and love.

“I know that nonlinear storytelling is such a big part of why this show is so fun and so we’re going to keep that,” Tia Napolitano, an executive producer on the series told PEOPLE in June 2021. “Part of the fun of season 1 was it was surprising so, we are hoping to surprise again.”

From the new stars to the time period, here’s everything to know aboutCruel Summerseason 2.

Who is in the cast ofCruel Summerseason 2?

Frank Ockenfels/Freeform

The new season will starThe Goldbergs' Sadie Stanley,Little Fires Everywhere’s Lexi Underwood andLocke & Key’s Griffin Gluck. Gluck will reunite with fellowPrivate Practicealums Paul Adelstein and KaDee Strickland, who played his father and stepmom on the ABC drama series. Lisa Yamada and Sean Blakemore round out the cast.

When isCruel Summerseason 2 set?

While season 1 was set in the 1990s, Freeform notes that the upcoming season will be set in “an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest” and take place in three different timelines surrounding Y2K.

What isCruel Summerseason 2 about?

Courtesy of Freeform

Per an official synopsis from Freefrom, the new season “tracks the early friendship between Megan (Stanley), Isabella (Underwood) and Megan’s best friend Luke (Gluck), the love triangle that blossomed, and the mystery that would impact all of their lives going forward.”

Speaking with PEOPLE at the show’s premiere in May, Biel teased that the central part of the story is the friendship between Megan and Isabella. “We are leaning into the female friendship in a very, very big, deep, profound way,” she teased. “We’re gonna watch these two young women become best friends and then get torn apart and maybe come back together again. That’s the foundation of the show.”

Is there a trailer forCruel Summerseason 2?

When willCruel Summerseason 2 be released?

In April, Freeform announced that the new season will be released on Monday, June 5, at 9:00 p.m. EDT with a special two-episode premiere on Freeform before moving to its regular 10 p.m. timeslot.

Where can you watchCruel Summerseason 2?

After the season 2 premiere on June 5, new episodes will air on Freeform at 10 p.m. on Monday nights. New episodes will also be available to stream on Hulu the next day.

source: people.com