Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fitfully charming romance has language, familiar feel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Every Year After
What's the Story?
Based on the novel Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, EVERY YEAR AFTER takes place on two timelines: In 2011, when 13-year-old Percy (Juliette Hawk) came to the small lakeside town Barry's Bay for the first time, and met and struck sparks with her same-aged neighbor Sam (Blue Clarke). Their romance plays out over several summers, but when the pair are 18, a schism forms between them and Percy left Barry's Bay to make a new life for herself in Seattle, writing obituaries for a city newspaper. Now adult Percy (Sadie Soverall) has been contacted by Sam's older brother Charlie (Michael Bradway): the brothers' mom Sue (Elisha Cuthbert) has passed away, and Percy must return to Barry's Bay and confront both her memories and grown-up Sam (Matt Cornett).
Is It Any Good?
This book-turned-TV adaptation has some charm but an overly familiar plotline; viewers' judgment may hinge on how many romance narratives they've consumed, the better to spot the tropes. Sweet before sour: The best parts of Every Year After are the flashbacks to the early 2010s when young teen Percy meets young Sam and youthful romance blossoms against a stunning lakes-and-mountains vacation paradise backdrop. Hawk and Clarke have a sweetness and feel genuine and tentative; their growing connection and the stutters and shy touches invite swoons and will remind many of immersive romances like The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Things take a turn when we spend time with the adult Percy and Sam, who lack chemistry and primarily come off as characters written in order to service a plot. It has been 10 years—10 years in which these two main characters have matured from children to adults, and they're still so hung up on each other that they have multiple flashback montages of their special moments set to the longing, lilting tones of Mumford & Sons? Yes, yes, Percy did Something Terrible, something so terrible that she's positively haunted with regrets a solid decade later. It feels soap-ish, and, as we mentioned before, trope-ish, and as nothing much happens while characters moon around having conversations in rooms, viewers may be bored enough to notice details like, what happened to Percy's parents? And, why wouldn't a busy bar-restaurant have a commercial dishwasher? Swept off our feet, we're not.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why romance is an enduring staple of television dramas. What's interesting about watching characters fall in love? Why do so many shows and movies focus on the beginning of love rather than relationships that are more established?
When we see Percy at her youngest age, she's played by Juliette Hawk. By the end of the "flashback" period, she's played as age 18 by Sadie Soverall, who also portrays Percy at age 28. Does Soverall look 28? Does she look 18? Does either portrayal distract from the flow of the show?
Romances are often set in scenic locations. Why? How would a romance change if it were set in a dismal or ugly location like a run-down office building or a dirty apartment?
TV Details
- Premiere date : June 10, 2026
- Cast : Sadie Soverall , Matt Cornett , Michael Bradway
- Network : Amazon Prime
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Book Characters
- TV rating :
- Last updated : June 10, 2026
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