Cruel Summer season 2 promises to deliver more of the same friendships and betrayals found in its predecessor, but with an altered timeline and new points of view. While some returning actors appear, most are new faces in the cast.
Sadie Stanley from The Goldbergs and Lexi Underwood from Little Fires Everywhere star alongside Griffin Gluck, KaDee Strickland, Lisa Yamada, Sean Blakemore and Paul Adelstein who plays Luke’s powerful father.
| Character | Actor | Role in Season 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Sadie Stanley | Megan Landry | Main character, computer genius |
| Lexi Underwood | Isabella LaRue | Exchange student, close friend of Megan |
| Griffin Gluck | Luke Chambers | Megan’s best friend |
| KaDee Strickland | Debbie | Role in season yet to be revealed |
| Lisa Yamada | Parker | Role in season yet to be revealed |
| Sean Blakemore | Unspecified | Role in season yet to be revealed |
| Paul Adelstein | Luke’s powerful father | Recurring character in Season 2 |
| Braeden De La Garza | Unspecified | Recurring character in Season 2 |
| Elle Triedman | Showrunner | Takes over as showrunner for Season 2 |
| Bert V Royal | Former Showrunner | Stepped down as showrunner for Season 2 |
Sadie Stanley
After an impressive debut season on Freeform’s Cruel Summer, season two promises even greater promise with new characters and mysteries to unravel. It focuses on an intense teenage friendship in an idyllic waterfront town and three timelines surrounding Y2K.
Sadie Stanley plays Megan Landry, an insular small-town computer genius who finds herself at odds with outgoing exchange student Isabella LaRue when an unexpected love triangle forms between them. Lexi Underwood stars as Isabella, while Griffin Gluck plays Luke Chambers; KaDee Strickland as Debbie; Lisa Yamada as Parker and Sean Blakemore, reprise their roles; Paul Adelstein and Braeden De La Garza also make appearances throughout.
Sadie Stanley (The Goldbergs, Kim Possible) and Lexi Underwood are two seasoned actresses while Griffin Gluck (Little Fires Everywhere, Locke & Key) is a well-known TV actor.
Lexi Underwood
After Freeform’s inaugural season of Cruel Summer ended with an unexpected shocker, they have come up with a new storyline this time around. Freeform will return to an idyllic waterfront town while exploring how intense teenage friendships change through different timelines leading up to and post Y2K.
Sadie Stanley returns as Megan Landry, an innovative teenager whose family takes in exchange student Isabella LaRue from Poland. Though initially the two teens couldn’t be any more dissimilar, viewers will soon witness how quickly their friendship blossoms over time.
Lexi Underwood will portray Isabella, with Griffin Gluck playing Megan’s best friend Luke Chambers; both actors have previously appeared in shows such as The Goldbergs and Tall Girl respectively. KaDee Strickland and Lisa Yamada will recur on this series as well.
Griffin Gluck
Cruel Summer returns for its second season, featuring newcomers. Freeform recently revealed that Sadie Stanley (Kim Possible, The Goldbergs) and Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) would reprise their roles as Megan Landry and Isabella LaRue – two close friends who find themselves drawn into an unexpected love triangle before facing an ever-evolving mystery that alters their lives forever.
The show takes place in a sleepy waterfront town and explores three timelines around Y2K. It follows Megan, Isabella and Luke – three friends in early friendship with one another as well as their complex love triangle and an unknown factor that would alter all their lives moving forward.
Griffin Gluck (Tall Girl, Locke & Key) and KaDee Strickland (American Gangster) will return as regular cast members, along with Paul Adelstein and Braeden de la Garza as recurring characters. Elle Triedman will serve as showrunner this season after taking over for Tia Napolitano.
Kadee Strickland
After receiving critical acclaim for its season one finale, Freeform’s Cruel Summer has been renewed for another season as an anthology series with new cast and storylines.
The series will return to a waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest and focus on three timelines surrounding Y2K. Starring Sadie Stanley, Eloise Payet, Lexi Underwood Griffin Gluck KaDee Strickland Lisa Yamada Sean Blakemore Paul Adelstein will recur throughout.
Fans of the first season will be pleased to know that many of their beloved characters from Season One will return, with some notable differences: Bert V Royal has stepped down as showrunner, while Elle Triedman will take her place, and there will no longer be an emphasis on Chiara Aurelia this time around. We can only wait and see what other twists await us before watching the trailer below!
Lisa Yamada
Cruel Summer season two can now be streamed on Freeform, Hulu and DIRECTV in the US as well as international countries with VPN support. This second season picks up years after season one’s events with a different group of high school friends as its focus.
The new season will take place in a waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest and will follow the story of two best friends. Like its predecessor, it will feature elements such as friendship and betrayal; in addition, there will be an added element – love triangle – making for a compelling read. Flashbacks in different timelines will also continue.
However, some cast members from season one will not return for season 2. Chiara Aurelia, Olivia Holt, Froy Gutierrez, Harley Quinn Smith, and Sarah Drew won’t be returning as part of Sadie Stanley, Lexi Underwood Griffin Gluck KaDee Strickland Lisa Yamada Sean Blakemore are the exceptions and will continue in their roles on the series.
Sean Blakemore
Cruel Summer became Freeform’s highest-watched series debut when it made its debut in April 2021, becoming Freeform’s most-viewed debut teen drama. This teenage thriller followed two teenage girls who both claimed they saw Jeanette (Olivia Holt) disappear, offering viewers a compelling look into lies and deception in action.
However, season 2 will take an altogether different approach: rather than following one single storyline from its debut installment to the present, season two will adopt an anthology format and focus on three timelines surrounding Y2K.
Sadie Stanley from The Goldbergs and Lexi Underwood from Little Fires Everywhere as well as Griffin Gluck from American Vandal and KaDee Strickland from Private Practice are among the new cast. Paul Adelstein and Lisa Yamada, who played doctors Cooper Friedman and Charlotte King on Shonda Rhimes’ medical drama will also make appearances this season.
Fans who missed out on watching Season One can now catch up by binge-watching it through Hulu with Live TV, compatible with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One Series X/S, Chromecast, Apple TV Android TVs from Samsung Smart TVs among others.
