New Teen Drama Is Netflix's Answer To Amazon's Most Popular Romance Show Over The Last 2 Years

Netflix added a teen drama television series to its streaming library in 2023, and it has a few similarities to one of Amazon's most popular shows.

Summary

• Netflix's adaptation of the young adult novel "My Life with the Walter Boys" has quickly gained popularity, similar to Amazon Prime Video's hit series "The Summer I Turned Pretty."
• Both shows feature a love triangle between the main character and two brothers and themes of trauma, grief, and typical teen drama conflicts.
• While "The Summer I Turned Pretty" has three novels to draw from, "My Life with the Walter Boys" will have to stretch out the story for multiple seasons, which could pose challenges in the future.

Streaming services are seemingly flooded with teen romance television shows nowadays, and Netflix is the latest platform to learn from its competitors and jump on the bandwagon. The company decided to take a chance on a 2014 young adult novel and adapt it into a series, which premiered in December 2023, and so far, it seems as if the streaming service's bet has paid off. However, one cannot help but notice that the Netflix teen drama is quite similar to a beloved coming-of-age romance show (which was also adapted from a book) on Amazon Prime Video.

The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered on Amazon Prime Video in June 2022, and it was an immediate hit. The first season of the romantic drama series is based on Jenny Han's well-liked novel of the same name and stars Lola Tung as Belly Conklin, Christopher Briney as Conrad Fisher, and Gavin Casalegno as Jeremiah Fisher. Given its popularity and that The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book in a trilogy, the streaming platform renewed it through season 3, with season 2 releasing in summer 2023. Now, Netflix is taking a page from Amazon Prime Video's book and debuting its own coming-of-age teen drama.

My Life With The Walter Boys Is Netflix's Version Of The Summer I Turned Pretty

Netflix dropped all ten episodes of My Life with the Walter Boys on December 7, 2023, and it quickly rose to the top of the streaming service's most-watched charts. The teen drama series is based on Ali Novak's 2014 novel of the same name and depicts a 15-year-old girl (Jackie) who goes to live with her mother's best friend (Katherine) and her large family following a tragic car accident that killed the teenager's whole family. Once Jackie arrives at her new home, she becomes torn between two of Katherine's sons — Cole and Alex. The three characters quickly enter a love triangle reminiscent of the one in The Summer I Turned Pretty.

One of the most significant storylines in The Summer I Turned Pretty is the love triangle between Belly and two brothers (Conrad and Jeremiah), and My Life with the Walter Boys includes the same conflict. Jackie develops feelings for two of the Walter boys, which is one of the plot's driving points in season 1. Aside from the obvious "torn between two brothers" trope, the Netflix show shares many similarities with the Amazon Prime Video series. Both stories contain trauma, grief, complex characters, and typical teen drama conflicts.

Related

10 Biggest Questions My Life With The Walter Boys Season 2 Needs To Answer

My Life with the Walter Boys has been renewed for a second season, which is great news because season 1 left a lot of questions unanswered.

Netflix's Teen Drama Show Faces A Major Problem Compared To The Summer I Turned Pretty

Thankfully for those who loved the first ten episodes of My Life with the Walter Boys, Netflix renewed the teen drama for a second season shortly following the season 1 premiere. However, the series will encounter one issue that The Summer I Turned Pretty hasn't — it's based on one book, whereas the Amazon Prime Video show draws inspiration from three novels. My Life with the Walter Boys will have to stretch out its story for multiple seasons, which could cause some problems in the future. Meanwhile, The Summer I Turned Pretty has enough source material for three seasons and hasn't run into this issue that may affect the Netflix series.

My Life with the Walter Boys season 1 is streaming on Netflix, and the first two seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty are available on Amazon Prime Video.