The "Summer I Turned Pretty" TV show introduces a far more diverse cast than the original book.
While it's never explicitly stated that Belly is white in the books, the original book covers circa 2009 depicted Belly as a white girl. On the show, Belly is Korean on her mother's side and white on her father's side. Cleveland, who is a new addition to the cast, is Filipino, and Conrad's pseudo-girlfriend/friend with benefits Nicole is Black despite being described as a blonde in the book.
Han talked to CinemaBlend about the decision to include more diversity in the cast and more AAPI characters. "When I was approaching the adaptation, I wanted to really reflect the moment that we're living in," she said. "And I think the diversity of characters is a piece of that, so it felt like a really great opportunity to showcase different kinds of talent. We get to have like an Asian American family on the show. And then, we also have a new character Cleveland, who is Filipino. So it's really exciting I think. And I think it feels really natural to the show, to the characters and the story."
