After Every Year After’s season 1 cliffhanger, Aurora Perrineau and Joseph Chiu say their characters’ next steps depend on what viewers want—while the show’s author insists her role stays close to the book world.
The cliffhanger at the end of Every Year After’s season 1 landed like a bruise—quiet at first. then impossible to ignore. Percy. Sam. and their summers in Barry’s Bay have already pulled viewers into two timelines. but the final beat raises a new kind of urgency: Charlie appears to be in the middle of a health emergency after seeing a photo of him. Sam. and Percy from many summers ago.
Aurora Perrineau. who plays Chantal. didn’t promise where the series goes next—she pointed straight back to the people watching. “I think that’s really that’s up to Amy [B. Harris] and Carley [Fortune],” Perrineau exclusively told Us Weekly, referencing the showrunner and the Every Summer After author. “I think whatever the fans of the show end up wanting is really what should be.”.
What those fans want could matter even more because the show has already widened its focus beyond the central romance. As Percy (Sadie Soverall) heads back to Barry’s Bay after learning about the death of ex Sam’s (Matt Cornett) mom. she’s forced to confront lingering feelings for her ex—and the painful aftermath of their split that involves Sam’s brother. Charlie (Michael Bradway). Meanwhile, Sam and Percy’s respective BFFs, Chantal and Jordie (Joseph Chiu), find their own momentum.
For Chiu, there’s one storyline he’d love to see get fuller attention. In an exclusive conversation. Joseph Chiu shared. “I would love to see Chantal’s backstory of how she became the hard-headed lawyer that she is. ” before adding he’s thought about Jordie’s history too. “I had discussions with Amy, when I first arrived, on Jordie’s backstory. How his parents are divorced and stuff like that. I think it’d be really interesting.”.
Perrineau later echoed that kind of direction—keeping character details moving forward once season 1 has set the stakes. “I think people’s characters would be way more fleshed out in the following season.”
Then there’s the photo itself. the one that seems to turn the season’s emotional gravity into something more immediate. Readers of Carley Fortune’s novel One Golden Summer know that the photo was taken by Alice. who becomes Charlie’s love interest in the book—tying the cliffhanger to a specific character thread. The question now is how quickly the show turns toward it. and how much it reshapes the romantic future of Charlie and Alice versus Jordie and Chantal.
Every Year After is adapted from Fortune’s book Every Summer After. and Fortune—who is 42—spoke about how she thinks about what comes next. “I would leave Amy to answer that. It’s my job to hold the books close. where I take my characters may be different. from where Amy takes those characters. ” Fortune shared during an exclusive interview with Us. “So I will keep my envisioning to the book world.”.
For now, that’s where the tension sits: the show’s next season depends on creative choices from Amy B. Harris. the pressure of fan expectations. and the different ways that book and screen can shift characters with the same foundation. Every Year After is streaming now on Prime Video. and with season 1 already ending on Charlie’s alarming moment. viewers won’t have to wait long to see which connection the series locks onto next—and which one it holds back.
Every Year After Prime Video Aurora Perrineau Joseph Chiu Chantal Jordie Sadie Soverall Matt Cornett Michael Bradway Charlie Sam Percy Carley Fortune Amy B. Harris One Golden Summer Every Summer After season 2 cliffhanger