Critic Reviews

Told over the course of six summers, then picking up a decade later, the feel-good tale infuses the perfect amount of depth and emotion to elevate it beyond a typical teen romance.

The melodrama might be clichéd at times, but there's enough maturity to balance it.

Soverall and Cornett don't quite have the chemistry to anchor the show, and as revelations and betrayals come to light, a somewhat heel turn from Sam makes him and Percy even less shippable as a couple. They don't sink the show completely, though, and Every Year After stays afloat thanks to its much more interesting supporting characters.

There are no huge surprises and several gifted actors seem to be locked in an interminable WWE cage match with a script that requires them to say things that no human should ever be required to utter (“Adulting is no joke!”). But oh, the lake!

There isn’t anything to truly despise about this nostalgia fest of young love, blanket-wrapped heart-to-hearts, sunlit skies and lakeside swims that are really just excuses for many close-ups of Charlie (Michael Bradway) and Sam’s torsos. But, fairly faithfully adapted from Carley Fortune’s 2022 novel Every Summer After, this Prime Video series does feel cynical.

There’s nothing revolutionary or even unique about Every Year After. But the cast is charming enough and the setting is pictureseque enough to make the show a pleasant distraction for fans of romantic dramas.

It offers eternal love, betrayal, regret and redemption, in earnest if not always logical fashion. .... Where the writers were, as they wrote the dialogue, is another question. Space? .... The most charming aspect here is the portrayal of a couple of kids, the young Percy and Sam.

Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right—Carley Fortune’s bestseller is now a YA series for romantics of all ages, especially those who never got over the loss of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”

Despite all its bonafides, everything about “Every Year After” just feels decidedly uninspired. The settings are lovely but the story is rote and predictable. Spread out over eight almost too flimsy episodes.

The connection between the two leads is most charming in the early tween years. .... But Every Year After is full of undercooked details that get brought up only as an excuse to bring its would-be lovers together or pull them back apart, and then get discarded when they’re no longer needed for that purpose.