This Summer Will Be Different has been officially ordered at Netflix as a new 10-episode series, the streamer confirmed, adapting the bestselling novel by Canadian author Carley Fortune.
The project will film on Prince Edward Island and in Toronto, placing the story within two key Canadian locations tied directly to the source material. The series centers on Lucy, a young woman navigating her twenties and her first serious relationship with her best friend’s brother.
Netflix announced the order as part of its expanding Canadian slate, which has grown steadily since its launch in 2025.
A romance unfolding across multiple summers
At the center of This Summer Will Be Different is a relationship that has been shaped over time. The story follows Lucy as she returns to Prince Edward Island over several summers, where her connection with her best friend’s brother develops into a complicated, deeply personal love story.
The premise, confirmed by Netflix, frames the series as a romance set against the backdrop of the island, with a focus on friendship, early adulthood, and emotional growth.
The setting is directly tied to the novel’s origins, with Prince Edward Island serving as a recurring location within the narrative.
Creators and production team behind the adaptation
The series is created and showrun by Dane Clark (Suze, One More Time) and Linsey Stewart (Workin’ Moms, North of North).
Both are also executive producers alongside Carley Fortune, whose previous novels include Every Summer After and Our Perfect Storm. Additional executive producers include Jennifer Kawaja (Sort Of, Wayward) and Elise Cousineau (Cardinal, Small Achievable Goals), representing Sphere Media.
Production is handled by Sphere Media, continuing its collaboration with Netflix following the limited series Wayward.
In a statement, Danielle Woodrow and Tara Woodbury, Directors of Content for Canada at Netflix, described the development process as a close collaboration between the creative team and the original author, noting the goal of bringing the novel to screen for its existing readership.
Carley Fortune on adapting the story for Netflix
Carley Fortune linked the story directly to her own experiences and early inspirations.
She cited L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables as an early influence that introduced her to Prince Edward Island. She also referenced a personal trip in her early twenties that informed the novel’s emotional foundation.
According to Fortune, the series draws on those experiences, including the setting, relationships, and themes that shaped the original book.
Part of Netflix’s growing Canadian slate
This Summer Will Be Different joins a broader lineup of Canadian productions currently in development or production for the platform.
The slate includes North of North (Season 2 in production), Wayward, Who Killed the Montreal Expos?, an untitled Newfoundland project, and The Granville Girls.
Netflix and Sphere Media previously collaborated on Wayward, which spent five weeks in the global Top 10 and reached the number one position in 35 countries.
The company also shared updated viewing data, confirming that domestic viewing of Canadian content on Netflix has increased by nearly 20% since 2025. Globally, nearly 65% of Netflix members watched Canadian content in the same period.
Filming locations anchor the adaptation
Production for This Summer Will Be Different Netflix will take place in Prince Edward Island and Toronto.
These locations align with the story’s setting and reflect the dual backdrop of the narrative. Prince Edward Island, in particular, remains central to the story’s structure as the events unfold over multiple summers on the island.
Toronto will serve as an additional filming location tied to the broader scope of the adaptation.
The World of Carley Fortune
Carley Fortune’s meteoric rise is officially hitting the screen, with her entire catalog currently in various stages of development. Most notably, This Summer Will Be Different was just ordered as a 10-episode series by Netflix, with filming planned for both Toronto and the iconic Prince Edward Island shores. Meanwhile, her debut Every Summer After has been retitled Every Year After for its Amazon Prime Video adaptation to allow for a broader narrative scope; it’s already in production with Sadie Soverall and Matt Cornett leading the cast. Even her sophomore novel, Meet Me at the Lake, remains in the works as a feature film at Netflix via Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Productions.
The momentum isn’t slowing down on the page, either. Her next book, Our Perfect Storm, is set to release on May 5, 2026. This one takes us to the misty, rugged coastline of Tofino, British Columbia, following best friends Frankie and George. After Frankie is left at the altar, she and George head off on what was supposed to be her honeymoon, a classic “one last chance” trip that promises plenty of the high-stakes pining and emotional “storm” Fortune is known for.
| Book | Adaptation Title | Platform | Status |
| Every Summer After | Every Year After | Prime Video | In Production (Expected 2026) |
| Meet Me at the Lake | Meet Me at the Lake | Netflix | In Development (Archewell) |
| This Summer Will Be Different | This Summer Will Be Different | Netflix | Series Ordered (10 Episodes) |
| One Golden Summer | TBD | TBD | Optioned / Rumored |
This Summer Will be Different: The Book
I’ll be honest with you: this is a project that truly excites me, as Carley Fortune is one of my favorite writers. I’ll follow Carley Fortune into any story she wants to tell. And once again, she did not miss.
On the surface, yes, there’s the deliciously forbidden pull between Lucy and Felix, and if you know me, you know I am weak for a “best friend’s brother” romance done right. But what Fortune does that most writers simply don’t? She makes friendship the soul of the book. Lucy and Bridget’s bond, fierce, protective, beautifully complicated, is the kind of female friendship that makes you want to text your own best friend at 2 am to say I love you, please never leave.
And then she goes even deeper. Grief lives quietly in these pages. So does the suffocating weight of being someone’s miracle, someone’s everything. It’s the kind of emotional layering that reminds you why Fortune has become one of my absolute favourite voices in contemporary fiction; she trusts her readers, and she trusts her story.
Prince Edward Island is rendered so tenderly here that you’ll start looking at flight prices. The salt air, the oysters, the golden-hour light, it all feels less like a setting and more like a feeling.
This is not just a summer read. It’s a book about the messy, necessary work of loving people honestly, and growing up without losing them. Carley Fortune, you’ve done it again.
Key Details
- Release: Not yet announced; series ordered by Netflix
- Episode count: 10 episodes confirmed
- Cast: Not yet announced
- Creators/showrunners: Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart
- Executive producers: Dane Clark, Linsey Stewart, Carley Fortune, Jennifer Kawaja, Elise Cousineau
- Production company: Sphere Media
- Source material: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
- Filming locations: Prince Edward Island and Toronto
- Premise: A young woman navigates her twenties and a relationship with her best friend’s brother across multiple summers