Dipped in nostalgia and cozy lakeside atmosphere, Every Year After could be your newest summer obsession. Adapted from the popular novel, the show fully realizes the cozy town of Barry’s Bay. At its core is an aching love story, realized across many years, bolstered by terrific chemistry from our leads. The show leans heavily on its dual timelines, bouncing between Percy’s return to Barry’s Bay in the present and the formative summers that changed her life forever. For the most part, this approach functions beautifully, and primes up the series’ destiny for a comfort watch. Embracing the ache of first love and the way a location can trap part of ourselves in time, Every Year After is easy-watching young adult fluff of the highest order.
Welcome to Barry’s Bay! Percy Fraser (Sadie Soverall) returns home after more than a decade after learning the beloved Sue Florek (Elisha Cuthbert)—mother to Sam and Charlie—has passed away. This revelation is especially complex given Percy’s on-again-off-again relationship with now-doctor Sam (Matt Cornett). What starts as an awkward homecoming devolves into reopened wounds, unresolved romance, and secrets resurfacing that previously shattered the group dynamic. From the very first episode, it’s no secret: Percy and Sam experienced a seriously one of a kind love. But, as the tagline for the series asks, what if we had a second chance at first love?
The strongest aspect of the show is undeniably the sizzling chemistry between Percy and Sam. Their connection feels natural from the moment they meet as teenagers. Young Percy (Juliette Hawk) gets set up with young Sam (Blue Clark) as a way for his brother, Charlie (Carson MacCormac) to be alone with his girlfriends. What forms between them is an inseparable bond. Percy exposes Sam to horror movies as they float the summer away on docks, and even craft friendship bracelets for one another. Showrunner Amy B. Harris (CW’s extremely underrated The Carrie Diaries) manages to capture the intoxication of a summer crush that evolves into a far deeper connection. The lakeside aesthetic gives the series a dreamy warmth that makes the emotional stakes hit even harder.
Each episode juxtaposes a summer from the past against the present as Percy’s arrival in town shakes matters up. The supporting characters are great as we follow Percy and Sam across the timelines—this includes Percy’s fiercely loyal best friend, Chantal (Aurora Perrineau), who initially accompanies Percy back to Barry’s Bay for moral support; gorgeous but surprisingly complex Delilah (Abigail Cowen), caught between the life she longs to have and the one she actually built for herself; charming ladies man, Charlie (Michael Bradway), the eternally shirtless older brother to Sam who seems emotionally stunted; and Sam’s lovable best friend, Jordy (Joseph Chiu), owner of the local motel and a potential love interest for Delilah.
Soverall and Cornett are both fantastic. Even though the series is mainly an ensemble piece, their love is the focal point, and never disappoints. That angle feels built up surprisingly well, tantalizingly teasing the true nature of their connection before finally allowing a glimmer of home for their future. The series makes it painfully obvious that Percy is the love of Sam’s life. Their chemistry feels effortless from the start, and Sam consistently sees Percy more clearly than anyone else. He encourages her writing, comforts her insecurities, and treats her like an equal. Matt Cornett gives Sam a naive quality that keeps him from feeling too cookie cutter. Even when Sam spirals emotionally or lashes out, the heartbreak underneath remains visible. Sadie Soverall pours into Percy a vulnerability that makes even her worst choices understandable. The older version of Percy especially carries the exhaustion of someone who has spent years emotionally stunted while everyone around her soldiers on. Percy is complicated, and so too are her ultimate choices. Percy stays the emotional center of the series from the very first episode.
Where the adaptation occasionally struggles is in its structure. The constant jumping between timelines can sometimes halt the story’s momentum. Some side plots occasionally threaten to overshadow the main romance, and seem a tad bit padded for time. Most surprisingly, Sue herself feels underutilized for much of the season despite being the entire story’s beginning spark. The show wisely corrects this in the finale by finally giving Sue and Percy the meaningful screen time their relationship deserves. Still, even when the pacing falters, the emotional core remains strong. The series understands that heartbreak can be nearly eternal. The final episodes especially deliver on emotional payoff we have waiting all season long to see come to fruition.
There is still plenty of room for Every Year After to evolve even further, judging by a cliffhanger ending that leaves at least one person’s fate hanging in the balance. Few romance series manage to feel this genuinely warm and bittersweet at the same time. One can only hope that Prime Video gives us a chance to explore further adventures in Barry’s Bay. As far as sweet, young-adult romance series are concerned, it doesn’t get much cuter than this.
Every Year After debuted at 2026’s Tribeca Film Festival. All eight episodes vacation for Prime Video subscribers on Wednesday, June 10th.
