Elisha Cuthbert Addresses Every Year After & TSITP Comparisons
Sue Florek has some striking similarities to Susannah Fisher.
Even though Every Year After removed the sunny season from the title of Carley Fortune’s book Every Summer After, it was never going to fully avoid comparisons to Prime Video’s other big summer-set YA romance. Especially when it comes to the similar matriarchal roles. While Elisha Cuthbert understands why viewers might see parallels between Sue Florek and The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Susannah Fisher, she didn’t want that in her head when portraying Barry Bay’s culinary queen.
“Obviously, there will be comparisons, but I hadn’t seen that show when I went into this,” Cuthbert says. “I read the novel and spent my time zeroing in on what I wanted to do with Sue, without any comparison to anything else.”
In Every Year After, Sue is a deeply supportive mother to her two teenage sons, and also becomes a significant maternal figure to her neighbor Percy. It’s because of Sue’s tragic early death that Percy reconnects with Sam and Charlie after years away from them. The dynamic is quite similar to Susannah’s role in The Summer I Turned Pretty — she also raises her sons and their close female friend in a magical vacation house by the water. And after Susannah’s death, Belly is forced to confront her feelings for both Conrad and Jeremiah.
One key difference that Cuthbert points out is that for most of Every Summer After, the core trio is in their late 20s and early 30s, which ages it a bit from the traditional YA genre. “Even though we're part of a whole group of young adult shows, I think our show could be more for a broader audience,” the actor says. “It feels really adult in a lot of ways.”
Another big topic regarding her character is whether Sue will appear in potential future seasons following her death. Cuthbert is hopeful for some more flashbacks with Sue, especially with the tease that a second season will likely adapt Charlie’s book, One Golden Summer.
“There’s a lot to still be uncovered in her relationship with Charlie,” Cuthbert says. “Charlie plays a pivotal role in stepping up for her after his father passes away and Sue is in a really dark place. So I imagine there might be some really great moments for us going forward.”
