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The stakes have grown. Time is running out. And for the characters that inhabit the slightly twisted, duplicitous world of Cruel Summer, this means potentially more than just kidnapping. It could mean murder. For Megan and Isabella, only the viewers could determine who would emerge free and who would vanish in handcuffs. Although rotten tomatoes and fans have taken a few confusing scenes in Cruel Summer to task, by and large, the overwhelmingly positive reviews prove that teens' and tweens murder mysteries can be a safe bet.

Cruel Summer was an unexpected hit, and despite its non-adult-oriented teen fare, its record-setting viewership was well-deserved. Original concepts alongside older tropes told in a new way spelled out success for Freeform, Hulu, and Disney+, whereas other, more bland attempts at murder mystery (think CW's Nancy Drew) simply faded into obscurity. We're going to break down the reasons why.

Secrets of Season One...

Lexi Underwood, Sadie Stanley, and Griffin Gluck in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 9 (Freeform/Justine Yeung)

We’re down to the wire with just two episodes to go on the second season of Freeform’s Cruel Summer, and the suspense over what happened to Luke is incredibly intense. Season two episode nine, “The Miseducation of Luke Chambers,” takes place in the fall and winter of 1999 as well as early January 2000.

Luke (Griffin Gluck) sits down and watches home video of himself and Megan as kids, hanging out with their families in the woods. Later, Luke is lounging in the pool when his brother, Brent (Braeden De La Garza), tries to drown him. Thankfully, it’s just a joke. That leads to Luke, Brent, and Steve (Paul Adelstein) reminiscing about Luke’s mom.

The school year begins, and Megan (Sadie Stanley), Isabella (Lexi Underwood), and Luke hang out, having grown closer over the summer.

Sadie Stanley and Griffin Gluck in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 8 (Freeform/Justine Yeung)

With just two episodes to go in Freeform’s Cruel Summer season two and, finally, with episode eight, we’re getting down to the business of discovering what went down during Luke’s last hours. Episode eight, “Confess your Sins,” takes place on:

August 1, 1999

January 1, 2000

August 1, 2000

Summer of 1999

After Megan (Sadie Stanley) tells Isabella (Lexi Underwood) about the kiss she and Luke shared (in episode seven), Megan thinks this could have never happened if it wasn’t for Isabella. Megan thanks her and calls Isabella the best friend she could ever have asked for.

Luke (Griffin Gluck) comes over and Megan wants some alone time with him, which seems to make Isabella sad. Debbie (KaDee Strickland) gives Isabella a pep talk about how she’s going to have fun when school starts.

Megan and Luke have a make-out session,...

In our Q&a series Last Call, we get down to the bottom of every last thing with some of our favorite celebs - from the last time they were starstruck to the last song they listened to. This week, "Cruel Summer" star Nile Bullock takes our call.

In season two of "Cruel Summer," Nile Bullock's Jeff is the nice guy. The too-nice guy - he's polite and mostly unresentful when his love interest passes him up for his best friend. At least, as far as viewers have seen so far, with just a few episodes left to go in this second installment of the drama-thriller anthology series. This go-around, the mystery is set in a small Pacific Northwest town amid a complicated love triangle between friends Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley), Isabella Larue (Lexi Underwood), and Luke Chambers (Griffin Gluck). When a tragedy occurs, "Cruel Summer" uses its signature format...

Griffin Gluck in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 7 (Freeform/Ricardo Hubbs)

Freeform’s Cruel Summer season two episode seven once again provides no clear answers to any lingering questions. In fact, it doesn’t even narrow the field of possible murderers!

As the clock ticks down and with just a few episodes to go, episode seven concentrates on the following dates:

July 31, 1999

December 31, 1999

July 31, 2000

Summer of 1999

It’s the morning after Luke’s party and Megan (Sadie Stanley) is mortified about the fact she was about to kiss Luke, but he ran off to vomit. Isabella (Lexi Underwood) gives her a pep talk.

And speaking of Luke (Griffin Gluck), he shows up as Megan and Isabella are in the midst of cleaning up after the party. Isabella puts him to work to help clean.

As they clean, Luke confesses some of the party was a blur, especially toward the end of the night.

Sadie Stanley and Lexi Underwood in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 6 (Freeform/Ricardo Hubbs)

Did season two episode six of Freeform’s Cruel Summer bring more answers or more questions? Given the previous five episodes, it’s unlikely we’ll get any real answers until the season finale. Episode six certainly didn’t do anything but muddy the water.

The key dates for “The Plunge” are:

July 30th, 1999

December 30th, 1999

December 30th, 2000

Summer of 1999

Isabella (Lexi Underwood) informs Megan (Sadie Stanley) that she broke up with Luke. She claims she couldn’t be with him anymore knowing that Megan likes him.

Megan plans a 17th birthday party at her house for Luke with the help of his brother, Brent (Braeden De La Garza). As she’s ordering him around, Brent urges her to relax. He leaves with the parting words, “Just trust me, this party is going to be something Luke will never forget.

The murder mystery is halfway through its chapters on Cruel Summer Season 2, and we're getting deep into the many suspects at play.

Jeff Pope, the movie-obsessed filmmaker with a burning crush on Megan, is one of those individuals. Jeff seemed like a nice guy in love during the summer of 1999, but his future animosity against Megan and Isabella left us with plenty of questions. We can't rule him or his blackmail scene out yet.

Nile Bullock, who plays Jeff, is setting the record straight about the love and suspicions of his character,

Below, we chatted with Bullock about his time filming Cruel Summer, why Jeff changed drastically between the months, and his connection to the murder mystery. Plus, he teased a bit about what's to come for Jeff.

Check out the interview below!

How does it feel playing Jeff Pope on Cruel Summer Season 2?

Oh my gosh, it feels like a range of different emotions.

Lexi Underwood and Griffin Gluck in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 4 (Freeform/Ricardo Hubbs)

Viewers know the drill; every episode of Freeform’s Cruel Summer starts off the same way. The dates of season two episode four are:

July 23, 1999

December 23, 1999

July 23, 2000

Summer of 1999

Megan (Sadie Stanley) tells Isabella (Lexi Underwood) she’s tired of the same boring Megan Landry. She wants to do something fun. Nothing too bad, but more along the lines of taking risks and going on adventures. She wants to be unpredictable.

Megan informs Luke (Griffin Gluck) and Jeff that she wants to go out and do something fun. They settle on a bar, and she and Jeff (Nile Bullock) volunteer to make fake IDs. Luke seems shocked that Megan’s up for this.

Megan and Jeff bond over making fake IDs and grow closer. He’s impressed with her hacking skills. Megan receives an Instant Message from...

Sadie Stanley and Lexi Underwood in ‘Cruel Summer’ season 2 episode 3 (Freeform / Ricardo Hubbs)

The dates of Freeform’s Cruel Summer season two episode three are July 19, 1999, December 19, 1999, and July 19, 2000. Which, of course, means the action takes place just one day after the events of episode two.

Summer of 1999:

Megan (Sadie Stanley) and Isabella (Lexi Underwood) are in the camper where Isabella’s staying as Isabella packs for a weekend getaway. Megan’s trying to talk Isabella out of going, making it sound like it’s just a guys trip (even though Megan’s going as well).

Later, the girls show up to the campout and Megan’s not pleased with seeing Luke (Griffin Gluck) and Isabella clinging on to each other. She’s also pissed she’s stuck unloading the car. Fortunately, Jeff (Nile Bullock) comes over to help, and it seems he might have a thing for Megan.

The first season of Cruel Summer was an unexpected hit for Freeform back in 2021 when it became the No. 1 new cable drama among women. The series had a great hook: the story was divided across three years, each visually distinct, following the same characters as their circumstances changed in relation to a central mystery.

In season one, that was the kidnapping of a popular girl. In season two of showrunner Elle Triedman‘s anthology series, the stakes have escalated to murder.

Just like before, the action involves two high school girls: risk-averse, straight A student Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) and Isabella Larue (Lexi Underwood), the wealthy daughter of diplomats. The latter girl is essentially an exchange student who comes to stay with Megan and her family – mom Debbie (KaDee Strickland) and younger sister Lily (Jenna Lamb) – for a year in the small Pacific North West tourist town of Chatam.

The...

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Crowded Room, Atx TV Festival and Never Have I Ever.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiere

Returning stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Vélez joined newcomers Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya and Jason Schwartzman at the Los Angeles premiere of the Spider-Verse sequel on Tuesday night, alongside writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

Shea Whigham, Danielle Perez, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Issa Rae, Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson, Daniel Pemberton, Rachel Dratch and Christina Steinberg Chris Miller, Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos and Phil Lord Daniel Kaluuya and Tom Rothman

Cruel Summer premiere

Executive producer Jessica Biel debuted season two of her Freeform series alongside new cast members Sadie Stanley,...

Things get cruel again this summer. Cruel Summer was a breakout hit after it debuted on Freeform in 2021. Season two launches June 5 and with it a new Y2K-centric mystery for a posse of fiery teens. The first season explored events on the same day over the course of three years: 1993, 1994, and 1995. We watched as the series tracked events after the disappearance of popular gal Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt). Vice-principal Martin Harris (Blake Lee) had a hand in that, of course. The ripple effects found socially awkward Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia) blossoming, and even stepping into Kate's groovy social life. Kate resurfaces a year later and accuses Jeanette of witnessing her abduction but not reporting it. We all watched Jeanette’s dreams shatter.

Season two’s new mystery takes on different timelines again, and this time around leaping off some Y2K brouhaha as it follows two teen girls whose lives...

Unlike so many other ill-fated stabs at the anthology format, the second season of Cruel Summer counts on some rather distinct storytelling techniques, including frequent jumps between three different timelines. Each period is separated by mere months yet signifies a huge shift in the lives of its protagonists—often with the help of unmistakable fashion makeovers and ostentatious color filters. The result is another kitschy season of the Bert V. Royal series that’s nevertheless rewarding for its ambitious, unpredictable thrills.

The show’s first timeline is set in the summer of 1999, with studious 17-year-old Megan Landry (Sadie Stanley) dismayed at her mother Debbie’s (KaDee Strickland) decision to host exchange student Isabella Larue (Lexi Underwood), who was born in the United States but spent most of her life abroad. The new girl’s mysterious, globe-trotting history couldn’t be further removed from that of Megan, who’s from a...

Jessica Biel rose to stardom in the early 2000s-era of movies, starring in films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Stealth, Blade: Trinity, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, not to mention her time on hit series 7th Heaven. Now, the actress returns to that Y2K nostalgia as an executive producer of Freeform’s Cruel Summer, now in its second season.

“It just brought me back to my youth,” Biel told The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s season two Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday night. “It brought me back to being a young woman in Hollywood and a young woman trying to work through this business and the world at this time when technology was changing so much — fashion and music and everything. I think at the time, we didn’t realize how cool it was. But looking back now, I miss it so much.”

Cruel Summer’s second season,...

Freeform's Cruel Summer is soon returning for its anticipated second season. The network has just dropped a new trailer and announced its June 5 premiere date. Once again, Cruel Summer will follow a tale of two teen girls whose lives are turned upside down due to a lie, but this time the series takes place in the 2000s. While this season's theme is consistent with the first, it will feature a new cast and storyline. You can watch the official trailer below.

The trailer, set to Tommee Profitt's cover of Linkin Park's 2000 song In the End, sees new exchange student Isabelle (Lexi Underwood) coming to town and befriending Megan (Sadie Stanley). The two's friendship seems to flourish as they hold hands and declare each other their "ride or die" before jumping off a cliff together. But things take a dark twist somewhere between the female bonding; when a body is recovered from a lake,...

"Everybody's talking about you, dude!" Disney has revealed an official trailer for a new high school sports movie called Chang Dan Dunk, the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Jing Yi Shao. The movie will be streaming on Disney+ starting in early March, which is really the ideal place for something like this to premiere." Freshman Chang is no more. Chang 2.0 is here!" Bloom Li stars as 16-year-old Asian-American Chang, who is an unpopular high schooler who loves basketball, but is always underestimated. Though his peers treat him as though he is insignificant, he becomes obsessed with learning how to slam dunk. Chang is determined to best the high school's all-star named Matt, all while hopefully winning the adoration of his romantic interest, Kristy. Also starring Ben Wang, Chase Liefeld, Eric Anthony Lopez, Nile Bullock, Zoe Renee, Mardy Ma, and Angel Oquendo as "Coach". This actually looks pretty good! Worth a watch.

Disney+ has unveiled the trailer for “Chang Can Dunk” from filmmaker Jingyi Shao, one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch” for 2023.

The coming-of-age sports film — which begins streaming March 10 — follows Chang (Bloom Li), an unpopular high schooler who loves basketball and Pokémon. Chang finds himself wagering a bet with the school’s all-star player, Matt (Chase Liefeld), that he will be able to make a slam dunk — in 12 weeks time.

The film also stars Zoe Renee, Ben Wang, Dexter Darden, Anthony Lopez, Nile Bullock, Mardy Ma and Angel Oquendo.

“I was really inspired by early ’90s coming-of-age films, but specifically sports-coming-of-age films like ‘Mighty Ducks,’” Shao tells Variety of his feature directorial debut.

The film examines teenage social hierarchies and family dynamics from the perspective of people of color living in communities where they’re a minority population.

“In a town where there aren’t a lot of other Asian American families,...

In this timely but unsubtle film, Jason Biggs plays a documentary maker who questions his ethics after his wannabe-gangster subject is murdered

This New York-set drama from 2020 was directed by Lanie Zipoy who died last year aged 49; it was on the ball in grappling with Black Lives Matter themes of systemic racism and white liberal guilt. The Subject poses thorny questions about the ethics of documenting marginalised black communities and what constitutes rightful representation – but proceeds at a dogged pace more suited to the stage (it’s written by playwright Chisa Hutchinson) and is perhaps a little too crude in setting up the character assassination of its hypocritical protagonist.

American Pie’s Jason Biggs plays Phil Waterhouse, an award-winning documentary director feted for his harrowing latest work, whose subject, wannabe gang member Malcolm (Nile Bullock), was beaten to death in front of the camera. Phil has reaped the benefits: a swanky apartment,...

Exclusive: Nile Bullock, Jenna Lamb and Braedan De La Garza have joined the cast of Freeform’s Cruel Summer and will recur in the series’ sophomore season. The will join Lexi Underwood, Sadie Stanley, Griffin Gluck and KaDee Strickland, Lisa Yamada and Sean Blakemore.

Set in an idyllic waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest, the next chapter of Cruel Summer follows the rise and fall of an intense teenage friendship. Approaching the story from three different timelines surrounding Y2K, the season twists and turns as it tracks the early friendship between Megan, Isabella and Megan’s best friend Luke, the love triangle that blossomed, and the mystery that would impact all of their lives going forward.

Bullock will recur as Jeff, a filmmaker who is more comfortable experiencing life from behind the camera lens. He has long nursed a crush on Megan and finally gets the opportunity to make his feelings clear.

Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, has acquired rights to Lanie Zipoy’s film The Subject, starring Jason Biggs, Aunjanue Ellis, Anabelle Acosta and more, with plans to release it in select theaters across the U.S., as well as on Tvod and digital platforms across North America, on October 22.

Zipoy’s feature directorial debut follows Phil Waterhouse (Biggs), a successful white documentary filmmaker dealing with the fallout from his previous film, which caught the murder of a Black teen on tape.

Its ensemble also includes Carra Patterson (Straight Outta Compton), Nile Bullock (Ray Donovan), and Caleb Eberhardt (Judas and the Black Messiah).

Chisa Hutchinson wrote the script.

Zipoy produced the film with Megan Kingery Gahlia Eden (You Can’t Do That) and Jess Weiss (American Insurrection).

Jason Biggs,...