Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Summertime’ Season 3 on Netflix, The Final Installment of the Soapy Italian Teen Drama

In Netflix original series Summertime, an introverted young woman who plays by the rules finds herself swept up by a famous motorcycle racer visiting her town for the summer. Over the past two seasons, we’ve watched this will-they-won’t-they dynamic play out, and now the third and final season of the Italian teen drama is finally available to stream. We’re here to let you know if this couple’s fate is one seeing through to the end. 

SUMMERTIME: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: People party on a flamingo raft in a pool.

The Gist: It seems like it’s always summertime in the beautiful Italian coastal town of Cesenatico, where we pick things up again with our young cast. Summer (Coco Rebecca Edogamhe) and Ale (Ludovico Tersigni) get drunk and rage at their respective parties; Summer takes a hot dude down to the beach for some midnight fun, while Ale can’t stomach kissing another girl. Still reeling from Lola’s accident (if it was an accident, anyway) and the messy state of things with summer, Ale has turned to drinking and moping around, ditching most of his friends in favor of sleeping in and sunbathing. His father tries to talk some sense into him (and pleads with him to return to his racing career), but Ale won’t hear any of it. He’s too wrapped up in everything that’s happened.

Lola, meanwhile, is told by her doctor that her bones are healing beautifully, but that her muscles will never repair. This implies a bleak future for her racing career, but she continues on with physical therapy. While Ale cruises around town on his scooter, he catches a glimpse of Lola in her therapy, and continues on. Summer is stopped dead in her tracks when she thinks she sees Ale on the street, but it turns out to be a lookalike. While everyone else dwells in the past, Dario (Andrea Lattanzi) is determined to make his anniversary with Rita something special. He spends the day taking her son Davide to soccer and trying to get his hands on a signed record for her, but when that falls through, they decide to throw an impromptu concert. It’s at this romantic event where Ale and Summer finally reunite after he stumbles in drunkenly, confronting Dario about a fight they’d had earlier. As Summer takes care of a vomiting Ale, the look the two give one another says that the drama has only just begun.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Some other teen dramas include Outer Banks, Elite, and Baby.

Our Take: Summertime delivers on exactly what it promises; teen drama set against the dreamy backdrop of the Adriatic coast of Italy. Unfortunately, much of the goings-on are too predictable and soapy to ever get fully invested. The series leans hard into tropes, creating conflict where there is none and dragging out drama for several episodes that could have easily been resolved in one. It feels as though they aren’t exactly sure what to do with these characters or how to sustain a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ for longer than a few installments, so instead, we go back and forth and wonder when these two dumdums will stop getting in their own way. There’s also something essential missing between many of these characters: chemistry. Without this vital ingredient, the show can’t really work. It might be fun to look at, but you can’t really root for anyone if there isn’t some electricity present. If you need relatively mindless fodder that won’t upset your zen, Summertime might be a good distraction, but when there are so many other juicy teen dramas out there, it’s hard to recommend this one.

Sex and Skin: Summertime wastes no time getting to the sexy stuff; Summer has a hot one night stand on the beach in the first few minutes of the episode, but things slow down after that.

Parting Shot: “Summy,” a drunk Ale musters, as he leans his head on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Sleeper Star: Dario (Andrea Lattanzi) is one of the easiest characters to love; he may be stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment, but there’s something so human about his position. He’s struggling to make ends meet but is determined to make his anniversary with Rita special, and his sweetness with Davide only sells his charm more. He feels like a guy you went to high school with, a good friend making the best out of less-than-ideal situations.

Most Pilot-y Line: No particularly pilot-y lines here.

Our Call: SKIP IT. While the young performers at the heart of Summertime do their best (and the scenery isn’t bad), the soapy series is too reliant on predictable, cliché tropes to prove itself worthy of a spot in your queue.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.