Cruel Summer — Season 1
The truth is how you see it.
About this season
Taking place over three summers - 1993, 1994, 1995 - in a small Texas town, a beautiful popular teen, Kate, is abducted and, seemingly unrelated, a girl, Jeanette, goes from being a sweet, awkward outlier to the most popular girl in town and, by ’95, the most despised person in America.
Episodes (10)
1. Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner
7.4Aired 20 April 2021 • 46 min
Taking place over 3 summers in the 90s when a popular teen goes missing, and a seemingly unrelated girl transforms from a sweet and awkward outlier to the most popular girl in town, eventually becoming the most despised person in America.
2. A Smashing Good Time
7.8Aired 20 April 2021 • 43 min
It’s time for the annual Skylin Garden Club Party! Year after year after year, the residents of Skylin struggle with the truth around what happened to Kate, keeping their secrets buried and maintaining appearances.
3. Off with a Bang
7.7Aired 27 April 2021 • 43 min
Victim or villain? Jeanette continues to add fuel to the fire as her reckless behavior causes her friends and family to question her even more.
4. You Don't Hunt, You Don't Eat
7.8Aired 4 May 2021 • 43 min
Kate, reeling from the lawsuit, prepares her defense and finds friendship in an unlikely source. The annual Wallis hunting trip becomes the setting for an important first meeting.
5. As the Carny Gods Intended
7.5Aired 11 May 2021 • 43 min
Jeannette and Kate cross paths at the Skylin High takeover of the County Fair, where one is desperate to prove herself and the other to lose herself.
6. An Ocean in Me
7.6Aired 18 May 2021 • 43 min
A new deposition threatens Jeanette’s case. A discovery causes Cindy’s suspicions about her own daughter to reach new heights as her relationship with Greg becomes further strained.
7. Happy Birthday, Kate Wallis
7.8Aired 25 May 2021 • 43 min
Kate struggles with a family secret she’s been holding on to. Joy tries to convince Kate to go on “The Marsha Bailey Show.” Mallory has a birthday surprise.
8. Proof
7.6Aired 1 June 2021 • 43 min
On the first day of school, everyone learns that the drama of the summer is anything but over and that some people will pay more for the consequences of Jeanette and Kate's deception than others.
9. A Secret of My Own
8.2Aired 8 June 2021 • 43 min
Kate's closely held secrets and fragmented memories of her time in Martin's captivity are brought to the surface.
10. Hostile Witness
8.1Aired 15 June 2021 • 45 min
Kate and Jeanette's worlds collide as the court date arrives, finally forcing the two young women to answer the question on everyone's mind, but the answer comes with a price that not everyone can pay.