PHILADELPHIA — Somewhere on a fictional Massachusetts beach, a young Philadelphia woman is agonizing over which of two brothers she must marry as her friends — and 25 million viewers, according to Amazon — watch in frustration.

That’s the plot of the television show "The Summer I Turned Pretty." The adaptation of the bestselling trilogy by author Jenny Han has been streaming on Amazon Prime Video since 2022, but show’s third and final season became must-see television this summer as millions have tuned in every Wednesday to watch Belly Conklin decide if she will chose Conrad, Jeremiah, or herself.

For the uninitiated: "TSITP" follows teenage Belly during summers spent at a beach house owned by family friends the Fishers. There, Belly falls in love with Conrad Fisher — the emotionally unavailable older brother with a hero complex — before breaking up with him to date his younger (and slightly less emotionally unavailable) brother Jeremiah. All the while, the trio must grapple with the death and sickness of Conrad and Jeremiah’s mom Susannah and the expectations she left for Belly to marry into the family.

Like most things, the show has a surprising Philly connection.

This season, "TSITP" revolves around Belly’s plan to give up a trip to Paris (à la "The Hills’" Lauren Conrad) to plan a shotgun wedding with Jeremiah, much to dismay of her mother, her ex-flame, and the show’s shockingly adult fan base. The finale will air Sept. 17.

The series is pull-your-hair-out frustrating yet compulsively watchable, fans say, due to "TSITP’s" web of love triangles and well-timed Taylor Swift needle drops.

“It encapsulates teen heartbreak very well … As [adults], we don’t yearn anymore for things or get butterflies as we get older” so "TSITP" feels nostalgic, said Candice Nguyen, 25, a local content creator who watched the show after reading Han’s books.

Meghan Fagan, 39, of East Passyunk, put it more simply: “It reminds me of 'Twilight,'” due to its teen heartthrob love triangle.

Though Han said the "TSITP’s" beach town is inspired by a mix of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Hamptons, the Conklins are supposed to be from an unnamed Philadelphia suburb. It’s a fact that remains unaddressed beyond occasional flashes of a Pennsylvania license plate and some throwaway dialogue.

The Easter eggs have started discourse from TikTok as fans debate which town the Conklins are from, and if Belly’s homie-hopping behavior would get her Philly card revoked.

So, is Belly Conklin a Philly girl? We investigate.

Does Belly Conklin live on the Main Line?

If we read between the lines, yes.

When Conrad stands in for Jeremiah at Belly’s debutante ball in the Season 1 finale, Belly is announced as representing the fictional Chesterbrook High School. Chesterbrook is very real on the Main Line in Chester County, and is consistently ranked by realty website Niche as one of the best places to live in the United States.

Fans told The Inquirer that they’re split on if Belly has Main Line vibes.

“She gives such cookie-cutter suburban energy,” said Nebiyou Elias, 25, an avid "TSITP" watcher who grew up in King of Prussia. Elias said he had envisioned Belly growing up in Bryn Mawr or Ardmore and flitting around one of the area’s all-girls Catholic schools, like Villa Maria or Merion Mercy Academy.

Fagan, who grew up in Warminster, has also placed Belly as a Villa Maria graduate who commuted from the Main Line adjacent-Newtown Square. The township is like Belly, Fagan said: “Boring … kind of basic, sort of wealthy and sort of not at the same time.”

Belly’s obsession with the Fishers is also a dead giveaway for an all-girls Catholic school, said West Chester native Hannah Penney. “If she was constantly surrounded by other boys, she wouldn’t be so frazzled by Jeremiah and Conrad flirting with her,” Penney explained. “She genuinely does not know how to act.”

For Nguyen, Belly’s geography is less a matter of backstory as is it a cheeky play on words.

“Jenny Han made [Belly] from Philly because it’s the City of Brotherly love,” Nguyen said. Duh.

Does Belly Conklin act like a Philly girl?

That’s a hard no, according to local fans.

“No woman from Philly would ever be spoken to on the phone by a man telling her ‘I want a two-tiered, 70% dark chocolate cacao with raspberry coulis cake’ … Don’t talk to me again,” one TikTok user said in a video that’s been viewed over 134,000 times.

Commenters piled on about the lack of regional accents, and "TSITP’s" insistence that a drive from Philly to the Boston area is quick and not actually a five-and-a-half hour undertaking.

Perhaps the most egregious sticking point, Philly fans said, is that the show’s characters rarely make fun of Belly for hopping from brother to brother … or for getting married after being cheated on … or throwing a wedding with Smirnoff Ices in the gift bags. True Philadelphians, it appears, are going to gossip.

“It’s weird how everyone is so nonchalant about it,” said Abby Snopek, 29, who lives in East Passyunk. “Where I went to high school, she’d forever be known as ‘Belly Conklin, the girl who dated two brothers.’”

For Penney, Belly’s predicament is somewhat familiar: During summers down the Shore, Penney was torn between two boys who were related. Neither knew about her feelings for the other, Penney assured The Inquirer, and there was a significant gap in between.

“It’s really not that rare,” Penney said. “But if I dated my ex-boyfriend’s brother? Everyone would side-eye it. I’d make fun of me.”

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