In May 2021, Cruel Summer began airing on Freeform, a teen thriller series starring Chiara Aurelia and Olivia Holt as teenage girls at war with each other in the small town of Skylin, Texas. But this was no ordinary teen drama and it was definitely no ordinary thriller series, either. As viewers learn that Jeanette (Aurelia) and Kate (Holt) are involved in a nasty lawsuit because Kate was kidnapped and claims that Jeanette knew her location, the show's unique structure becomes more obvious.