Fans have had a long wait for Cruel Summer — no, not the Kanye West movie or album, the psychological thriller series. Season one concluded in 2021, and although season two was rumored to be released in 2022, its scheduled premiere is June 5, 2023. If you want to stream older episodes or the new season, this guide shows how and where to watch Cruel Summer online.
Key Takeaways: Stream Cruel Summer
- Cruel Summer season 2 premieres on June 5 on Freeform in the U.S.
- You can also watch it on Hulu in the U.S. or Amazon Prime in a few countries like Australia, France and the U.K. from June 6.
- If you’re not located in any of those countries, you can use a VPN to access the show. We recommend using ExpressVPN, which has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cruel Summer is an anthology series, so the second season will have a new cast and characters. It will have a similar base plot, with the story following teenage friendships and mysterious twists.
This guide will show you where you can watch both seasons of Cruel Summer online, but note that some of the services are only available in certain regions. If you’re not located in those regions, you can use a virtual private network (VPN) to spoof your location and get access. For a quick answer, we recommend using ExpressVPN.
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No, Cruel Summer is not available on Netflix. You can watch it on Hulu in the U.S. or Amazon Prime Video in select countries, such as the U.K., Australia and France.
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Yes. Season 2 of Cruel Summer will air on Hulu starting June 6. You can also watch season 1 on Hulu.
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Season 2 of Cruel Summer premieres on June 5 on Freeform. If you have a U.S. TV provider login, you can watch it on the Freeform website. If not, you can watch it on Hulu in the U.S. or Amazon Prime in certain countries like Australia and the U.K. starting on June 6. Season 1 is also available on those services.
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No. While there has been a delay in the production and release of season 2, it has not been canceled. Season 2 of Cruel Summer premieres on Freeform on June 5.
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Where to Watch Cruel Summer
If you’ve never heard about geoblocks before, they’re basically regional restrictions set by streaming services so that they don’t breach licensing and copyright agreements. You’ve most likely come across them without realizing it.
If you’ve ever been met with an error message saying something like “this content is not available in your region,” then you’ve experienced geoblocking. This can happen with particular shows and movies, or even whole services.
You can get past the blocks with the use of a VPN. You just need to connect to a server that’s located in the same region as the content you want to unblock. We’ll show you how farther down and also provide some reliable VPN recommendations.
Which Streaming Services Have Cruel Summer?
Cruel Summer season two starts with a two-episode premiere on June 5 on Freeform. Episodes will then continue weekly. Freeform is a U.S. cable channel, but if you have a U.S. TV provider subscription, you can log in and watch Freeform content online. Cruel Summer season one is available online too.
If you can’t watch it on Freeform, you can also watch both seasons of Cruel Summer on Hulu. However, you’ll need to wait until the next day, June 6, for the start of season two to be available on there.
Like Freeform, Hulu is available in the U.S., but if you’re not in the country, you can hop on a U.S. VPN server and access the service as usual. If you don’t already have a Hulu account, you’ll need a U.S. payment method to subscribe.
We also found Cruel Summer on Amazon Prime Video in various regions, such as the U.S., Australia and France. Season one is available to watch with a Prime Video subscription and, like with Hulu, the first two episodes of season two will be available to stream on June 6. If you have a Prime account, but you’re not in those countries, a VPN suitable for Prime can help you get in.
If you’ve yet to start the series, there are other services — such as fuboTV, Sling TV, Spectrum TV and DirecTV Stream — that have episodes from the first season of Cruel Summer, but some don’t have the whole season. You can also rent or buy episodes on services like Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Google Play.
Is Cruel Summer on Netflix?
No, neither season one nor the upcoming season of Cruel Summer is available on Netflix. That could possibly change in the future, since licensing agreements are always changing. We aim to keep this information up-to-date, but it’s a good idea to check for yourself. Remember, just because it’s not in your local Netflix library doesn’t mean it’s not on Netflix in another country.
How to Access Other Netflix Libraries
Switching to a different Netflix library is a simple task. All you need to do is connect to a VPN server in the same country as the Netflix library you want to access. However, getting into Netflix isn’t something that all VPNs are good at, so make sure you’ve got a good VPN choice for Netflix before you start.
How to Watch Cruel Summer for Free
Cruel Summer isn’t available on free streaming services like Pluto TV and Tubi, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for streaming it free.
Both Hulu and Amazon Prime Video offer a free trial, so you could sign up for one of those services and use the trial to watch Cruel Summer for free.
That said, although both services offer a one-month trial, new Cruel Summer episodes are released weekly, so you won’t be able to get through the whole season for free. However, if you don’t mind waiting until the season is already underway — or even until the end — you could then get a free trial and binge-watch the whole season.
If you need a VPN to access either of the services, you can pair the free trial with a VPN’s money-back guarantee and essentially watch completely free.
How to Watch Cruel Summer With a VPN
As we already mentioned, a VPN can help you stream Cruel Summer if you’re outside where it’s available. We’ve provided a step-by-step guide for accessing Hulu with the best streaming VPN, ExpressVPN.
If you’d prefer to watch Cruel Summer on Prime Video, you can follow the same steps by changing the VPN server to one where Cruel Summer is available and then accessing Amazon Prime.
- Sign Up for a VPN Service
Sign up for ExpressVPN — it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Install the ExpressVPN App
Download and install ExpressVPN’s app on your device. Then, launch it and log in.
- Connect to a Server in the United States
Connect to a U.S. server. You can open ExpressVPN’s server list by clicking on the three dots. Then, browse through the server list or use the search bar to find a suitable server. Once you’ve found one, click on it, but if it doesn’t connect, click the big “on” button.
- Buy a Hulu Gift Card
If you don’t have a U.S. payment method and need to sign up for Hulu, you can purchase a Hulu gift card instead. Go to a site like MyGiftCardSupply and purchase a gift card.
- Redeem the Gift Card on Hulu’s Website
Go to Hulu’s “redeem” page and enter the code from your virtual gift card. After that, you can sign up for a Hulu subscription. However, you’ll need to add another payment method before your gift card balance has been used up; otherwise, your subscription will end.
- Start Streaming Cruel Summer
Search for Cruel Summer on Hulu and click “watch now” to start streaming.
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The Best VPNs for Watching Cruel Summer
If you’re not sure which VPN to go for, we’ve got two recommendations for you that are great choices for streaming. Let’s take a look at what they offer, starting with our top choice, ExpressVPN.
1. ExpressVPN
Pros:
- Unlocks streaming apps
- Easy-to-use apps
- Fast speeds
Cons:
- Expensive plans
ExpressVPN is the best choice, not just for streaming, but overall. It provides fast speeds and a large choice of servers covering all the countries where Cruel Summer will be aired. Plus, it doesn’t matter which streaming service you choose because ExpressVPN can unblock them all. It’s easy to use on any device too, even if you don’t have experience with VPNs.
ExpressVPN also provides strong security, which is important when you’re online for any reason. ExpressVPN is pricey when compared to other VPNs, but it’s well worth the extra cost, as you can read in our ExpressVPN review. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can test-drive it first.
- Unlimited GB
- 5
- Yes
2. NordVPN
Pros:
- Fastest average speeds
- Thousands of servers
- Affordable plans
Cons:
- Mobile map is tricky
You can also use NordVPN to stream Cruel Summer. Our ongoing speed comparison shows that NordVPN is the fastest VPN on average, so you won’t have to worry about slow loading times. Plus, it can access streaming services easily and has thousands of servers available.
We found that the app is easy to use on a desktop and has an attractive interactive map. However, although NordVPN implements the same style of app on mobile, the interactive map is difficult to use on a smaller screen.
Still, it’s a secure and affordable VPN, with its two-year plan costing a lot less than ExpressVPN. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you don’t like it. Check out our NordVPN review for more information.
- Unlimited GB
- 6
- Yes
- Unlimited GB
- 6
- Yes
Cast, Characters & Plot: Cruel Summer Season 2
As we already mentioned, Cruel Summer is an anthology series. This means that the stories are not connected from season to season, but they might share some similarities, such as the genre or style.
Season one told the story of two teenage girls over three summers in the 1990s in Texas. One girl, Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt), is popular and lives a charmed life; the other, Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia), is nerdy and socially awkward.
One day, Kate goes missing, seemingly without a trace. While others are focused on the mystery of Kate’s disappearance, Jeanette gradually goes from a sweet outlier to the most popular girl, pretty much taking Kate’s place.
However, that doesn’t last long after Kate returns home and accuses Jeanette of seeing her while she was captured, and she quickly becomes the most despised person in America. It goes from being a story about friendship to deceit, with the two young women and others in the town not quite telling the whole truth.
Season two is set in a waterfront town in the Pacific Northwest in the 2000s. It will take on the same style of friendships, betrayal and drama as season one, but will add a love triangle to the mix.
There are a few executive producers for the show, including Jessica Biel, Michelle Purple, Max Wrinkler, Bert V. Royal and Tia Napolitano. Here are the cast and character lists for both seasons.
Cruel Summer Season 1 Cast List
| Character: | Performer |
|---|---|
| Jeanette Turner | Chiara Aurelia |
| Kate Wallis | Olivia Holt |
| Joy Wallis | Andrea Anders |
| Rod Wallis | Ben Cain |
| Jamie Henson | Froy Gutierrez |
| Martin Harris | Blake Lee |
| Mallory Higgins | Harley Quinn Smith |
| Derek Turner | Barrett Carnahan |
| Cindy Turner | Sarah Drew |
| Greg Turner | Michael Landes |
| Vince Fuller | Allius Barnes |
| Ben Hallowell | Nathaniel Ashton |
| Ashley | Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut |
| Angela Prescott | Brooklyn Sudano |
| Denise Harper | Nicole Bilderback |
| Nick Marshall | Jason Douglas |
| Tennille Peterson | Shelby Surdam |
| Renee Talbot | Aaliyah Muhammad |
| Sylvia Parks | Lee Eddy |
Cruel Summer Season 2 Cast List
This list will likely grow as the second season progresses, but here are the main cast and characters that have been announced so far.
| Character: | |
|---|---|
| Isabella | Lexi Underwood |
| Megan | Sadie Stanley |
| Debbie | KaDee Strickland |
| Luke | Griffin Gluck |
| Parker | Lisa Yamada |
| Steve Chambers | Paul Adelstein |
| Sheriff Meyer | Sean Blakemore |
Final Thoughts
If you’re ready for another story from the Cruel Summer series, told from a different timeline and with shifting points of view, we hope this guide has helped.
If you need a VPN to access Hulu in the U.S. or Amazon Prime in a country that has Cruel Summer, ExpressVPN is the best choice. Why not see if you like it using the 30-day money-back guarantee?
Have you watched season one of Cruel Summer? Are you looking forward to the second season? Will you need a VPN to watch it? If so, which VPN will you choose? Let us know in the comment section and, as always, thank you for reading.
The post How & Where to Watch <i>Cruel Summer</i> in 2023: Stream Both Seasons From Anywhere appeared first on Cloudwards.
