Charlottetown 
Prince Edward Island is getting more than a backdrop role in Netflix’s upcoming series This Summer Will Be Different.
Robin Neinstein Netflix Canada; Premier Rob Lantz; Minister of Economic Development, Trade and AI Jenn Redmond; Minister of Workforce and Advanced Learning Zack Bell
The province is investing $5 million through its Film Production Fund, marking its largest film industry investment to date.
The 10-episode series is based on Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel, a sunlit romance shaped by repeat summers, complicated feelings and the pull of PEI’s coast. At the centre is Lucy, a young woman visiting a beach house on the Island, and Felix, a local she falls for before realizing he is her best friend Bridget’s younger brother.
The story stretches across multiple summers. Lucy returns to PEI each year with Bridget for beaches, oysters, vinho verde and an annual promise not to fall back into Felix’s orbit. That becomes harder when Bridget leaves Toronto a week before her wedding and Lucy follows her back to the Island.
For PEI, the Netflix partnership is being positioned as both an economic boost and a chance to show the Island to a global audience. The province says the funding will support local jobs, workforce training and opportunities for film professionals, new entrants, vendors, crew members and background actors.
Production is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with filming planned in Toronto and on PEI.
The series was created by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart. Executive producers include Clark, Stewart, Fortune, Jennifer Kawaja and Elise Cousineau for Sphere Media.
Fortune has described PEI’s landscape, people and friendships as central to the story’s foundation. Now, those same elements are moving from the page to the screen, giving the Island a visible role in a romance built around memory, temptation and return.
