Cousins Beach, the primary setting in "The Summer I Turned Pretty," is a fictional beach town. According to the show's author Jenny Han, Cousins Beach is inspired by several real beach locations such as Cape Cod, the Hamptons, the Outer Banks, and Virginia Beach. The town is meant to evoke a universal coastal beach vibe that feels familiar to many readers and viewers. For the filming of the series, "The Summer I Turned Pretty" was shot mainly in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. Specific real locations include Carolina Beach, Fort Fisher, Padgett Station in downtown Wilmington, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach. The family's beach house scenes were filmed in a private gated golf course community in Wilmington. In the story, Cousins Beach is depicted as a Cape Cod-like town in Massachusetts, and Belly's family spends summers there with the Fishers, but the actual places shown are from Wilmington and nearby beaches in North Carolina.