The TV romance takeover has a dud with Every Year After

Summertime sadness. Romance adaptations have taken over TV – “Heated Rivalry” was a phenomenon, “Bridgerton” remains a juggernaut, “Off Campus” is a hit. Now, there’s Prime Video’s “Every Year After” – but this show is a dud. It’s not worth watching, unless you’re a superfan of the book. (It’s a bestseller, so the show will likely still pull in a healthy audience). Based on the novel by Carly Fortune (confusingly called “Every Summer After”), “Every Year After” is about Persephone “Percy” Fraser (Sadie Soverall), a journalist in her late 20s who is commitment-phobic in her relationships. After she finds out that a family friend died, she travels back to Barry’s Bay, the lake town where she used to spend summers with her childhood love, Sam Florek (Matt Cornett) and his family.It’s been years since Percy has seen Sam or returned to this quaint community.“Every Year After” implies that she left and stayed away under hurtful circumstances, but the story takes its time showing what happened. And, like many shows that orient themselves around a “big reveal,” it’s underwhelming. She’s reconnecting with old friends that she’s been estranged from, which includes Sam, his chaotic brother Charlie (Michael Bradway), her old friend – or frenemy – Delilah (Abigail Cowen), and Sam’s other bud, Jordie (Joseph Chiu). Percy’s lawyer pal from the city, Chantal (Aurora Perrineau), also accompanies her for moral support. If Prime Video’s other recent hit, “Off Campus,” had the energy of a CW show, “Every Year After” feels like an ABC Family show – before their rebrand as Freeform, in an effort to sound more mature. The writing, acting, and production values of “Every Year After” are cheesy and melodramatic, like a Hallmark or Lifetime movie. “Off Campus” was charming enough to get away with a sprinkling of that tone. This show isn’t. Even when it tries to steer into relationship ang...