In 1973, Lois Duncan published a novel called I Know What You Did Last Summer that reflected the horrific ramifications of a tragedy teens attempted to hide. Duncan’s story came to multiplexes in a a 1997 adaptation that spawned additional entries in 1998, 2006 and 2025.

The movies maintained a connection but the property got another iteration in 2021 via an Amazon streaming series called – duh - I Know What You Did Last Summer. This one starts over from scratch.

Though it didn’t last long, as the TV Summer got cancelled after one season. This Blu-ray set includes all eight of those episodes, with plot synopses straight from the series’ official site.

It’s Thursday: “Lennon Grant (Madison Iseman) returns home after her first year at college and discovers that someone knows the terrible secret she and her OG crew of friends swore to keep last summer.”

While “Thursday” obviously echoes the main exposition of the 1997 movie, one major difference arrives via our main character – or characters, I should say. The TV Summer replaces the novel/1997 flick’s lead Julie James with Lennon and her twin sister Allison.

Much of “Thursday” traces the fateful path of what the teens “did last summer”, but this change in leads creates a firm deviation. Indeed, the use of the twins becomes such a shift that I can’t discuss much about other changes without the embrace of spoilers.

Suffice it to say that S1’s curveballs out of the gate create intrigue because they ensure a different vibe from the 1997 movie. However, these plot points also threaten to seem clever-clever and could become a burden.

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. At least the changes make “Thursday” more interesting than expected.

It’s Not Just For Dog Shit: “The estranged friends reunite to try and figure who might have revealed their secret or who else knows what they did - which leads to murder.”

Some flashbacks add more exposition as well as more content I can’t reveal if I want to avoid spoilers. These give Summer a bit more intrigue.

However, “Dog” can feel a little on the melodramatic side as well. “Dog” pushes the series ahead in a reasonably positive manner but I can’t claim it totally satisfies.

A Gorilla Head Will Not Do: “Unable to go to the authorities without revealing their secret, the crew needs to solve the mystery on their own. More bodies turn up, as they realize they're being haunted and hunted.”

Perhaps the biggest potential challenge that greets the TV Summer stems from the fact it uses more than six hours to tell essentially the same story that only needed 101 minutes in 1997. This means the series theoretically comes with more room for development.

So far that extra headroom doesn’t add much, as at least through three episodes, the characters remain pretty thin. Because of the death that occurred in “Dog”, a police investigation enters the narrative here and that contributes intrigue, but otherwise Summer feels a bit stuck in place.

Hot Shrimp Salad: “Lennon uncovers secrets about her twin and begins to fear the worst about the true identity of the person murdering her friends. The local community is shocked by more murders.”

“Salad” appears to put the most prominent maniac killer suspect to rest, but horror fans know better than to trust such “resolutions”. “Salad” comes with other major plot points but it also continues to stick us with more teen melodrama than I’d like.

Mukbang: “The police question everyone in town with any connection to the victims. The crew thinks they know who is after them and hunt for evidence implicating town eccentric Clara Whethers (Brooke Bloom).”

To some degree, “Mukbang” becomes a reasonable plot thickener, and the increased police involvement combined with the view of Clara provides intrigue. However, the episode reminds us the manner in which the series stretches the source pretty thin, as I still don’t think Summer offers enough substance to fill more than six hours of TV.

Least You Had a Spare: “More devastating truths are unearthed by Lennon as the crew frantically searches for one of their own who has gone missing.”

We get more violence as the noose tightens along with some soap opera revelations. These motivate the narrative toward the last one-fourth of the series but they don’t really pack the punch they need.

If Only Dogs Could Talk: “The town races to find the killer before another victim is claimed. Calm seems to be restored as the killing stops until the police make a gruesome discovery.”

As we near the season/series end, matters heat up – in theory, at least. The various revelations feel like they should pack a punch, but I must admit they don’t do a lot for me.

“Dogs” also comes with a wholly unconvincing “resolution” to the killing spree that all horror fans will realize acts as a red herring. Maybe the series finale will finish things with a bang but “Dogs” doesn’t leave me with tons of confidence.

Your Next Life Could Be So Much Happier: “Lennon and her surviving friends confront painful truths from the past as the shocking truth of the killer's identity is finally revealed - with deadly consequences.”

Summer the series wraps with a twisty tale intended to keep the viewer off-guard until the Final Big Reveal. Much of this seems gratuitous and without a lot of dramatic impact.

Much of this stems from the show’s aforementioned draggy nature. It never gets into a real groove so it feels like the finale tosses everything it can find at the wall in the hopes it’ll dazzle the viewer.

It doesn’t, so it becomes a tepid conclusion to a spotty series. I can’t claim I actively disliked Summer but I thought it stretched itself too thin and failed to find the rhythm it needed.

I Know What You Did Last Summer appears in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1 on these Blu-ray Discs. The episodes came with the expected positive picture quality.

Overall sharpness worked fine. Some wider shots came with a slightly tentative feel but most of the time I thought the shows boasted appealing delineation.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.

The series’ palette leaned toward the semi-inevitable mix of amber and teal. Cliché as these choices may seem, the discs replicated the colors in a positive manner.

Blacks seemed dark and tight, while shadows felt well-depicted. The visuals satisfied.

Don’t expect a lot from the series’ DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, as the episodes’ soundscapes remained surprisingly limited. The episodes leaned more heavily toward the forward channels than anticipated.

In the front, music showed good stereo presence and effects broadened well. Those elements moved nicely and fleshed out the settings.

However, surround usage became oddly restrained. The back channels offered mild reinforcement of the forward channels at most, so even during scenes that felt like they should bring good involvement from the rears, they stayed stuck in the front.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music felt full and rich.

Effects appeared clear and accurate, with good range and without distortion. While the episodes brought acceptable audio, the absence of broad 5.1 soundscapes knocked some points off my grade.

Disc Three includes two TV spots and no other extras.

With more than six hours at its disposal, the I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series would seem like it should offer a better exploration of characters than the movie versions did. Instead, this take on Summer tends to move slowly and only occasionally spark intrigue. The Blu-rays come with positive picture, decent but restrained audio and virtually no supplements. Although Summer doesn’t turn into a poor series, it fails to use its six-plus hours well.