'In 2018 my perception of pop culture changed forever. I finally got to meet the woman behind it.'

There are certain moments that stick with you forever — those core memories that feel so vivid, you can transport yourself back to exactly where you were when they happened. For me, one of those moments was watching To All The Boys I've Loved Before for the first time.

I remember the day it dropped. The anticipation. The excitement of finally seeing an Asian female lead in a massive Netflix rom-com. After years of watching romantic comedies where I never saw myself reflected on screen, here was Lara Jean Song Covey — awkward, dreamy, and utterly relatable — front and centre of her own love story.

Fast-forward to now, and Jenny Han has done it again with Prime's The Summer I Turned Pretty, which just dropped its highly anticipated third season. Watching Belly navigate her own complicated love story feels like coming full circle — a chance to see mixed-race representation on our screens, proving that the impact of To All The Boys was just the beginning.

Watch the trailer for The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3. Article continues after video.

Jenny Han's books were truly the beginning of this shift. To All The Boys I've Loved Before was first published in 2014, and seeing an Asian girl on the cover was absolutely huge. It was a quiet revolution happening in YA literature — one that would eventually explode onto our screens and change everything.

When Mamamia sat down with Jenny Han recently, the show-runner, executive producer and author behind this cultural phenomenon, she reflected on that pivotal moment.

"I remember when To All The Boys I've Loved Before came out. It was in what people were calling Asian August because Crazy Rich Asians and Searching both came out within the same month. So, there was a lot of conversation about that," she said.

That month — August 2018 — was absolutely monumental. I remember it well. Crazy Rich Asians, To All The Boys I've Loved Before, and Searching all dropped within weeks of each other. I recall watching all three and getting genuinely emotional at seeing so much representation packed into such a short timeframe.

These weren't just token Asian characters or stereotypical portrayals. They were authentic, well-rounded stories that didn't feel like they were trying to merely tick boxes. They were genuinely good films that happened to centre Asian experiences — and that made all the difference.

Image: Netflix

What made To All The Boys even more significant was how it became a blueprint for other creators who followed. Jenny told us about the ripple effect.

"I remember friends telling me they were pitching stuff afterwards, and they were able to point to To All The Boys I've Loved Before as a success with an Asian lead," she explained.

Studios had finally seen proof that stories centred around Asian characters could be massive hits. What a concept! But the film's success opened doors and gave other creators the ammunition they needed to get their own projects greenlit.

When it came time to adapt The Summer I Turned Pretty, Jenny was in a unique position. In the books, Belly is white, but they made the deliberate choice to make her half-Asian in the show.

"Going into The Summer I Turned Pretty I knew that was something I wanted to do, and I was in a position to do it because we already had that first success with To All The Boys," Jenny said.

It was a powerful example of using success to create more opportunities for representation — not just taking what you can get, but actively working to expand the landscape.

Image: Prime Video

Now, there has recently been some backlash about Jenny primarily writing and adapting stories about Wasian (white-Asian mixed race) women. The criticism goes: why not full Asian women? Why not spotlight different mixed-race stories? I mean, it's a valid question. And an important dialogue in an industry and a society that values Euro-centric features and stories over others. The entertainment world has a long history of favouring mixed-race characters who fit more conventional Western beauty standards, and that's a conversation worth having.

But here's the thing. To me, both things can be true: Jenny Han's work has been groundbreaking AND we need more diverse stories of all kinds.

I think we can critique these stories in hopes of our industry shifting in the right direction while also acknowledging the progress that projects — like Jenny Han's — have created. These conversations are proof that we're moving in the right direction. We've gone from having zero Asian representation to having some, and now we're having nuanced discussions about what kind of representation we want to see more of.

To me, the fact that we can now critique the type of Asian stories being told, rather than just being grateful for any crumbs, shows how far we've come.

Looking back from 2025, it's incredible to see how much has changed since that pivotal August in 2018. We've had Parasite sweep the Oscars, Everything Everywhere All at Once become a cultural phenomenon, Beef dominate the awards circuit, Past Lives break our hearts, and Shogun make history. Not too shabby.

Image: A24

The industry has fundamentally shifted, and whilst there's still work to be done, we can trace so much of this progress back to trailblazers like Jenny Han, who proved that authentic Asian stories aren't just important — they're profitable, they're popular, and they're here to stay.

There's something magical about seeing yourself represented authentically for the first time. For so many of us, To All The Boys I've Loved Before was that moment — proof that we could be the main character of our own romantic comedy, complete with all the butterflies, heartbreak, and happy endings that come with it.

That core memory of watching Lara Jean navigate her love letters and her love life? It's not just nostalgia. It's a reminder of how powerful representation can be, and how one story can change everything for the stories that come after.

Jenny Han didn't just write a great rom-com. She helped to rewrite the rules about who gets to be the romantic lead and proved — once again — that representation does, in fact, matter.

Feature Image: Prime Video/Supplied.