Cruel Summer: 10 Movies & Shows Where You’ve Seen The Cast

Freeform’s ’90s-set mystery-drama Cruel Summer follows one popular teenager, Kate, being abducted and another, Jeanette, assuming her life. The series then shows the same day over three consecutive years when Kate returns and accuses Jeanette of knowing what happened to her and then hiding it.

Twists and turns allow the series to show the truth about what happened. This proved that both Olivia Holt and Chiara Aurelia had to carry the load, but there were other familiar faces among the cast. From popular television shows to some big movies, audiences may recognize where they know the Cruel Summer cast from.

10 Olivia Holt – Cloak & Dagger

Olivia Holt stars as Kate, the popular girl who disappeared without a trace one day. When she returned, she pointed her finger at Jeanette for knowing about the abduction and not saying anything about it. Freeform fans will quickly recognize Holt from her role on another past series from the network — Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger. Holt was one of the lead stars of the series, as Tandy Bowen, the girl who became Dagger in the series.

9 Chiara Aurelia – Gerald’s Game

The new girl in Cruel Summer was Chiara Aurelia, who played Jeanette. While she was the girl who replaced Kate in the town’s heart after the abduction, Kate destroyed her life when she returned and made accusations that Jeanette knew what happened to her and hid it. Cruel Summer is her biggest role so far, but she has appeared in the Stephen King adaptation, Gerald’s Game, on Netflix. She was a young Jessie in flashbacks; Carla Gugino was the adult Jessie.

8 Froy Gutierrez – Teen Wolf

Froy Gutierrez played Kate’s boyfriend Jamie Henson on Cruel Summer. After she disappeared without a trace, he eventually began dating Jeanette. When Kate came back, Jamie left Jeanette and went back to Kate.

However, the entire situation grew complicated when he wasn’t sure which girl he believed and played both sides of the fence. His most popular role came on Teen Wolf as Nolan, a lacrosse player who started hunting werewolves, but soon realized he was in the wrong.

7 Harley Quinn Smith – Jay And Silent Bob Reboot

Harley Quinn Smith stars as Mallory Higgins in Cruel Summer. She is Jeanette’s best friend, but when Kate returns, she grows close to her and turns on Jeanette. Smith remains best known for her famous dad.

Harley is director Kevin Smith’s daughter. She appeared as a baby in Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back as a baby version of Silent Bob. However, fans of Smith will recognize her as Jay’s daughter in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

6 Brooklyn Sudano – My Wife And Kids

Brooklyn Sudano stars in Cruel Summer as Angela Prescott, the bartender in the town and Jeanette’s dad Greg’s girlfriend. She is one of the most likeable characters on the show and has no real enemies, which is unusual for this series. Sudano is best known as a replacement actor on a sitcom; she replaced Meagan Good as Vanessa Scott in Damon Wayans’ series My Wife and Kids.

5 Blake Lee – Mixology

Blake Lee is the real villain of Cruel Summer. Lee stars as Skylin High’s vice principal, Martin Harris. He began grooming Kate in 1993 and abducted her in 1994, locking her in his basement.

Kate’s rescue comes when Martin ends up killed in a police shootout. This then leads to Kate and Jeanette’s problems. His most famous role came in the ABC series Mixology as Tom, who ended up with Maya (Ginger Gonzaga) on the show.

4 Michael Landes – Lois & Clark

Michael Landes starred on Cruel Summer as Jeanette’s dad Greg Turner. He is a good dad and refuses to believe the worst about his daughter and unconditionally stands by her side. He is one of the few people who stood by Jeanette.

Landes himself is a ‘90s star. Anyone who watched the old Superman series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman will recognize him as Jimmy Olsen. He was also Winnie’s first boyfriend in The Wonder Years before that.

3 Sarah Drew – Grey’s Anatomy

Sarah Drew stars in Cruel Summer as Cindy Turner, Jeanette’s mother on the show. She has a rough relationship with Jeanette, especially when Kate returns and makes her accusations. Drew is the most familiar face on the Freeform series, seeing as Drew played Dr. April Kepner for eight seasons on the popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. She was in one of the show’s most beloved couples with Jesse Williams’s Jackson Avery.

2 Nicole Bilderback – Dark Angel

Nicole Bilderback stars in Cruel Summer as Denise, Jeanette’s lawyer during the libel lawsuit against Kate. Bilderback was a primary cast member of one of the more successful female-led action series in television history with James Cameron’s Dark Angel. She starred as Brin, one of the 12 X5s who escaped in 2009, but returned for her own safety, where she became a killing machine hunting down other escaped X5s.

1 Andrea Anders – Joey

Andrea Anders starred on Cruel Summer as Kate’s mom, Joy Wallis. She is wealthy and self-centered and is as responsible for Kate’s mistakes as anyone. While she goes to very dark places in this series, Anders is best known for her comedic roles. She starred in the Friends spinoff Joey alongside Matt LeBlanc and Drea de Matteo. She played Alex, Joey’s neighbor. While the two never dated on the show, Anders and LeBlanc dated in real life.

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