Griffin Gluck Teases New Mystery in Cruel Summer Season 2 – Interview

Griffin Gluck can next be seen starring as Luke in the highly anticipated second season of Cruel Summer. Also starring Sadie Stanley and Lexi Underwood, Cruel Summer season 2 is set to explore a new mystery taking place throughout 1999 and the turn of the millennium. With plenty of twists and turns on the way, we were so excited to get a preview of what’s ahead.

We spoke with Griffin about what viewers can expect from his character Luke, how this next chapter of Cruel Summer will keep viewers on the edge of their seats, and what he is most excited to see as this new mystery unfolds.

Read on for our exclusive interview with Griffin Gluck below:

I am loving what I’ve seen of Cruel Summer season 2 so far. This is just what we needed right now.

I’m glad to hear that, thank you!

Can you talk a little about your character Luke, and what viewers can expect from them?

It’s a bit tricky. You find out a lot about Luke throughout the 10 episodes. Your opinion of him changes a lot. That’s something you can expect; Inconsistency from Luke. One day you like him and the next day maybe you have a different opinion about him. Luke is just a 16-year-old growing up in a very wealthy family and doesn’t have a great relationship with his family. There’s some trauma in his past. He’s figuring himself out. The audience is joining him on that journey.

Luke and his family seem to have a very prominent position in town. Can you talk a little about what will be motivating Luke in these first few episodes?

I don’t think Luke really knows what his motivation is. I was trying to figure that out while filming. I think the interesting thing is, Luke was trying to figure himself out the whole time. He doesn’t really know what he wants from life. He wants happiness and to be the person that he wants to be. Growing up in this town and the situations that he puts himself in, go against who he wants to be. I also don’t think he knows what that person looks like. He’s figuring it out and trying his best.

Season 2 takes place over three different moments of time in 1999 leading up to Y2K. What was that like for you to essentially travel back in time?

Let’s see. In 1999 I was negative 18 months old.

That hurts. That was like, a personal attack.

[laughs] No, no. This reminded me for a second when we were shooting the New Year’s 2000 scene, I was born in late August of 2000. So, I look back in time and I was like oh, this is probably when I was made. That’s cool. Also a gross thought.

It was fun to travel back. It was cool to do the whole fashion thing, even if I didn’t love Luke’s fashion choices. It was definitely fun to see it and experience it. I think the girls had a lot of great outfits. That’s obviously coming back right now, very trendy.

The coolest thing for me was the prepping for the role. I tried not to use this thing [gestures at phone]. This awesome technology that we have. Let’s see how it feels to go a couple of days without my phone and not be on it all the time. My screen usage went from a couple of hours a day to like 30 minutes a day. That was a lot of fun. I’d leave my phone in my apartment and just go on a long walk. That was fun to experience because not many young people are doing that nowadays. It can seem almost impossible to do so.

A core part of Luke’s character is his relationship with Megan. Isabella then comes to town and shakes things up. Will we be seeing more of how those relationships evolve?

You see a lot more. That’s one of my favorite parts about the show; filling in the pieces. In the first episode in the Summer of 2000, Luke and Megan have been friends forever. A new girl comes to town and they’re into each other. Then you bounce forward to the Winter later that year, and everything is completely flipped around. Luke and Megan are seriously dating and Isabella is just a friend to both of them. She’s way closer to Megan.

That’s the most interesting part of the show. You get these two wildly different perspectives. These two versions of people. Throughout the show, you slowly fill in the gaps of how you got there.

A big theme of Cruel Summer Season 1 was how the choices we make and the secrets we keep kind of shape who we are, especially in terms of the consequences of those decisions. Would you say the same rings true for season 2?

100 percent yes. That’s what people loved about season 1. Although it’s a new cast and a new storyline, the core of the show is still there. The core of the show is the secrets that we keep and the consequences of those actions. How that affects the people around us. One little detail might change everything. Secrets are no fun.

I was so confident last season that I had it all figured out.

I was also confident. I was not expecting that twist. I hope people don’t expect this ending. Man, it’s a lot of pressure to live up to that first twist. I’m excited for people to see it.

That leads me right to my next question. I know there are many twists and turns ahead but what can you tease about what viewers can expect in these first few episodes? What are you most excited for them to see?

I think I’m excited about the first impressions of who these characters are. It’s all about the first impressions. And then I’m really excited for them to get past that and start to really learn who these characters are. The first episodes set up the world really well. It’s very fast-paced and there’s a lot of information. You can barely blink without missing something important.

Seeing how all of that plays out is really interesting. You definitely learn a lot more about these characters and that may change your perspective. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way. I’m excited for the viewers to go on this journey.

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Thank you so much to Griffin Gluck for taking the time to speak with us!

Be sure to keep up to date with Griffin by following him on social media on Instagram and Twitter.

Cruel Summer season 2 premieres Monday, June 5th at 9pm ET on Freeform.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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For more interviews from Cruel Summer, check out our previous coverage with Blake Lee, Shelby Surdam, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Brooklyn Sudano, and Tia Napolitano from the hit Freeform series Cruel Summer.

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