Looking for a new romance to stream? Perhaps you’ve heard about the After movies, but don’t know the best place to start. Don’t worry, Entertainment Weekly is here to guide you through Hardin and Tessa’s love story so you can find out what all the fuss is about.
The series centers on Tessa Young (Josephine Langford), who meets enigmatic bad boy Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) at college. Their tumultuous relationship unfolds across five films as their personal differences, family drama, and professional ambitions create obstacles to their happily ever after.
The After franchise is adapted from author Anna Todd’s novels, which were initially based on her One Direction-inspired fan fiction. But don’t worry, other than the tattoos and British accent, Hardin and Harry Styles have very little in common.
Read on for a guide to watching the After movies in order, plus details about the numerous behind-the-scenes switch-ups.
After (2019)
Quantrell D. Colbert/ Aviron Pictures/Everett
The first After movie feels the most like a typical teen romance film. Tessa is a quintessential Midwestern high school bookworm who dreams of working for a famous publishing house. She loves her family, she loves her boyfriend… and then goes to college and meets Hardin Scott, the infamous bad boy on campus.
As Tessa is drawn into Hardin’s orbit, she starts questioning everything she believes about who she is and what she wants. However, Hardin’s allure also comes with an unsettling side — including, but not limited to, why he pursued her in the first place. Tessa may not be ready for the dangers that Hardin presents to her heart and her dreams.
Alongside the two leads, the cast includes Selma Blair as Tessa’s mom, Peter Gallagher as Hardin’s estranged father, and Jennifer Beals as Hardin’s stepmother. This is the movie that started it all, so it’s beloved by fans, but it’s also the most conventional of the series.
After We Collided (2020)
Josh Stringer/Voltage Pictures
After We Collided is where things start to get really fun. The sequel is spicier and leans into its own ridiculousness. So who better to direct the project than the filmmaker behind 1999’s spicy and ridiculous Cruel Intentions? From a script co-written by the series’ author, Anna Todd, Roger Kumble’s film sees Tessa and Hardin reckon with the consequences of their actions and prepare for life after college.
Tessa lands an impressive internship at Vance Publishing House and is desperate to make inroads for her future career. However, things get complicated when she develops an attraction to her co-worker, known colloquially by fans as “F—ing Trevor,” played by Dylan Sprouse.
“Even if you’re playing a potential bad guy, which in this case Trevor is not, but still coming into a large fanbase like this they usually see you for who you are as a person and not the character, hopefully,” Sprouse told EW in 2020. “If I do my job well, then it means that I do frustrate them a little bit, and I do frustrate the dynamic between Tessa and Hardin in a way that makes sense for them.”
Collided features the franchise’s first big casting switch-ups. Rob Estes took over Gallagher’s role, while Karimah Westbrook replaced Beals. This movie also introduces Charlie Weber as Hardin’s family friend, Christian Vance, and Candice King as his wife, Kimberly.
After We Fell (2021)
Voltage Pictures
After We Fell takes a more serious turn. Tessa and Hardin find their way back to each other once again, but this time, demons from their respective paths threaten their relationship. Tessa’s contemplating a major move for her career while her estranged addict father forces his way back into her life. Hardin, meanwhile, tries to put Tessa’s needs ahead of his own, but gets thrown for a loop when big revelations from his own family come to light.
“In this film, she’s starting to shut down a little,” Langford told EW in 2021. “She entered the first one very idealistic and hopeful, and then so much has happened between them in this relationship, and because of this relationship and with her family life that she’s growing up and that age of innocence is ending. She’s starting to confront the adult world.”
Castille Landon took on directing duties for After We Fell and stayed for the remainder of the franchise. This movie was filmed back-to-back with its follow-up, After Ever Happy, with scheduling issues leading to more big casting changes.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina alum Chance Perdomo stepped up as Hardin’s stepbrother Landon, while Mira Sorvino took over for Blair as Tessa’s mom. True Blood star Stephen Moyer replaced Weber as Christian Vance, and Arielle Kebbel was cast as Kimberly.
After Ever Happy (2022)
Voltage Pictures/Everett
After Ever Happy marks a controversial point in the After movie canon. Fans assumed it would be the last film in the franchise, as Todd originally wrote four books in the “Hessa” novel series. Shortly before the film’s release, however, Fiennes Tiffin announced they filmed a fifth movie concurrently with After Ever Happy.
Fans expecting a happy ending for Tessa and Hardin came away with… well, mixed reactions, as predicted by the film’s star. This fourth entry takes place after college as our central couple tries to figure out how their relationship works in the real, adult world.
“It feels like a more grown-up version because they are more grown up,” Fiennes Tiffin teased to EW in 2022. “It’s so nice that not just the fans have grown up together, but I’ve grown up, the characters have grown up, and we’ve all been on this journey together.”
The movie only adapts part of Todd’s fourth book before leaving fans hanging with a cliffhanger ending.
After Everything (2023)
Voltage Pictures/ Everett
This final movie in the franchise is not adapted from an Anna Todd novel, but is instead an original story from Landon. After Everything sees Hardin reflecting on his past mistakes after the viral success of his debut novel, titled After. Based on his relationship with Tessa, the book leaves him struggling to come up with a follow-up idea.
While trying to get some perspective, he revisits a dark moment from his past — an act of deception that ensnared a young woman, Natalie. She’s living in Portugal, so he travels there to make amends. As he hides away, Hardin tries to figure out whether a life without Tessa is possible.
While many were excited to get a bonus film, After Everything is so heavily focused on Hardin that it polarized the fan base. It’s not really about Hardin and Tessa until the last act, making it feel disconnected from the rest of the series. The movie also largely lacks the romance that made the preceding films so popular. Still, it’s an essential watch if you want to find out what happens to these two in the long run.
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