Astrology
The 12 Best TV Shows, Movies, Books & Songs to Kickstart Cancer Season
Summer is officially here, and that means it’s Cancer season, baby! Cancers are the cardinal water sign of the zodiac, which means the next month is about getting in touch with your feelings. Cancers are naturally intuitive, nurturing, and not afraid to tell you what’s going on in their heart. They are the caretaker sign, and when they open their heart to you, it’s yours for life as long as you don’t play games with them.
Water signs get a bad wrap for being criers. And don’t get me (a Cancer sun, moon, and rising) wrong–we do love a good tear session, but there’s a lot of strength in being open with your emotions. As we head into Cancer season, Swooon is digging into our astrological bag of tricks to help you get on those Cancer vibes. Yes, we’re going to get in the feels, but we’re going to have fun doing it.
If you’re ready to open your heart and take care of your crew, these are the essential TV shows, books, and movies to fit the Cancer vibe. Some of the things on this list are oldies, some are upcoming things to get hooked on, but overall, the goal is to get your heart on your sleeve, but in a fun day-at-the-beach kind of way.
TV Shows
Picking the best TV shows for Cancer season is all about the binge experience. Is this show hopelessly romantic? Will it activate those tear ducts? Is a beach or some body of water showcased at any point in the episodes? These are all essential ingredients to a great Cancer-coded television show. At the end of the day, a Cancer season TV show needs to feel like a warm hug, and that’s what all of these have in common.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Erika Doss / Prime Video
A summer love triangle? Sign a Cancer up! Giving your heart to more than one person isn’t really the crab vibe, but the longing that Belly (Lola Tung) has for the Fisher boys on The Summer I Turned Pretty is a tried-and-true Cancer vibe. On July 16, we return to Cousins Beach to find out whether Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) or Conrad (Christopher Briney) is her endgame. The competition for Belly’s heart has been stiff so far, but we are all rooting for a happy ending (and that means picking a brother!) and a lot of crashing out to Taylor Swift songs in the meantime.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Normal People
Enda Bowe / Hulu / Everett Collection
A fellow astrology-obsessed friend once told me that the Cancer aesthetic is “sad horny,” and I’ve never forgotten it. She was right, of course. (Is your favorite song on Harry’s House also “Little Freak”? Can we form a support group?) And nothing captures the “sad horny” aesthetic like Normal People. It is romantic and sexy, but also gut-wrenching. The longing between Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) blossoms into full-on yearning. If you haven’t watched, this show is going to crack you wide open. If you’ve already been through this fire, you know letting Normal People happen to you again is exactly the catharsis you need while you’re trying to evade the heat outside.
Where to watch: Hulu
Heartstopper
Netflix
Heartstopper overall, with its undeniable earnestness and care for these cherub teens, is a very Cancer vibe, but it’s Season 1 that feels the most inspired by water-sign energy. You’ve never felt the pulsing tension of a pinky touch like when Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) first brush their hands together at the party in those early episodes. Cancer season is about finding the strength in being vulnerable, and there are few shows out there that put their heart on the line like Heartstopper. It’s also an incredible salve after you rake yourself over the coals with Normal People.
Where to watch: Netflix
Books
I don’t want you to think that Cancer season means you can’t have fun. You can! Cancers love whimsy, and I leaned into that a bit more when it comes to the perfect Cancer-season beach reads. Don’t worry, they are still going to touch your heart, but we can also get spicy along the way.
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Act Your Age is the third book in Talia Hibbert’s Brown sister series, but you do not have to read them in order. Eve is the youngest of the sisters and in the middle of a quarter life crisis when we meet her. Her parents threaten to cut her off from her inheritance unless she figures out what she wants to do with her life. The insinuation that she’s unfocused is so insulting that she runs off…and finds herself cooking at a seaside bed and breakfast. I’m sorry, have you ever heard of something so idyllic and wonderful? Talia also delivers on the spice as Eve falls for the grumpy inn owner. It’s a yummy read that feels like a relaxing day at the beach.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Emily Henry’s entire vibe of summer romances in vacation towns is very appealing to Cancers, to be honest. But the most Cancer of her adult romances is Happy Place. First of all, it’s about a group of friends as much as it is about the central couple, and a Cancer doesn’t know how to survive without their tribe. Harriet and Wyn must overcome their hang-ups to rebuild the walls around each other. I’d normally be hesitant about recommending a second-chance romance for Cancers (we love to hold a grudge), but Harriet and Wyn are more on a break than fully broken up. Happy Place is about letting someone see the ugliest parts of yourself and loving them for all of it. The two of them can only find happiness when they realize they have to be upfront about how they truly feel.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
What’s this? A male main character with Cancer energy?! Knock me over with a feather! Justin is that guy in Just for the Summer, the third book in Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World series (again, you can read them in any order). He’s open-hearted. He sends Google surveys for dates—okay, we admit that is probably due to some Virgo or Capricorn in his chart. He is absolutely ride-or-die for his family. The way he steps up for his siblings showcases the best of the Cancer brand of loyalty. Emma definitely falls on the Earth or Air sign side of the zodiac, but Justin trusts his heart as soon as it falls for her, and he doesn’t let up. That is Cancer loyalty through and through. He is the definition of “if he wanted to, he would,” and we love to see it.
Movies
Is it just me or is there kind of a rom-com drought this summer? Come back in September so we can talk about Materialists for Libra season, but otherwise, we are digging into the classics for the best romance movies to watch during your summer movie nights.
Simply Irresistible (1999)
I’ve talked a lot about how emotional Cancers are, but not enough about their witchy side! Cancers, like everyone, contain multitudes. That natural Cancerian intuition gives these summer babies a deep connection to the universe. We love relying on “the vibe” or a gut instinct about how something feels. That kind of witchy romanticism is perfectly captured in Simply Irresistible, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as an aspiring chef whose recipes seem to magically transport the people who eat her food. It’s a little left-of-center in the rom-com genre, but the whimsy makes it a perfect Cancer summer movie.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Love & Basketball (2000)
There are few things more appealing to a Cancer when it comes to a romance than the words “slow burn.” Quincy (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan) immediately have a spark in Love & Basketball, but it takes them literal years to figure out how to be together. Just like the recommended TV shows, it’s about the yearning. These two really put each other through it, but they are ride-or-dies who eventually put their cards on the table and realize they are soulmates. It’s about seeing each other through thick and thin. There are few movies that can give you butterflies like Love & Basketball, and it’s one of those romance movies that you can watch over, and over, and over again.
Where to watch: Tubi
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Speaking of yearning, I am claiming the GOAT yearning movie of all time for the Cancers. Give us that hand flex. Give us beautiful vistas. Give us devastating monologues and almost-kisses in the pouring rain (so Cancerian, it hurts). Give us yelling at a man because he was rude to your most beloved sister. Give us a man walking through the moors and stuttering over how he lo– lo– loves you most ardently. Give us literal feet kicking and giggling when you realize you’ve met your true match and everything is going to work out in the end. Give us the opportunity to be completely, perfectly, incandescently happy watching this film for the millionth time because it is the blueprint for modern romance, and we won’t settle for less.
Where to watch: HBO Max
Cancer Summer Playlist
Of course, a content list wouldn’t be complete without some summer playlist recommendations. Once again, we are tapping into the heart of things, but it’s not all a bummer. And really, the point of this entire list is trying to prove that feeling things is fun. These songstresses will help you get there!
“Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey is basically the patron saint of Cancer season. This is the title song of the vibe. Really, the entire Born to Die album is very Cancer-coded, but I understand you have to uplift the mood with some upbeat bops, so I stuck to the headlining song of the entire thing. I think it might actually be illegal to the astrological forces of the universe to have a Cancer season playlist without this song.
“party 4 u” by Charli XCX
“Party 4 u” is about someone who plans an entire shindig in hopes their crush/situationship/emotionally unavailable partner will show up, see all of the effort they put into the gesture, and finally ditch their baggage to love them. It is delulu optimism and…Cancers have been here, probably more than once. The party beat behind the song helps you forget how devastating it is, which is part of the Cancer job description, but make no mistake, this is a crying into the punch bowl anthem.
“Mother Wound” by Jensen McRae
I swear I am not trying to make you depressed during hot girl summer. To prove it, I offer “Mother Wound” by Jensen McRae, which is a great follow-up to “party 4 u” when you realize you don’t need to plan parties for people who don’t deserve you! Jensen has a lot of water sign-coded songs on her latest album, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me, but “Mother Wound” is the most Cancer-vibe because it’s about ignoring your intuition about a crappy relationship. That’s a cardinal Cancer violation, but ruminating about how you knew something was off is very much in the crab sign’s wheelhouse. It’s also proof that there is light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how emotional or bad the crash out is.
