We Were Liars

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Julie Plec, the creative genius behind The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies, and Carina Adly Mackenzie, who wrote on The Flash and The Originals and ran the show for Roswell, New Mexico have teamed up again for another YA gut punch, We Were Liars, and it is perfect.

Led by Emily Alyn Lind (one of Barbara Alyn Woods aka Deb Scott from One Tree Hill’s beautiful daughters), We Were Liars tells the story of Cadence, the eldest granddaughter of a wealthy family that summers on a private island. After experiencing a traumatic event resulting in memory loss, Cadence is determined to uncover the lies of the people around her and retrieve the memories her mind seems to be protecting her from. Every step closer to the truth ignites a deep need to know more, and warns of deeper consequence.

Prime Video’s We Were Liars is based off E. Lockhart’s book series by the same name. There are 3 books total. The third is due to release November 2025. For the first two, you can get the box set on Amazon (note that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases).

I haven’t read the books yet, and after binging the episodes I would advise watching before reading. The ending packed such an emotional punch because I could not figure out the mystery. I absolutely did not see it coming at all, was completely shocked, and I loved that about it. If I had known what was coming, I still would’ve been excited to see the story in this visual medium but I’m not sure my response would’ve been as big. Since I know how the story ends, I’m excited to read the books and dive even deeper into the characters.

We Were Liars has a lot of characters. It’s a big family and I worried during the first episode that I would struggle to learn who’s who, but the writing and actor performances are so good, and the characters are so rich (yes, literally, but also figuratively like complex, diverse, complicated) that I had no trouble differentiating at all. Every character is interesting and important. I wanted more from everyone. I could relate to some facet of almost every character.

I love that the family has multiple generations sharing a space. It’s fun to get to play with more family dynamics that way, but also makes this show a great option for families to watch together. The commentary on parent/child relationships, how they can be affected by money and power, and the importance of friendship will evoke so much conversation.

Kudos to everyone involved - they truly kept me guessing right up to the reveal and I’m so impressed with how well that was pulled off. I can’t wait to go back and watch again (as soon as I can emotionally handle it 😅) and see how the knowledge changes my perspective.

This is an absolutely flawless show. The location is stunning. The cast is fantastic. The writing is real, raw, and clever.

Go watch it right now!

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just lie.