Fans of mysteries, thrillers, and psychological horror would be glad to hear that Amazon just ordered an adaptation of the novel, We Were Liars via. Variety. The book was written by Emily Jenkins, better known under her pen name as E. Lockhart (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The Boy Book) and published on May 13th, 2014. The TV adaptation would be released on Amazon Prime and would be produced and developed by Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals), and Carina Adly MacKenzie (The Flash, Roswell, New Mexico).
The premise of We Were Liars is about a girl named Cadence whose family fights over their wealth inheritance, and a strange occurrence happens one summer that would change everything. Lockhart wrote the book in five acts. Before releasing it, she made revisions with the help of John Green. (The Fault in Our Stars, An Abundance of Katherines) The official logline for the Amazon adaptation says this is, “a tragic love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts.” via. Variety. It was also reported that the young-adult book has sold over 3 million copies since it was published.
The project started to take shape in December of 2022 by Amazon and gave the green light to go further when signing on Plec and Adly MacKenzie. They would collaborate with Lockhart to produce and write the series. Amazon would also work alongside Universal Television where Plec’s My So-Called Company is based. via. The Hollywood Reporter.
Many might wonder why Plec would not bring the pitch to the NBCUniversal streaming platform, Peacock. That is because Plec’s projects and proposals had been canceled or shut down in 2022 and early 2023, which include Vampire Academy, One of Us is Lying, and Dead Day.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Susan Rovner, who oversees Peacock and NBC, said Peacock did not build up enough of young audience to justify the series’ continuation. “What we realized is we have to get the parents before we get the teens. And I’m hoping that once we get the parents with shows like Poker Face and shows like Traitors, that we will be able to do a show like Vampire Academy a few years from now. The timing wasn’t right. We didn’t have the skill yet to support bringing in a young adult audience.”
Last month, it was publicized that Glass Onion and Poker Face director, Rian Johnson, criticized streaming platforms for canceling shows left and right. His latest work, Poker Face, is distributed on Peacock as his comments might hint at some of NBCUniversal’s decisions regarding some shows. He mentions that, “The fact that it’s becoming common practice is terrible and adds to the awfulness. In the history of the business, there has been constant evolution of horrible things.” via. The Hollywood Reporter.
As of now, no one has been cast to play any roles for this proposed series. It is not stated when this first season would air, but speculation could place it in 2024. This is one of a handful of Amazon series adaptations that is sourced from novels this year. According to Collider, this would join other shows on Amazon Prime such as Daisy Jones & The Six, Jack Ryan, and The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Plec and Adly MacKenzie had commented about this upcoming series and the potential prospect of further work moving forward: “We’ve been obsessed with this beloved story for years, and for a while it seemed like it might be the one that got away from us…but finally, we are elated to be bringing it to life with everyone at Prime Video and UTV, who are just as passionate about this twisty tale as we are. We‘re also incredibly grateful that the author has joined our creative team behind the scenes. As die-hard book fans ourselves, we have one message to the many loyal readers out there: If anyone asks you how it end — just lie.” via. Deadline
According to Variety, Head of Television for Amazon and MGM Studios, Vernon Sanders, had this to say on the series, “E. Lockhart’s ‘We Were Liars’ is a gripping story centered on family, love, secrets, and lies that is perfect for our Prime Video audience…Lockhart, Julie Plec, and Carina Adly MacKenzie are each brilliant at creating complex characters and we’re looking forward to teaming up with these incredible storytellers, along with Universal Television, to bring this show to life.”
From that same article, President of Universal Television, Erin Underhill, is looking forward to what the series would bring, “This haunting psychological mystery from E. Lockhart has everything—first love, bougie family drama, and plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat!” said Erin Underhill, president of Universal Television. “With Julie and Carina penning the series, the project couldn’t be in better hands. We’re excited to partner with Prime Video and Amazon Studios to bring We Were Liars to audiences all over the world.”
As of now, there is not much else to say regarding casting, release dates, or how many episodes would be released for this season. More would be reported once information comes out later in the spring.