Prime Video’s latest venture into the mystery genre feels both timely and timeless. The streaming giant’s adaptation of “We Were Liars” — dropping all eight episodes this June — promises to scratch that particular itch for sun-soaked secrets and privileged dysfunction that’s become practically mandatory viewing since Succession’s finale last year.
Look, we’ve seen plenty of wealthy-family-with-dark-secrets shows lately. But there’s something different here. Something that cuts deeper than the usual trust-fund drama.
The story follows Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind), whose seemingly idyllic summers on her family’s private New England island take an unexpected nosedive. “Something terrible happened last summer,” her voice haunts the trailer, “and I have no memory of what or who hurt me.” Pretty standard amnesia-mystery setup, right? Not quite.
What sets this adaptation apart is its masterful visual storytelling. Take that shot of Cadence’s unconscious body washing up on those pristine shores — it’s not subtle, but damn if it doesn’t perfectly capture the rot festering beneath the Sinclair family’s magazine-worthy facade. In an era where even the most polished Instagram filters can’t hide the cracks in American aristocracy, the timing couldn’t be better.
The casting deserves special attention. Emily Alyn Lind brings a raw vulnerability to Cadence that feels genuine rather than performative. She’s backed by some serious acting firepower: Rahul Kohli (fresh off his stellar turn in “The Fall of the House of Usher”), the ever-reliable David Morse, and Caitlin FitzGerald, whose work in “Masters of Sex” proved she can handle complex character work with finesse.
Behind the scenes, the show’s got some serious teen drama street cred. Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie are co-showrunning — and anyone who remembers what Plec did with “The Vampire Diaries” knows she can weave supernatural elements and emotional depth like nobody’s business. MacKenzie’s work on “Roswell, New Mexico” shows she’s got the chops for intricate storytelling.
There’s this moment in the trailer where FitzGerald’s character says, “She’s hoping that being here will jog her memory.” Simple line, sure, but it carries the weight of everything this show seems to be about: memory as both salvation and poison, truth as both cure and curse.
The whole thing feels perfectly calibrated for 2025’s appetite for eat-the-rich narratives, but with a literary twist that elevates it above mere trend-chasing. Think “Succession” meets “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” but make it New England Gothic. The Sinclairs — positioned as American royalty — serve as a perfect lens for examining privilege, loyalty, and the suffocating weight of family expectations in our increasingly divided society.
With the full season dropping at once, “We Were Liars” seems ready-made for those long summer nights when you can’t help but click “Next Episode.” The real question isn’t just about solving the mystery — it’s about whether some truths are better left buried in the sand.
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