Julie Plec on twisty teen thriller ‘We Were Liars' — and why she hopes Meryl Streep likes it
Liar, liar.
Prime Video's new teen drama 'We Were Liars' (premiering Wednesday, June 18) is a twisty summertime thriller.
Based on a wildly popular novel of the same name, the show is helmed by 'The Vampire Diaries' mastermind Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie.
'What drew me to it is the deep emotional roller coaster that this story takes you on, starting from what seems just like a very simple, sweet, nostalgic coming-of-age story about first love and best friends and summer, and takes you from basically all those vibes on a very twisty-turny, surprising journey into a big tone shift,' Plec exclusively told The Post.
'We Were Liars' follows Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind) and her circle of cousins and friends – including Johnny (Joseph Zada), Mirren (Esther McGregor), and Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) – who have adventures over the course of several summers on her affluent family's private island.
But, things take a darker turn as Cadence must figure out what's happening after she loses her memory, and everyone seems to have secrets.
Rounding out the cast is Candice King, Mamie Gummer, Rahul Kohli, and David Morse.
'Casting a big ensemble like this, where everybody is supposed to be related to each other and blonde, as in the books, is never easy,' said Plec.
She added, 'Blonde, you can usually fake, and, which we did pretty well in a couple situations, but you really need to be able to believe that they're all of one piece.'
For Gat, an Indian boy who is Cadence's love interest, she said, 'We looked high and low. We were able to cast the role of Gat from a beautiful young actor who had never acted for a living before at all. His audition tape was done in his dorm room on campus just before he graduated [from] university.'
Plec continued, 'We got to discover the incredible. Mamie Gummer, who's worked for years, but is stepping into her own as a leading lady.'
Gummer, 41, is Meryl Streep's daughter. When asked about the probability that Streep, 75, will tune in, Plec said, 'I have alternate [thoughts] of like, 'Meh, that fine, she won't watch it, that's okay,' to 'Oh my god, Meryl Streep is probably gonna watch the show.''
She quipped, 'I just hope she likes it, to be honest.'
'We Were Liars' is also America's introduction to Aussie actor Zada, who is poised to have his career take off, as he's been cast as the star of the next 'Hunger Games' movie, 'Sunrise on the Reaping.'
'I feel very proud. I know he's worked before in Australia, so somebody else gets to take credit for discovering him off the street, but Carina and I are gladly gonna take credit for discovering [him] in the United States of America,' Plec said.
She recalled how during filming, Gummer even set him up for his next major role – the Netflix adaptation of 'East of Eden' starring Florence Pugh – 'because Mamie called her very good friend, Zoe Kazan, who was directing it and said, 'You gotta meet this kid. He's extraordinary.''
Plec added, 'I think we knew it on set. When we were in the sound stage, the sound engineers would be like, 'God, that kid is so good.' I think we're just at the beginning of a very long, very cool road for him.'
Meanwhile, Plec has done three shows to date in 'The Vampire Diaries' universe, including 'The Originals' and 'Legacies.'
About whether there could be more coming, Plec said that she's not working on anything specific at the moment.
However, she added, 'I have had ideas in my head for more stories in Mystic Falls for pretty much since I started telling stories in Mystic Falls,' referring to the town where 'The Vampire Diaries' took place.
'So all anybody has to do is ask, and I will be there with bells on.'
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