Prime Video's new mystery thriller series is now streaming — and the twists will keep you guessing until the very end
Summer might be the season for getting outside and soaking up the sun, but for me, it always puts me in the mood to binge a good mystery thriller. Thankfully, Prime Video came through, because the streaming service has dropped its new series 'We Were Liars,' and I can confidently say it's a twist-filled treat.
'We Were Liars' is based on E. Lockhart's bestselling 2014 novel, and if you're an avid Tumblr or BookTok user, you know this story has had a grip on people ever since its publication.
The story follows a tight-knit group of teens who spend every summer together on their family's exclusive island. After a mysterious and traumatic incident, the oldest of the group is left with gaps in her memory and a deep sense that something is being hidden. As you can tell, it's a pretty gripping premise.
I love reading books, and after watching the show, I'm now convinced to pick up the novel. There are plenty of twists sprinkled throughout, leading to an ending that will either shock or surprise you, depending on whether you pick up on the clues.
So, if you need something to binge-watch now that we're approaching the first official day of summer, here's why 'We Were Liars' deserves a spot on your Prime Video watchlist.
'We Were Liars' centers around 17‑year‑old Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind), who returns to her family's private island off Martha's Vineyard after a traumatic accident wiped out her memories of the previous summer.
Raised within the wealthy Sinclair clan, Cadence spent childhood summers in the company of three close friends — her cousins Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor), and their longtime friend Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) — together known as 'the Liars.' When she comes back, two years have passed, and everyone is tight‑lipped about the incident that left her injured and confused.
Determined to piece things together, Cadence reconnects with Johnny, Mirren and Gat, retracing their final days before the accident. As she follows the trail of fragmented flashbacks, she uncovers shocking details about that summer, including romantic entanglements, hidden emotions, and family secrets that challenge everything she believed about her loved ones.
If you've watched your fair share of teen dramas about wealthy families hiding ugly secrets, 'We Were Liars' might feel like very familiar ground. But fortunately, it still manages to rise above the crowd.
Prime Video's latest series drops us into the lavish, picture-perfect world of the Sinclair family, where one traumatic event shatters everything. The story unfolds through the eyes of their granddaughter, Cadence, who returns to the family's private island, desperate to piece together what really happened during a summer she can't fully remember.
We're essentially in the same position as her, with no idea what's going on, especially when the show slips into sudden, eerie montages of water and blonde hair floating on the surface. While those moments felt a little jarring at first, they start to make sense as the story progresses since they're visual cues tied to Cadence's fractured memories coming back to life.
The show leans hard into mystery, shifting between timelines to slowly peel back layers of denial and long-held resentment. And while I usually roll my eyes at the 'rich people problems' genre, I have to admit: the mess is juicy. I'm sure anyone who loves teen dramas like 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' will find themselves hooked by every episode.
However, the real standout is the dynamic between the older generation, especially the three sisters, played brilliantly by Mamie Gummer, Candice King and Caitlin FitzGerald. Their tension is so obvious, their history brutal, and honestly, I found them more compelling than the younger characters.
With so many characters, though, I'm impressed that 'We Were Liars' managed to mirror the past and present without ever feeling confusing, and the family still got enough screen time even when the majority of the plot centers around Cadence and her friends.
Throughout the show, you watch as these kids admire the island like it's some kind of fairy tale getaway, completely blind to the sexism and racism woven into its foundation. As the truth comes out, the illusion starts to crack, and each episode does a good job of showing how inherited trauma doesn't just fade but festers.
Some storylines get more attention than others (which feels inevitable), but I respect the attempt to tackle weightier topics like privilege, patriarchy, and grief within the framework of a YA mystery.
Not every twist lands, and yes, the wigs are a little distracting (had to be said), but it's still a satisfying binge. If you like messy family secrets, moody beach settings, and emotional gut-punches, this one's worth your time.
Just be prepared for a final scene that veers off-book in a way that might leave you scratching your head. Feels like Prime Video is keeping the door open for a second season, just in case.
'We Were Liars' earns its place on your must-binge list not just for the mystery, but for the way it slowly pulls you into a world that seems polished on the surface yet unravels in deeply uncomfortable ways.
The pacing might be slow and especially long-winded at times, but the emotional payoff and final reveals make the ride worthwhile. The performances, especially from the older cast, bring enough emotion that cuts through the gloss, giving the story a much-needed weight.
And while the series doesn't land every swing, it does enough to keep you watching, theorizing, and feeling unsettled in the best way.
You can stream 'We Were Liars' on Prime Video now. For more streaming recommendations, see what else is new on Prime Video in June 2025.
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It has been so well received by viewers and critics, and yours is definitely one of the breakout performances of the TV season. And it only premiered a month ago. How have you wrapped your mind around all that happening so quickly? Wally Baram: It's, I mean, it's crazy. It's been. in so many ways, such a novel experience. I've been a part of, you know, a couple of Season 1s in the writers room of TV shows and seeing them come out, and you really just never know. So I knew to have absolutely zero expectations; hope for the best, prepare for the worst. It's just been a thrill, of course. When was the first time that you realized, "Hey, people are watching this and they're really connecting to it?" Hmm… you know, when we had some interviews, and there were some press people that were being very extra nice about [the show]. I asked someone afterwards, 'Are they doing that to try to, you know, butter you up?' 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So it very quickly became, you're so similar to Carmen and you wrote in the room. I didn't know I was going to play this character when I wrote in the room. It was just contributing kind of my experiences. And then, when I was playing her, … I think if you saw me in between takes, you'd be like, wow, these are very different people, the character and me. You've written for and , some of the best TV series, the best comedies certainly of recent TV years. How did acting as one of the characters you were writing change the writing experience for you? My gosh, it definitely did. Now I notice when I'm writing, I'm imagining myself kind of, not that I expect to play any of the characters, but in a way I try to put myself in the place of the actor in sort of a new, three-dimensional way, and I think it's made my writing more active, where now I'm like, so this is kind of how I can build out more for that actor to play in a moment, based off of now what I know of the acting experience. 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Yeah, I definitely am interested. It's funny, when we shot the first scene of the show, we casted my parents. We had two people be my parents in the car that I'm getting out of, and they, I don't know if this was intentional for Benny or not, but they looked exactly like my real parents. But I think I'm excited for us to explore that, because that's where Carmen and I are actually really different. I think there were a lot of emotions from my childhood that I could pull from that kind of add up to this experience that she could have had, but I think her childhood was ultimately very different than mine. And I'm excited to explore that on a writing level and on an acting level, because I think that'll be where I get to do a lot more invention of the character. So yeah, we have chatted about what that could look like, and I'm excited to see more of what ideas [Benito] brings in. 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