Suchismita Ghosh
The filming of Amazon Prime Video’s suspense-thriller series ‘We Were Liars’ is scheduled to start in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the summer of 2024. Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie serve as the showrunners of the show, which is an adaptation of E. Lockhart’s best-selling young adult novel of the same name.
The series focuses on the theme of the results of one’s mistakes and revolves around the affluent and seemingly perfect Sinclairs, who enjoy spending every summer gathering on their secret island. However, something strange happens to one of the members of the family, Cadence, in the summer of her 15th year. Two years later, she and the three other “Liars” Johnny, Mirren, and Gat re-emerge to stir Cadence to recall the incident. “A tragic love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts,” the logline further elaborates.
Plec, who is known for the award-winning supernatural dramas ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ and ‘Vampire Academy,’ is writing the scripts with MacKenzie and Barry Schwartz, who was part of the script team of the action-comedy ‘Baywatch,’ starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, and the animated movie ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.’ This isn’t the first Plec and MacKenzie are teaming up together. The two have also worked together in The CW dramas ‘The Originals’ and ‘Roswell, New Mexico.’
While Plec created ‘The Originals,’ MacKenzie was a writer and producer. ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ was then developed by MacKenzie while Plec was an executive producer. The screenplays are reportedly being looked into by Lockhart and Stephanie Shannon, known for the fantasy romance drama, ‘Outlander.’ It was Plec who had optioned the book as part of a trio deal with Lockhart.
Talking about the story, Plec and MacKenzie said, “We’ve been obsessed with this beloved story for years. 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 ends… just lie.”
The casting details have presently been kept under wraps. Emily Cummins, who has previously produced the supernatural drama ‘Vampire Academy’ and the thriller series ‘The Endgame,’ will be executive producing the series on behalf of My So-Called Company along with Lockhart, MacKenzie, and Plec. Amazon Studios teamed up with Universal Television for the production of the show. Erin Underhill, the president of Universal Television, said that the hauntingly beautiful psychological mystery from Lockhart provides a bit of everything – first love, family drama, and unexpected plot twists – that will keep viewers at the edge of their seats.
Amazon Prime Video has an impressive record of working with literary adaptations. A couple of noteworthy ones are, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s ‘Good Omens,’ and ‘Reacher,’ which is based on Lee Child’s ‘Jack Reacher’ book series. Halifax, the primary location of the series, is one of the most sought-after filming locations in Canada, thanks to its gorgeous scenery that’s replete with historical relevance. Chad Michael Murray-starrer ‘Sullivan’s Crossing,’ ‘Diggstown,’ Stephen King’s ‘Bag of Bones’ and ‘The Mist,’ ‘The Lizzie Borden Chronicles,’ ‘Mr.D,’ and ‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ are all projects shot in the municipality.
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