Bougie Noir Goes YA in Prime Video’s 'We Were Liars'

Prime Video’s We Were Liars is the latest in a trend of adaptations about rich, privileged white-people problems that arguably began with Big Little Lies and has since consumed half the works of Liane Moriarty, Elin Hilderbrand, and the Reese Witherspoon Book Club, not to mention three seasons of White Lotus and Nicole Kidman’s industrial prestige career. This one’s aimed at a YA audience, though, so instead of a dead body washing up on the beach of a private island, it’s the still-living body of 17-year-old narrator Cadence Sinclair (Emily Alyn Lind, Gossip Girl)), who suffered a traumatic injury of uncertain origin during the summer of her 16th year.

The story, then, is the mystery of how she ended up on that beach. The injury left Cadence with post-traumatic amnesia. But when she returns to the island the following summer, she begins to recover her memories — conveniently, in chronological order — as she tries to piece together the events of the previous year. Her family seems to already know what happened, but — also conveniently — have been instructed not to tell her, as her doctors apparently believe it’s better for her to remember organically. Meanwhile, everyone on the island seems to be holding onto secrets that only pre-injury Cadence knew, so as she regains her memories, the present-day dynamics become increasingly fraught.

That cast of characters begins with Cadence’s grandfather, Harris Sinclair (David Morse), who owns the private island and controls the trust accounts of his three daughters: Penny Sinclair (Caitlin Fitzgerald), the broke f**k-up going through a divorce; Carrie Sinclair (Mamie Gummer), the alcoholic f**k-up in a decade-long relationship with Ed (Rahul Kohli), whom Harris doesn’t entirely approve of because he’s not a rich white guy; and Bess Sinclair (Candice King), the f**k-up cheating on her absentee husband.

The main story, however, centers on the “Liars” — three cousins, children of the Sinclair daughters, and Ed’s nephew, Gat (Shubham Maheshwari). Cadence (daughter of Penny) is the one who suffered the traumatic injury; Johnny (Joseph Zada), son of Carrie, harbors a dark secret; and Mirren (Esther McGregor), daughter of Bess, has a complicated love life. Cadence is in love with Gat, and Gat is in love with Cadence, but he’s also burdened by secrets of his own, as well as a creeping discomfort with the wealth, whiteness, and entitlement of the Sinclair clan (You and me both, brother).

It takes a couple of episodes to distinguish all the pale, blond characters from one another, and even longer to invest in their problems, assuming that’s even possible. It operates like most entries in the affluent misery genre, except here the misery comes via 22-year-olds playing 16-year-olds making out in linen shirts. It’s basically A Perfect Couple and Sirens crossed with Pretty Little Liars: not bad, just overly familiar.

Still, for the YA audience it’s presumably intended for, this might serve as an entry point into bougie noir. There are better teen dramas with more socioeconomic range — Outer Banks, for instance — but this one scratches a certain dreamy-rich-kid itch. The teens spend most of their time mooning over each other, except for Johnny, who looks — and sometimes behaves — like a spoiled bully. Meanwhile, the mothers bicker over their father’s affections and their inheritance. Caitlin Fitzgerald and Mamie Gummer (along with Rahul Kohli) are terrific actors, which makes it all the more frustrating to see them relegated to supporting roles in yet another wealthcore melodrama.

I don’t hate it; it’s just all so very familiar. Rich people. Rich people problems. And yet another case of post-traumatic amnesia — a plot device that should really be retired. The central romance between Cadence and Gat never quite rings true, and most of the “dark secrets” land with a shrug. And yet, it’s just barely better than mediocre — just enough to keep stringing you along from one recovered memory to the next. Basically, it’s a beach read, but since no one reads anymore, we consume it in bingefuls on our couch because it’s too damn hot out there.

Who’s It For: Bored teenagers with no summer plans, and adults who like the idea of White Lotus but find it a little too stressful.

‘We Were Liars drops Wednesday, June 18th on Prime Video.