We Were Liars Book Vs. Show: Here's What Changed

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23-06-2025

When you first heard this was getting adapted, what was your first hope — and your biggest fear — for what the screen version would get right or wrong?
Book-to-screen adaptations often demand more 'flesh' for visual storytelling. Is there anything you were excited to add to the world of We Were Liars that wasn't in the original novel?
Having a diverse writer's room is important enough, but I applaud the team for taking a step further and allowing the input of Indian writers to be taken into account as well.
As you mentioned, The Liars (outside of Cady) were given a little more of a background story to really push their personalities forward, which we didn't fully see in the book (i.e., Johnny's anger issues and almost killing someone). How were those storylines constructed, and how much input did you have in that with Julie Plec and Carina Adly Mackenzie?
Can you take me behind the scenes of the casting process and chemistry reads? Our readers love hearing about how actors are chosen.
I love that casting directors and whoever else is involved in the process are willing to take a chance on someone who doesn't have proper training or professional experience, because they're putting a lot of faith into these actors. I just think that's so special.
The book came out in 2014, and you mentioned that it was going to originally be turned into a movie back then. Were there any actors during that time who you imagined playing these roles?
What has been one of your favorite moments from set?
If the book is a quiet psychological storm, then TV is often louder and more literal. What's something internal about the story that you're hoping won't get lost in the shift to screen?
In the book, the incident takes place during Summer '15, but in the series it's switched to Summer '16. Was there a specific reason for that?
Was there a moment in the adaptation process when you saw something — a scene, a performance, a line — and thought, 'That's it. That's exactly how I imagined it.'?
Grief in the story is silent and isolating. And it's explored in so many ways. Death (which is what most people connect with grief) is at the soul of the story, but you also have characters grieving relationships, life's expectations, and more. How did you tap into that kind of pain authentically, and what did you learn about it while writing from Cady's perspective?
The book leaves room for reader interpretation. How do you feel about fan theories, especially the ones that go a bit off the rails? Do you enjoy that ambiguity, or ever wish you could set the record straight? There's a lot of talk about whether Mirren, Johnny, and Gat are ghosts or hallucinations. Mirren refers to herself as a ghost in the series, but I wanted to know where you stood with that debate.
I don't know if you know this, but this book had such a resurgence on TikTok. What does it feel like having your book be such a talking point, 10 years after its release? What do you think teens today, especially Gen Z, might take away from this story that's different from what readers took in 2014?
Lastly, you wrote the final episode. Is this your first time writing a screenplay or script? If so, what was that experience like for you?
Thank you so much for chatting with me!