Prime Video's 'We Were Liars' Cast and Characters, Explained
In the mood for a summer mystery? We Were Liars, the new Prime Video series based on the novel by E. Lockhart, takes us to Beachwood–the private island owned by the Sinclair family–and the mystery of what happened at the end of Summer 16. The main characters are four cousins (and one non-relation) who call themselves "the liars" and have spent summers together since they were eight years old, a.k.a. Summer 8, playing and getting into trouble.
The liars grow up together until one summer changes everything for them and their family members. Like any show about a big family, it does take a minute to tell cousins from siblings and learn which child belongs to which parent. Here's what you need to know about the cast and crew of We Were Liars.
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Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
The Bear We Were Liars The Buccaneers What To Watch
Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything! Welcome to Screen Time! I'm Nora, and if there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I love watching TV and movies. I also absolutely love being absorbed in fandoms. This week, I dive into the TV shows I am currently watching, like, can we talk about We Were Liars, please? THAT TWIST!!! I SOBBED!!! I also share what's all over my FYP — like the New York Times dropping the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century — and what we've got going on over on BuzzFeed Celeb's YouTube channel, plus more. Thanks for joining me! We Were Liars — watch for: one of the best plot twists ever Streaming on Prime Video Based on the bestselling book by E. Lockhart, We Were Liars follows "The Liars," a tight-knit circle of friends who vacation every summer together on a private island in New England. While on the surface the Sinclair family is known for their good looks, generational wealth, and their close bonds, after a life-altering accident, everyone seems to have something to hide. This book (and show) has one of the best plot twists, so if you are unspoiled, try to watch before you get spoiled, and if you've read the book already, I honestly think I loved the show more?! This adaptation works on every level. The Vampire Diaries fans, co-creator Julie Plec is behind this one, and even brings along Candice King, aka Caroline Forbes. Also, this young cast is so stellar. In particular, it was awesome getting to see Joseph Zada (aka young Haymitch in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping). So, cue the fan edits already. The Buccaneers — watch for: a show that fills the Bridgerton void with an absolutely stacked cast Streaming on Apple TV+, new episodes every Wednesday It's the show every Bridgerton, Dickinson, and/or Reign fan should be watching. 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The Bear — watch for: the cast's always entertaining dynamic Streaming on Hulu and Disney+ The fourth season of this Emmy-winning comedy (or let's be real, drama) just dropped, and while I wasn't a big fan of the third season — I liked aspects but overall it felt super rushed and I didn't love every storyline — I will be finishing binge-watching the new season this weekend regardless. The new season will pick up with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Syd (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and the rest of the crew continuing to make their restaurant, The Bear, strive for excellence. However, as with previous seasons of The Bear, more challenges, both financial and personal, are around every corner. Honestly, I will be watching for Ayo's performance and to see if there are any exciting guest stars this season. I'm curious if Season 4 regains the spark that Seasons 1 and 2 had, or if The Bear is just running in circles and overstaying its welcome. These are some of my favorite things from my FYP, feed, and more: The New York Times published its list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. My favorite part of this project is that they asked actors, directors, and more to give their 10 favorite movies of the 21st Century, too, and it's been so cool reading them — Sofia Coppola's list is pretty flawless, but I am also obsessed with Julianne Moore having Superbad on hers — because as a Letterboxd superfan, I love this kind of stuff. You can also make your own ballot. Mine might have some recency bias, but I feel pretty comfortable saying this is my top 10: And I know this isn't technically a movie or TV show yet, but I just finished reading Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and it has already been optioned to be adapted, so I'm putting my love for it here, too. I've read everything she's written, consider The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo my favorite book of all time, and I loved the Daisy Jones & the Six adaptation. A book about space deserved a photo under Grand Central's iconic constellation ceiling. So naturally, when I finished Atmosphere, after I screamed and cried and felt every single emotion, I started fan-casting in my head, and I've proceeded to tell all my friends who have finished that Ashley Johnson would be the perfect Joan. So, please read this book. It's QUEER AND ABOUT WOMEN IN SPACE! And then tell me your fan casts for Joan and Vanessa. This week, over on BuzzFeed Celeb, I fulfilled my Disney Channel kid dream. We had the cast of Phineas and Ferb — Dan Povenmire (creator and Dr. Doofenshmirtz), Ashley Tisdale (Candace), Jeff "Swampy" Marsh (creator and Major Monogram), Alyson Stoner (Isabella), and Vincent Martella (Phineas) — compete in a game of trivia about the show. Like, not only do they sing "Gitchee Gitchee Goo," but Ashley breaks out into "Busted," so I feel like I can die happy now. The whole thing was so fun, and they were adorably hilarious. The show just returned after 10 years for new episodes, and it's just as good as before. A place where I answer YOUR questions about TV, movies, fandom, and more: Question: If you had to pick your top five favorite characters of all time, who would they be and why? Hi! Okay, I have a literal note on my phone where I list some of my favorite TV shows, movies, episodes, books, video games, and fictional characters because whenever I am asked to narrow anything down like this, I draw a blank, and I end up saying the most recent things I have hyperfixated on. So I'll do you one better, directly from my notes app, my current top TEN characters of all time: Well, that's all I've got for this week's edition of Screen Time. Come back every week to get more TV and movie recommendations, find out which celebs we're working with, and so much more! Have a question for me, or want to tell me what you're watching right now, or have a suggestion of what I should watch next? Send it to me now at screentime@ or at this Google form. Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything!
CNET
a day ago
- CNET
What Are AI Video Generators? What to Know About Google's Veo 3, Sora and More
First came the rise of AI chatbots, then image generators blew up. Now, tech companies are rushing to release AI video generators. During the past year, nearly every major tech company has announced some kind of AI video model they've been cooking. Each company has its own timeline, which can make it hard to keep up with who's done what. To save you from searching, I've run down every major AI video program and compiled my early insights on the testing I've done on the programs available now. They aren't all built the same, and there are noticeable difference even across one company's AI products. For example, I've seen some of my favorite image generator features pop up in the video models, while others are noticeably absent. AI videos are a huge leap forward in a company's AI creative offerings, and they're something worth keeping an eye on as generative AI become a bigger part of the content we create and see online. This is especially true as the advancement of the tech comes at a time when the legality, ethics and other concerns continue to surround AI creative offerings. This is everything you need to know about the major AI video generators. This list is regularly updated with the most recent info on each generator. For more, check out the best AI image generators. What are AI video generators? AI video generators are one of the latest ways tech companies are using generative AI. These programs use text-to-video and image-to-video technology that lets you create short video clips. You enter a short description called a prompt, or upload an image to animate, and the software creates a clip entirely made with gen AI. These AI videos tend to be between five and 10 seconds long, and only Google's Veo 3 has synchronized audio. Because this tech is new, errors -- called hallucinations -- are possible. What AI video models I can use right now? Some examples of AI video generators you can use now are Sora by OpenAI, Veo 3 by Google and Adobe Firefly. They are all are paid programs that produce decent results and let you customize your shot with control panels. Runway, an AI start-up that co-created the Stable Diffusion image generator, is another AI video option with freemium plans. Other AI start-ups like Luma, Pika and Ideogram are also available. CNET, Lily Hailyeh OpenAI's Sora Sora joined the ChatGPT family at the end of 2024. It's a pretty user-friendly program, but it doesn't have the same conversational UI as Dall-E 3 -- you can't "chat" with Sora to make follow-up revisions. Instead, it's more reminiscent of traditional AI creative services. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) In Sora, you have a panel to customize your video's dimensions, length and stylistic feel. You can enter a prompt or upload an image for Sora to animate, and you can use a few editing options to perfect your video from there. Sora videos also come automatically watermarked, designating their AI origins. Sora is only available to paying ChatGPT users. If you're a ChatGPT Plus user ($20 per month) you'll get 50 priority generation credits per month, with videos up to 5 seconds long at 720p. Upgrading to the Pro tier ($200 per month) gets higher monthly credits, including 500 videos created with priority/fast generation and unlimited videos with relaxed generation. Pro subscribers can also create higher-resolution videos at a max of 1080p, extend the duration of their videos up to 20 seconds and have the option to download videos without the watermark. OpenAI's privacy policy states that it may train on your content unless you opt out. To do that in Sora, go to Settings > General, and turn off Improve model for everyone. You can also exclude your videos from public explore feeds in settings. See at OpenAI Midjourney Midjourney V1 Midjourney is one of the most popular AI image generators, and it just released its first AI video model called V1. You can use Midjourney to create video clips between 5-and-21 seconds long in 720p resolution. You can use Midjourney through Discord or its website. Right now, video generation is paywalled for users, but it's one of the cheaper options at $10 per month. Midjourney's privacy policy says it can use personal information and information included in your prompts to improve its service. If you create in Stealth mode, then your AI images will be private; otherwise they will be shared in a public gallery. See at Midjourney Adobe Adobe Firefly Firefly's standalone AI video generator is available for you to use now, on your computer and through its Firefly mobile app. If you're familiar with Firefly's AI image tools, the video generator set up will feel familiar. The left-side panel lets you customize your clip, and it has the added benefit of letting you select the kind of motion you want (zoom in and out, move right and left, etc). You can also select the camera angle you want, like if you wanted to mimic drone footage with an aerial view. Some Creative Cloud plans include Firefly access, including if you're paying for a single program or all of the Adobe apps. You can check and compare options here. If you don't have an existing Adobe plan, you can try the Firefly standard plan ($10 per month) to create up to 20 videos a month. If you need more generation credits, the Pro plan ($30 per month) gets you up to 70 videos a month. Both Firefly plans come with unlimited AI image generation. Your Firefly videos will be 5 seconds long, at 1080p with no audio. Adobe says that videos created with Firefly are commercially safe, and its AI policy states it will not train on your content. Firefly videos don't have a visible watermark, but its content credentials are automatically attached to your work. Firefly models are trained on licensed and public domain content. See at Adobe Katelyn Chedraoui/CNET Runway AI enthusiasts might recognize Runway as the start-up that co-created the popular AI image generator Stable Diffusion. You might also recognize Runway from a landmark deal it made with a major film studio last fall. Lionsgate agreed to open up its catalog -- thousands of hours of movies like The Hunger Games and John Wick and TV shows like Mad Men -- to be used to create custom AI models for the studio to use. During my brief testing of the service, I was impressed with the prompt-building tools and the general ease of finding my way around. I've also used the service before as part of Canva's Magic Media app, which is convenient if you're a Canva lover. You can use Runway for free on its web app, with 125 monthly credits -- you'll use about 20 credits with each generation, so it's a pretty low limit. Upgrading ($15 per month or $144 annually) gets you 625 monthly credits, access to newer models and the ability to upscale videos to 4K and download without watermarks. Runway's terms of service says it can train its AI on your prompts and the resulting videos but doesn't retain ownership over them. Its privacy policy also states that Runway may disclose your information to affiliates, business and marketing partners. The videos you make are automatically private. See at Runwayml What are some other AI video projects? Notably absent from this list is Meta. The company has devoted its resources to develop AI, but it doesn't have a publicly available AI video generator. It teased a version of one in October 2024. Here's what we know so far. Meta/Screenshot by CNET Meta's Movie Gen Meta's AI video model -- Movie Gen -- is only a research concept right now and not publicly available, with no word on when it may be. Thanks to a research paper Meta published, we know Movie Gen videos could be 1080p HD and up to 16 seconds long at 16 frames per second. The most notable thing going for Movie Gen is the possibility of synchronized audio. Meta said that Movie Gen could also be used to create sound effects, ambient noise and instrumental music up to 45 seconds long. There's always a chance this feature doesn't make it to the final cut, but it would give Meta an edge. Perhaps like with Google and YouTube, we'll see some AI-powered features pop up first on its social platforms, Instagram and Facebook. (We already have a number of other AI features eating up space on our feeds.) Meta's AI models for its chatbot and image generator are trained on publicly available Facebook and Instagram content, as well as licensed data. See at Meta For more, check out our guide to writing the best AI image prompts and the best AI chatbots.
CNET
a day ago
- CNET
You Can Still Watch YouTube Videos Offline. These Are the Easiest Ways
There's a good chance you've used -- and uploaded content to -- YouTube. According to research from the digital marketing firm Global Media Insight, over 2.7 billion people use the online video platform every month. YouTube says over 20 billion total videos have been uploaded to its platform, with over 20 million videos uploaded every day. If you're going somewhere with limited internet or trying to conserve data -- like hopping on a plane -- you might want to download some YouTube videos to entertain yourself. Subscribing to YouTube Premium ($14 a month) is the easiest and most legitimate way to download videos to your device. However, this method can limit how you access and watch those videos, restricting you to a single device and browser or app. So, depending on your needs, you might have to resort to a different technique. There are other ways to watch YouTube videos offline, but you should be concerned about the legal ramifications of using these methods. Downloading and using copyrighted material can be illegal, like when you're directly profiting off the video. But there are some cases where using a video could be legal, like using a video for non-profit, educational purposes under fair use. If you're downloading a video of your own from YouTube -- maybe you deleted the original copy and need to edit a section, then re-upload -- you'd want a version of the video that you could freely transfer. What YouTube's Terms of Service say about downloading videos YouTube's terms of service sound harsh. According to the terms of service, you're not allowed to "access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any … Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders." In other words, don't steal videos from YouTube. Or anywhere else, for that matter. You don't want to tango with YouTube and Google's lawyers, and the legal repercussions can be severe. Here's how to download YouTube videos to view offline. YouTube Premium is the easiest, most legit way to save videos for offline viewing YouTube Premium is more than just an ad-free way to watch your favorite content creators. For $14 a month, you can access YouTube Music, play videos in the background on mobile while using other apps and download videos to watch later, even while offline. There is a YouTube Premium Lite subscription plan that costs $8 a month, but that tier only lets you watch videos ad-free, so you can't download videos for offline viewing. Here's how to download a YouTube video on desktops and laptops with a premium subscription. 1. Open a browser and log in to your YouTube account if you're not already. 2. Navigate to a video you want to watch offline, like everything Apple revealed at WWDC. 3. Click the three dots (...) near the bottom right corner of the video. 4. Click Download. Once the video downloads, you can access it by clicking the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines stacked) in the top left corner of your screen next to the YouTube Premium logo and clicking Downloads. This is where all your downloaded videos can be found when you have an internet connection. Notice the banner near the bottom of the screen that says there's no internet connection. YouTube/Screenshot by CNET If you don't have an internet connection, certain browsers, including Chrome and Firefox, can still access YouTube. You can get to YouTube by typing into your search bar, and when the site loads, you'll see all your downloaded videos instead of the usual recommended videos. Downloading YouTube videos to your phone or tablet is similar. Here's how to save videos on the YouTube mobile app. 1. Open your YouTube app and log in to your account if you're not logged in. 2. Search for a video you want to watch offline, like how the iPad could dominate the Mac with one change. 3. Without tapping into the video, tap the three dots (...) near the bottom right corner of the video. 4. Tap Download video. You might have to swipe to see the Download button in YouTube's app. YouTube/Screenshot by CNET If you tap into a video, there should be a Download button beneath the title to the right of the thumbs up and down, share, remix and (in some cases) thanks buttons. You might have to scroll right to see the button. You can access your downloaded videos on mobile by tapping your account logo in the bottom right corner of your screen and tapping Downloads. If you don't have reception or Wi-Fi, your downloaded videos will populate automatically when you open your YouTube app. YouTube says you can access these downloads for 30 days without an internet connection. That means as long as you connect to the internet at least once a month, you can keep those downloads for a long time. The banner near the bottom of the page reads, "Downloads remain available as long as your device has an active internet connection at least once every 30 days." YouTube/Screenshot by CNET YouTube Premium is easy, but it's not the cheapest or most flexible While YouTube Premium is the easiest method of saving videos for offline viewing, there are some limitations you should know about. The first is that you can't watch downloaded videos in another app or program, like VLC media player. Next, you can only watch your downloaded videos in whatever browser or app you downloaded them in, and specifically on that device. So if you download a video in Chrome on your laptop, you can't access that video on your YouTube app on your smartphone, or even in another browser on your laptop. YouTube Premium costs $14 a month and while it's not the most expensive streaming service, it might not fit your budget. If you can't download YouTube videos with a subscription or the limitations don't work for your use case, there are some online services and apps you might find useful. Other services can download YouTube videos with fewer restrictions, but keep copyright in mind Stealing videos from YouTube is illegal, as is using copyrighted material without authorization. However, there could be instances where you might want to use another service to download a YouTube video, like if you can't access your account and need to download a video you own and posted on YouTube. Or using a clip of a video for educational purposes under fair use. Here are a few services you could use to download videos from YouTube without as many restrictions as YouTube Premium. 4K Video Downloader Screenshot/CNET You can use 4K Video Downloader to save videos from major sites like YouTube, Facebook and even TikTok right to your device. You can either paste a link directly into the downloader by clicking Paste Link, or you can navigate to the video's URL within the software and download the video from the page. You can select the quality of the video as well as what device you plan to watch the video on. That means you can download a video on your PC, but specify you're going to watch it on your Android later, and the software will format the video accordingly. The basic version of this desktop software is free, and there are paid versions that cost $15, $25 and $42 a year. But for most people, the free version will suffice. 4K Video Downloader is available for Windows, MacOS, Linux and Android. Check out 4K Video Downloader. YT1D YT1D/Screenshot by CNET YT1D is a free site that lets you easily download videos from YouTube with just the video's URL. You'll paste the URL into the site's search bar, and it'll give you options to download the video in different video qualities, like 1080p and 720p. You'll also be able to download the video's audio as an MP3 for an audio-only version. Click Download next to the version of the video you want, and you're all set. On some devices and in certain browsers, you may have to right-click and select "Save Link As". You can check out YT1D. YouTube Video Downloader extension YouTube/Screenshot by CNET This free browser extension works in Chrome, Microsoft Edge and a few other browsers. After you add the extension to your browser, it's pretty intuitive. To download a video using the extension, go to the YouTube video you want to download and click the new Download button beneath the video player -- this download button is to the left of the thumbs up/down buttons. Then you can watch the video in your media player of choice. Here's where to check out the YouTube Video Downloader extension. Downloading Creative Commons videos from YouTube might be another solution If you want to download videos from YouTube to use for a podcast or some other means, downloading Creative Commons videos might be another, safer option. Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides licenses and public domain tools to everyone in the world for free. "Creative Commons has supported a global movement built on a belief in the power of open access to knowledge and creativity," the organization writes online. "Our licenses enable collaboration, growth, and generosity in a variety of media." Here's how to find videos with a Creative Commons license. 1. Open YouTube. 2. Search for a video. 3. Click Filters in the top right corner of your screen underneath your profile. 4. Click Creative Commons under Features. YouTube/Screenshot by CNET Now, the videos you see in your search results should have this license. However, it's still a good idea to check that the video is licensed correctly. You will also still need to use an app, website or plugin to download Creative Commons videos. Downloading these videos with a YouTube Premium subscription won't help since you can't access videos outside of your browser or app. There are multiple ways to download YouTube videos, depending on your needs If you're going to download videos from YouTube, subscribing to YouTube Premium is the easiest and most legitimate way to save videos for offline viewing. But its limitations -- like not being able to freely transfer files or having downloads shared across apps and browsers -- makes YouTube Premium restrictive. Plus, the $14 a month price tag could price some people out. For some situations, an app, website or plugin might work, but remember, illicit activity is still illicit, even if you think you're not going to get caught. And if you are concerned about getting the appropriate permissions for a video, you should look for videos under the Creative Commons license. Stealing YouTube videos is illegal. If you're going to download videos from YouTube, please subscribe to YouTube Premium and follow the law in your area. For more on YouTube, here's what to know about YouTube Premium and Premium Lite.
