“Once upon a time, there was a mythical land where it was always summer.” Sounds dreamy, right? Wrong. The We Were Liars teaser opens like a fairy tale—then swiftly dives into a psychological maze of privilege, amnesia, and buried secrets. If Succession met The Haunting of Bly Manor on a private island, this would be their twisted love child.
The trailer hinges on Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind), a 17-year-old grappling with fragmented memories of a life-altering accident. The Sinclair family oozes old-money allure—private islands, generational wealth, perfect smiles—but the cracks show fast. “Want for nothing. Except the truth,” the narrator taunts.
- The Subversion of Wealth Tropes: Unlike Gossip Girl's glamorized elite or The White Lotus's satirical rich, We Were Liars weaponizes affluence as a gilded cage. The Sinclairs aren't just dysfunctional; they're dangerous.
- Amnesia as a Narrative Weapon: Cadence's memory loss isn't just a plot device—it's a metaphor for the family's gaslighting. Every sun-drenched flashback feels like a lie.
Adapted from E. Lockhart's bestselling novel, the series is helmed by Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) and Carina Adly MacKenzie (Roswell, New Mexico), who specialize in blending teen drama with existential dread. The trailer's eerie tone mirrors Sharp Objects' slow-burn trauma, but with the ensemble tension of Big Little Lies.
Wealthy-family-gone-rotten isn't new (Knives Out, The Undoing), but We Were Liars stands out by making the protagonist complicit in her own deception. It's The Great Gatsby meets Black Mirror—where the real monster isn't a person, but the legacy they protect.
Will We Were Liars expose the rot beneath the Sinclair's golden veneer—or bury it deeper? One thing's certain: this summer, trust no one. Watch the teaser and decide: Are you team Cady, or team Caution?
