Prime Video orders adaptation of E. Lockhart novel ‘We Were Liars’ from Julie Plec

Vernon Sanders

Amazon SVOD Prime Video has ordered an adaptation of the E. Lockhart novel We Were Liars.

The series hails from Julie Plec’s My So-Called Company, Carina Adly MacKenzie, Universal Television, and Amazon Studios.

Published in 2014, We Were Liars is a tragic love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts. The young adult novel has sold nearly three million copies worldwide.

The series is written and executive produced by Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, Legacies) and Carina Adly MacKenzie (Roswell, New Mexico, The Originals) with Plec writing the first episode and MacKenzie writing the second.

Also executive producing are Emily Cummins (The Endgame, Vampire Academy) for My So-Called Company and the novel’s author, E. Lockhart.

Plec, who is the US creator and producer behind The Vampire Diaries, has been based at Universal Television since 2020 after moving over from Warner Bros. Television. Last year, she unveiled a large slate of projects in development under her overall deal, including Clifton, an adaptation of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s novel Running Out of Time, for Peacock, romantic drama-comedy Stay Gold, and romantic horror fantasy This Savage Song, based on a novel by Victoria Schwab.

“E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars is a gripping story centered on family, love, secrets, and lies that is perfect for our Prime Video audience,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon and MGM Studios. “Lockhart, Julie Plec, and Carina Adly MacKenzie are each brilliant at creating complex characters and we’re looking forward to teaming up with these incredible storytellers, along with Universal Television, to bring this show to life.”