Tell Me Lies - Preview

By Kira Zahara Ahsan | KZA Entertainment

Grade: B

"Tell Me Lies," based on a novel of the same name, tells the story of a passionate but toxic relationship between Lucy and Stephen at the fictional Baird College in 2008. The series bounces between the parallel timelines of 2008 and the reunion of the same group of characters in 2015 at the wedding of two supporting characters in the friend group, Bree and Evan.

Performances are excellent by the lead actors, Grace Van Patten and Jackson White, though the latter looks a bit too old to still be in college. There are good performances by the supporting cast of their classmates and friends, whose lives are upended by the lies and selfishness of the main couple, although several suffer from the same issue as Stephen (White's character) in needing the viewer to suspend disbelief that the actors are anywhere near college aged. The casting of Pippa (played by Sonia Mena, an actress who hides her age online but is thought to be in her early-to-mid 30s!!), one of the main friends of Lucy, is a real miss on the part of the producers and/or whomever the heck was in charge of the casting.

What the series does well is give a nuanced and heartbreaking portrait into the damage that toxic and narcissistic relationships do to both parties AND others in their orbits. The unique and compelling portrait of this dynamic is what keeps the series interesting, especially since the timelines reveal that Lucy and Stephen are still torturing each other 7 years after college. The events of season 2 provide several cliffhangers regarding a fraught history that will further unfurl in season 3.

Bottom line: "Tell Me Lies" has issues with casting, but the story will hook you.

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