‘We Were Liars’: Mamie Gummer, Caitlin FitzGerald & Candice King To Star In Amazon Series Based On Book

EXCLUSIVE: Mamie Gummer (True Detective), Caitlin FitzGerald (Succession) and Candice King (The Vampire Diaries) are set as leads in We Were Liars, Prime Video’s series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s YA novel We Were Liars, which hails from Julie Plec, Carina Adly MacKenzie, Universal Television and Amazon MGM Studios.

This marks a reunion for King and Plec. King was a series regular on TVD, co-created and executive produced by Plec, and recurred/guest starred on two offshoots created/executive produced by Plec, The Originals and Legacies, reprising her role as Caroline Forbes. MacKenzie also was a writer-producer on The Originals.

We Were Liars is a tragic love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts. It centers on the wealthy, seemingly perfect Sinclair family, who spend every summer on their private island. Gummer, FitzGerald and King play the three Sinclair sisters.

Gummer is Carrie Sinclair, the eldest daughter of a wealthy media mogul. Carrie thinks of herself as free-spirited, but her bohemian sweaters are the finest cashmere, her funky jewelry made of ancient jade. She was once the most rebellious of her sisters, but her wild days are seemingly over. She loves her two sons ferociously, but during a turbulent summer on her parents’ private island, her sobriety, and her ability to be a stable force in her boys’ lives is threatened.

FitzGerald portrays the cool and polished Penny Sinclair whose favorite snack is exactly six unsalted almonds, and her expensive athletic wear always matches. She breeds golden retrievers and finds it much easier to connect to dogs than to people — undoubtedly a contributing factor in the messy divorce she’s currently navigating. Her sense of self-worth is a house of cards built on her family’s wealth and power — and she will seemingly do anything to maintain it.

King plays Bess Sinclair, the youngest Sinclair sister. Bess never has a hair out of place, and if she gets her way (which she usually does) her three children wouldn’t, either. She sits on five philanthropic boards, never misses a PTA meeting, and is happily married to a man her father deems worthy of the family dynasty. At least, they seem happy, posing together in the Boston society pages. This summer, her perfect family image is dangerously close to shattering… and it may be all her fault.

The series is written and executive produced by Plec and MacKenzie, with Plec writing the first episode and MacKenzie writing the second. Also executive producing are Emily Cummins for My So-Called Company and the novel’s author, Lockhart. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Amazon MGM Studios are the studios.

Lockhart’s YA novel, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, has sold nearly three million copies worldwide.

Gummer starred with Mahershala Ali and Scoot McNairy in the third season of HBO’s True Detective. She most recently appeared in Ava DuVernay’s DMZ on Max and in the Amazon/BBC series The Collection. Her recent film credits include Ricki and the Flash and Cake. Gummer is repped by CAA.

FitzGerald is currently filming the independent feature Above The Below, opposite Idris Elba and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. On TV, she recurred as Tabitha in the first two seasons of Succession and also had recurring roles in Patrick Somerville’s Max limited series Station Eleven and in Shonda Rhimes’ Inventing Anna. She is repped by Curtis Brown, Anonymous Content, Gersh, and Peikoff Mahan Law.

King is best known for her role as Caroline Forbes on CW’s The Vampire Diaries and spinoffs The Originals and Legacies. She most recently was seen starring in Lifetime’s Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story in the title role. King is repped by Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.