The most recent upcoming book-to-screen adaptation is the We Had been Liars TV present, and as a fan of the unique novel by E. Lockhart, I had my reservations about modifications they might make to the supply materials for the sequence. However after watching it early, I used to be pleasantly shocked by the way it expanded the plotline of the unique novel. So when CinemaBlend had an opportunity to talk to Lockhart, I requested the writer about her perspective on what was added to the ebook’s storyline for the new streaming sequence.
The 2014 bestseller follows Cadence Sinclair, a teen lady, who has spent all her summers on her household’s personal island by Martha’s Winery. However when she has an incident one summer season that leaves her washed up on the seaside with a critical head harm and a few lacking recollections, she returns to get solutions from her group of playmates who didn’t test on her all 12 months. Right here’s what E. Lockhart instructed me concerning her favourite addition made for the TV sequence:
In our author’s room we had a complete big selection of writers of various ages and ranges of expertise that included 4 writers of Indian descent. And people writers had been capable of contribute not solely their lived expertise, but additionally all of their storytelling expertise and their comedy chops and their thriller acumen and every part. However, they had been beneficiant with their lived expertise.
Within the We Had been Liars novel, Cadence has a gaggle of associates she hangs out with over the summer season. It consists of her two cousins, Mirren and Johnny, and the nephew of her aunt’s companion, Ed Patil, Gat. Each Ed and Gat are explicitly of Indian descent within the novel, however as Lockhart instructed us, for the TV sequence, she set to work with 4 writers who might relate to them from a cultural perspective after which add that into the storyline of these characters.
Gat is performed by newcomer actor Shubham Maheshwari, who instructed us he discovered the function via an open casting name on Backstage and received the half “many, many auditions later.” Within the novel, Gat turns into the article of Cadence’s affections the summer season when she has her incident, they reunite and a swap is flipped from a friendship to a romantic attraction between them.
Whereas the novel is instructed solely from the angle of Cadence, the sequence will get into all of the views of the encompassing characters, together with Gat (particularly in episode six). E. Lockhart’s writing model in We Had been Liars makes Cadence an unreliable narrator and doesn’t enable for well-rounded POVs for the individuals round her. So, I’m along with her that it’s nice that she referred to as on plenty of writers to not solely construct upon this, however provide extra depth to Gat.
Whereas there have been extra nice South Asian characters pop up in current films and tv, it’s wonderful to see We Had been Liars construct on this with the TV present. The actor behind Gat’s uncle Ed is Rahul Kohli, who’s well-known for being in a lot of Mike Flanagan’s films and TV reveals. E. Lockhart additionally stated this about these two characters getting extra of a storyline in our interview:
And so, the characters of Gat and Ed are fleshed out and nuanced and extra genuine than I might have ever written on my own within the novel. So I am actually excited for individuals to see that.
It’s one factor to jot down in Indian characters, however to ask individuals who can relate to the characters’ experiences is a strong method to construct upon the illustration of the title. Try the sequence for your self as soon as it hits Amazon on Wednesday, June 18.