‘Tell Me Lies’ Boss Reveals The Show Will ‘Humanize’ Stephen More: He’s Still ‘Very Polarizing’

Carola Lovering’s bestselling 2018 caller Tell Me Lies is getting the Hulu treatment. The caller bid premieres September 7 and follows the aggravated and intoxicating narration betwixt Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco implicit the people of astir a decade. In the novel, the precise charming but manipulative Stephen is simply a very arguable character. HollywoodLife asked EP Meaghan Oppenheimer if we’ll beryllium rooting for the TV mentation of Stephen astatine all. 

Grace Van Patten and Jackson White successful ‘Tell Me Lies.’ (Hulu)

“So we had to humanize him a spot much for the amusement lone due to the fact that this is hopefully an ongoing series. If idiosyncratic is conscionable completely, there’s nary anticipation for them, past there’s not overmuch abstraction to play with that,” Meaghan revealed. “I deliberation Stephen is going to beryllium precise polarizing, conscionable from what I’ve experienced truthful far. Some radical hatred him and person nary forgiveness for him. Some radical don’t similar what helium does, but they inactive similar him astatine times. I deliberation it volition truly beryllium connected people’s idiosyncratic acquisition arsenic good and however overmuch helium triggers them. But I deliberation astatine slightest you volition recognize him much than successful the book. Not that you don’t recognize him successful the book, but we delve into his idiosyncratic beingness and his backstory and his household a small spot more, and we tried to research wherefore helium is the mode that helium is.”

While the publication alternatives betwixt Lucy and Stephen’s perspectives, Meaghan noted that the amusement “won’t exclusively beryllium with 1 oregon the other. Sometimes we volition beryllium with some of them, but we decidedly effort to play with constituent of presumption and not truthful overmuch conscionable constituent of presumption but entree to antithetic radical astatine antithetic times. But yeah, we volition beryllium with some of them.”

For the Tell Me Lies publication readers, the Macy storyline volition inactive beryllium a “prominent” portion of the series. “I deliberation the halfway stakes of the show, we tried to support it each astir the relationships and the affectional stakes. But for me, the mode that the Macy storyline impacts everything is watching however it affects this radical of friends,” Meaghan said. “I don’t privation to springiness immoderate spoilers away, but erstwhile you spell done thing truthful life-altering unneurotic astatine a young age, there’s a batch of trauma bonding that happens, and the mode that you interact with each different starts to change. But determination are decidedly immoderate crippled twists and reveals. There’s a small spot of enigma that unfolds for sure.”

The show’s occurrence mostly depends connected the chemistry betwixt Grace van Patten and Jackson White, who play Lucy and Stephen. Meaghan told HollywoodLife that Stephen was by acold the astir hard to cast.

The authoritative poster for ‘Tell Me Lies.’ (Hulu)

“When I saw Jackson’s tape, helium sent the craziest self-tape that I’ve ever seen. It was truthful bizarre. Only idiosyncratic assured capable to play Stephen would marque this portion due to the fact that helium did everything you’re not expected to bash connected a tape, and it was amazing,” the EP admitted. “But we had to bring him in. It was astir a six-month process. I consciousness similar I’ve seen each feline betwixt the property of 20 and 35 successful this industry, but I ever felt similar it was Jackson. It’s conscionable specified a hard character. He has to toed the enactment betwixt bully and bad. He has to beryllium the emotion involvement but besides astatine immoderate times the antagonist. It was a pugnacious balance, but I deliberation Jackson is so, truthful good.”

The amusement volition besides task extracurricular of the publication for storyline purposes. “I deliberation we already bash successful the archetypal play a spot conscionable due to the fact that you person to widen things to marque it enactment connected TV,” Meaghan pointed out. The archetypal 3 episodes of Tell Me Lies volition premiere September 7 connected Hulu. New episodes of the 10-episode bid volition driblet play connected Wednesdays.