Prime Video’s We Were Liars Based on the Successful YA Novel Casts Their ‘Liars’
Starring Emily Alyn Lind alongside Shubham Maheshwari, Esther MacGregor, and Joseph Zada, set as series regulars and the infamous liars
Emily Alyn Lind has been cast in the role of ‘Cadence’
Character Description: Cadence, the revered eldest granddaughter of a Kennedy-esque American dynasty, is effortlessly clever and adventurous and has a knack for dramatic storytelling. She falls in love for the first time during an idyllic, dreamy summer with her best friends on her family’s private island in New England… blissfully unaware that just a year later, she will be a shell of her former self — sharp-edged, plagued by migraines, and unable to remember the events that lead to her frightening traumatic brain injury. In her pursuit of answers, Cadence is about to unravel everything she’s been raised to believe about the Sinclair family’s fairy-tale lore.
Bio: Emily Alyn Lind’s body of work would be impressive for any Hollywood actress, but it is quite remarkable for a rising star of such a young age. By the time she was ten, Lind already had the distinction of appearing in Enter the Void, directed by world cinema maverick Gasper Noé, and Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood. In 2012, Lind earned a Young Artist Award for playing ‘Young Amanda Clarke’ in the ABC hit series Revenge, an award held by some of today’s most prominent rising stars. In recent years, Lind transitioned from child actress to breakout star in HBO Max’s Gossip Girl. At the time of the show’s debut, it broke the record for the most-watched HBO Max original series over its launch weekend. Most recently, Lind can be seen in Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire as ‘Melody,’ a teen ghost who tragically lost her life in a fire. She appears opposite an all-star cast, including Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Kumail Nanjiani, Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace. The film also sees Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Ernie Hudson reprise their roles from the 1984 cult classic. Additional film credits include Doctor Sleep, Replicas, Jackie and Ryan Hidden, Netflix’s The Babysitter, and its sequel The Babysitter: Killer Queen Lights Out and The Secret Life of Bees. Television credits include recurring roles on ABC’s Eastwick, and the long-running soap opera All My Children. She has guest appearances on Medium, Flashpoint, Criminal Minds, Suburgatory, Hawaii Five-0, Lifetime’s Who is Clark Rockefeller?, Sundays at Tiffany’s, Code Black, and Rush Hour. Lind is also an accomplished musical artist who is passionate about giving back. She is repped by CAA, The Lede Company, and Brecheen Feldman Breimer.
Shubham Maheshwari has been cast in the role of ‘Gat’
Character Description: Thoughtful, ambitious, and intelligent, Gat is a New York City kid with an edge — so he can’t help but feel a bit out of place amongst Martha’s Vineyard’s cashmere-and-gingham elite. That said, he returns to Beechwood Island, year after year, unable to resist spending summers with his best friend… who he’s been pining for since before he knew what pining is. This year, she finally seems to be reciprocating his feelings — but the timing couldn’t be worse, because Gat now has a secret that could drive her away forever.
Bio: Shubham Maheshwari halls from the University of British Columbia, where he pursues a major in Economics and has been pursuing acting. We Were Liars is his first major acting role.
Esther MacGregor has been cast in the role of ‘Mirren’
Character Description: Wickedly funny and keenly observant, Mirren is a study in contradiction. She’s an artist who is too worried about being perfect to color outside the lines. She craves new experiences, but clings to childhood like a safety blanket. She’s dying to lose her virginity… but refuses to do anything she isn’t absolutely sure she’ll excel at on the first try. However, when she inadvertently stumbles across a scandalous family secret, she is catapulted out of her comfort zone… ready or not.
Bio: Esther can next be seen opposite Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas in Halina Reijn’s Babygirl for A24. She can also be seen in Clea Duvall’s series High School for Amazon Freevee, produced by Plan B.
Joseph Zada has been cast in the role of ‘Johnny’
Character Description: Charismatic, dirty-minded, and occasionally reckless, Johnny is the ringleader of his friends’ more mischievous adventures. He moves through life like he’s invincible — after all, he’s never met a problem his emotional support Amex can’t solve. This summer, he’s about to collide with accountability for the very first time. Suffice it to say he’s not a fan.
Bio: Joseph Zada, an 18-year-old actor with First Nations heritage (Barkindji), has been immersed in Sydney’s vibrant theatre, film and television community his entire life. Joseph will next be seen starring in the lead role of Charlie in the highly anticipated Stan Original Series Invisible Boys, based on the bestselling novel by Holden Sheppard. He made his feature film debut in 2020 in the coming-of-age teen comedy Bilched, written by and starring his older brother, Hal Cumpston, and recently starred in the third season of the popular ABC series TOTAL CONTROL and the feature documentary The Speedway Murders, based on the story of the real-life victims of the Burger Chef murders that occurred in Indiana, USA, in 1978, which had its world premiere at the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival. Joseph has committed himself to the craft of acting, completing multiple courses at Screenwise Film & Television Acting School and regularly working with esteemed international acting coach Miranda Harcourt. In 2024, Joseph was announced as a Top 50 Finalist in the AACTA Young Stars National Youth Casting Call.
We Were Liars was ordered to series by Prime Video.
The previously announced cast includes Mamie Gummer as Carrie, Caitlin FitzGerald as Penny, Candice King as Bess, David Morse as Harris Sinclair, and Asher Ali as Ed.
Nzingha Stewart will be directing the first episode.
Logline: We Were Liars is a tragic love story and an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts.
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. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Amazon MGM Studios are behind the project. The novel is published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.
The young adult novel has sold nearly 3 million copies worldwide and has spent over 40 weeks on the New York Times YA bestseller list. It was also the most-searched standalone title on Goodreads in 2014 and was listed among the best young adult books of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and The Wall Street Journal.
