12 Shows Like We Were Liars You Must See

Based on the eponymous novel by E. Lockhart, ‘We Were Liars’ follows Cadence Sinclair (Emily Alyn Lind), a young member of the Sinclair family who are known to be American royalty. Coming from old money, strong family ties, and great looks, she has little left to be desired. However, tragedy strikes one summer when Cadence is found washed up alone at the beach where she has been holidaying with her friends and family. She fails to recall how she ended up in that state, even a year later, and everyone around her seems to be determined to keep it a secret. The psychological drama created by Carina Adly MacKenzie and Julie Plec for Amazon Prime Video tears down the veil of the blessed family to explore how broken the ties of money are in reality. If mystery thrillers set amidst the 1% is your jam, here is a curated list of shows similar to ‘We Were Liars’ that you can consider for your next binge.

12. Dead to Me (2019-2022)

‘Dead to Me’ by Liz Feldman centers around Jen Harding (Christina Applegate), a realtor who has recently lost her husband in a hit-and-run accident. Joining a support group of grieving family members, she grudgingly befriends Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini), a surprisingly cheerful woman who claims to have lost her fiancé in a heart attack. With time, the bond between the two strengthens, and Jen discovers the truth about Judy that changes her opinion of her forever. The latter had hidden a part of herself from Jen in the initial days of their companionship, much like how Cadence’s friends and family are not trusting her with the accident she has no memory of in ‘We Were Liars.’

11. 13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

’13 Reasons Why’ showrunner Brian Yorkey adapted the eponymous novel by Jay Asher for television, which revolves around high school student Hannah Baker’s (Katherine Langford) taking her own life and leaving behind a box of tapes explaining her decision. Her classmate Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) receives the box at his front porch two weeks following her death. Recorded by Hannah herself, each tape includes a reason for the various people in her life who played a role in pushing her toward death. Unlike ‘We Were Liars,’ the victim in ’13 Reasons Why’ is the only one who knows what has happened to her, and she intends to share it posthumously with the people around her.

10. Blood & Water (2020-2024)

Helmed by Nosipho Dumisa, Daryne Joshua, and Travis Taute, ‘Blood & Water’ follows high school student Puleng (Ama Qamata), whose sister Phume was kidnapped by traffickers shortly after birth. After meeting Fikile Bhele (Khosi Ngema), a popular college athlete who resembles Phume as well as shares her birthday, Puleng begins to suspect she is her long-lost sibling. To investigate the matter further, she transfers to the elite school in Cape Town that Fikile attends, but soon discovers that there were more secrets than her missing sister that her family and friends have been keeping. And Puleng, like Cadence, is determined to uncover the truth.

9. The Society (2019)

‘The Society’ tells the story of a group of teenagers who return from their cancelled school trip to find the entire population of their town, West Ham, Connecticut, missing. A dense forest magically surrounds the area, cutting off all communication with the outside world and jamming even telephones and the internet. The high scholars are left to their wits to come up with a way to run the community with limited resources for their own survival. Christopher Keyser’s creation puts the story of missing teens on a grander scale while turning it on its head and making everybody else disappear instead.

8. The Wild (2020-2022)

Sarah Streicher’s ‘The Wild’ chronicles a group of teenagers who survive a plane crash in the middle of the ocean while on their way to Hawaii to participate in an empowerment retreat. Finding themselves on a deserted island, they begin working together to live as castaways, unaware that they are being unknowingly used as subjects of a social experiment. The apparent disappearance of the teenagers from society while keeping their whereabouts a secret from them echoes what Cadence goes through in ‘We Were Liars.’

7. Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017)

Based on a series of novels of the same name by Sara Shepard, ‘Pretty Little Liars’ is about four former best friends who reunite a year after the disappearance of their clique leader, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse). Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), and Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) start receiving threatening messages from a person identifying themselves as “A” and claiming to be aware of the secrets that they have suppressed from the time their group fell apart. Created by I. Marlene King, the show resembles ‘We Were Liars’ with the young girl’s disappearance and the apparent knowledge of her situation being possessed by her friends.

6. Cruel Summer (2021-2023)

Created by Bert V. Royal, the first story of the anthology series ‘Cruel Summer’ is set around two teenage girls in Skylin, Texas, in the 1990s. When the beautiful and popular Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) suddenly disappears, her sweet but socially awkward friend Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) goes through a shocking transformation and steps into Kate’s role in the social sphere. However, Kate is discovered alive a year later and accuses Janette of wilfully withholding information about her abduction. A legal battle unfolds, and both girls are found to be hiding the complete truth. Similar to ‘We Were Liars,’ ‘Cruel Summer’ deals with the subject of the abduction of a teenager for a sinister hidden reason.

5. The O.C. (2003-2007)

The first season of Josh Schwartz’s TV series ‘The O.C.’ revolves around Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a troubled teenager from Chino who is taken in by a wealthy couple in Newport Beach, California, after his mother kicks him out. The move comes as a cultural shock for him as he tries to find his place in the superficial high society. While he no longer has to deal with domestic abuse and poverty, Ryan soon discovers that his new peers are not free from their own share of issues. As in ‘We Were Liars,’ the series attempts to rip off the facade of the spotless life that the rich appear to lead.

4. Revenge (2011-2015)

Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo, ‘Revenge’ is set in the modern-day Hamptons, where people are defined by wealth, beauty, and status. Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) was one of the inhabitants of the place until an accident destroyed her reputation two decades ago and forced her family to leave town. At present, she returns to her old neighborhood with a different identity and dedicates herself to getting revenge on the people who have wronged her in the past. Unlike Cadence in ‘We Were Liars,’ Emily knows the lies about her and is prepared to dish out the consequences.

3. The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

Based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ by Mike Flanagan tells the story of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals CEO Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), who loses all six of his children within a short span of time. His company has long been under investigation for corruption by the US Attorney’s Office. The evening after the final funeral, Roderick invites Assistant United States Attorney C. Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly) to his childhood home to lay bare the darkest secrets of his family that have been suppressed for ages. As the revelation sheds light on the fate of his children, it brings to mind the secrets that suppress the truth of Cadence’s disappearance in ‘We Were Liars.’

2. Élite (2018-2024)

‘Élite’ by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona follows three working-class teenagers, Samuel (Itzan Escamilla), Nádia (Mina El Hammani), and Christian (Miguel Herrán), who get enrolled at an elite high school through a scholarship program. While their lifestyle clashes with that of the students coming from privilege, they continue to have social and romantic interactions. The apparent bonhomie comes crashing down when one of the students tragically loses their life, and people are left scrambling in search of the cause. The superficial niceness among the affluent young adults may hide something sinister beneath the surface, as explored in both ‘We Were Liars’ and ‘Élite.’

1. Big Little Lies (2017-2019)

Created by David E. Kelley, ‘Big Little Lies’ is adapted from a novel with the same name by Liane Moriarty. The story is set in the affluent beachfront town of Monterey in California, where five seemingly content women find themselves entangled in a murder investigation. As the lives of Madeline Mackenzie (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman), Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley), Bonnie Carlson (Zoë Kravitz), and Renata Klein (Laura Dern) come under investigation, the cracks begin to show in their conventionally accepted achievements of perfect marriage, sex, parenting, and friendship. As seen in ‘We Were Liars,’ the high society of ‘Big Little Lies’ also prefers to hold on to their secrets rather than face uncomfortable truths, even when the matter concerns life and death.