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Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of “We Were Liars,” now streaming on Prime Video.

When Emily Alyn Lind was first approached about starring in a TV adaptation of E. Lockhart’s popular 2014 YA novel “We Were Liars,” she admittedly had some doubts.

“I’m a little bit cynical, and I wasn’t expecting much — I didn’t know what to expect, really,” Lind tells Variety. “[But] when I read the pilot, I was like, ‘Whoa. This is juicy.’ What happens next?’” After reading the book in one sitting, and finding out what she calls the “gutsy” twist, she knew she had to be a part of it.

The surprise twist, which has been one of the book’s biggest talking points over the past decade, is that 17-year-old Cadence (Lind), the youngest member of the elite Sinclair family, is the only survivor of a fire that killed her...

Spoiler Alert: This piece contains spoilers for the entirety of Prime Video’s We Were Liars, including the finale.

One of the core elements of E. Lockhart’s young adult novel We Were Liars is the will they won’t they dynamic between Cadence Sinclair Eastman and Gatwick Patil.

The television series adaptation follows Emily Alyn Lind’s Cadence, who goes by Cady, and Shubham Maheshwari’s Gat across eight episodes within a timeline slightly more condensed than that of the novel. All Cadence knows at the start of the show is that she suffered a traumatic brain injury during what she and her friend group call summer 16. Now, in summer 17, she is back on Beechwood Island, her favorite place where her rich, white, Democratic family summers every year, trying to remember what happened to her in summer 16.

Those who have read Lockhart’s book have an idea of how...

“We Were Liars” plunges viewers into the wealthy Sinclair family, who spend every summer on the privately-owned Beechwood Island in New England.

Based on the beloved YA novel by E. Lockhart, “We Were Liars” centers its story on Cadence Sinclair, the eldest grandchild and the heir to the Sinclair fortune, who struggles to piece together the events of the previous summer that left her with a traumatic injury.

Emily Alyn Lind stars as Cadence, one of the titular “liars” alongside “Sunrise on the Reaping” star Joseph Zada, while the next generation of Sinclair royalty is played by Caitlin Fitzgerald, Candice King and Mamie Gummer.

Prime Video Emily Alyn Lind as Cadence Sinclair

Emily Alyn Lind stars as Cadence Sinclair, the oldest Sinclair grandchild who struggles to piece together the events of the previous summer that led to a traumatic injury. She is one of the titular “liars” alongside her cousins,...

When “Vampire Diaries” creator Julie Plec and “Roswell, New Mexico” showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie first began the process of adapting E. Lockhart’s “We Were Liars,” they felt an immense pressure to stay true to the beloved YA novel — sometimes even more than the author, herself.

“Our North Star as a team was, ‘Do not screw up that beautiful book,'” Plec told TheWrap. “It evolved into a relationship where the novelist was more often telling us that it was Ok to change things, while Carina was fighting tooth or nail to try to keep things.”

It was Adly MacKenzie, who worked alongside Plec as a writer and producer for “Vampire Diaries” spinoff series “The Originals,” who first brought “We Were Liars” to Plec as a vacation read recommendation when the book was published in 2014. “She put it, basically, in my hands and said, ‘You’re welcome.'”

Set on a breezy,...

In the very last of its eight hours, Amazon’s We Are Liars finally gets really, truly, fire-up-the-group-chat interesting. How specifically it gets interesting I can’t say, since it constitutes the biggest, most spoiler-y reveal of the entire series. Suffice it to say the whole affair — not just the twist but the way it’s handled in the aftermath — is the sort of big swing that had me bug-eyed and howling.

Whether it actually lands is another question — and I’m not convinced it does, leaning heavily on relationships too thinly sketched to drum up the requisite emotion and on character choices so rash they strain credulity. But it is by far the most daring choice in a series that otherwise feels like a lukewarm casserole slapped together from overused ingredients: part YA romance, part not-quite-murder mystery and part self-hating wealth porn, smothered in enough overwrought fairy tale metaphors...

While We Were Liars unfolds as a haunting tale of legacy and secrecy, it’s the younger generation of Sinclairs — Cadence, Gat, Johnny, and Mirren — who carry the emotional weight of the story.

Set against the backdrop of a beautiful private island that feels equal parts escape and prison, their experiences shape the core of the show’s most intimate moments.

In exclusive interviews, we spoke with the talented actors at the heart of that dynamic: Emily Alyn Lind and Shubham Maheshwari, who play Cadence and Gat, and Esther McGregor and Joseph Zada, who portray Mirren and Johnny.

(Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Prime Video)

Their insights reveal the layered emotion, off-screen camaraderie, and behind-the-scenes trust that make We Were Liars more than just a mystery — it’s a character-driven story of love, memory, and truth.

Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Episode 6 Balanced Unresolved Memories and Humor, Becoming the Best Episode...

Emily Alyn Lind plays the lead, Cadence Sinclair, in Prime Video’s new series, We Were Liars. The series is based on E. Lockhart’s 2014 novel of the same name, which received critical acclaim. The teaser trailer of the show just dropped, and from the way it is presented, fans couldn’t help but immediately think of Freeform’s thriller series Pretty Little Liars.

At the beginning, it appears that we are in for a summer vacation show until the mood quickly changes into something much darker. Julie Plec of The Vampire Diaries fame and Carina Adly MacKenzie of The Originals fame serve as the co-showrunners of the show.

Emily Alyn Lind’s We Were Liars immediately reminds us of Pretty Little Liars Emily Alyn Lind as Cadence Sinclair in We Were Liars | Credits: Prime Video

Emily Alyn Lind’s narration begins the official teaser of We Were Liars in a pretty soothing way.

Prime Video’s next YA book-based TV show with a big audience and set at the beach will likely be We Were Liars, based on the book by E. Lockhart.

The rights to the best-selling novel were optioned in 2022 by Julie Plec’s My So-Called Company and Universal Television.

Read on for everything we know about the We Were Liars television series:

When will We Were Liars come out?

E. Lockhart posted on Instagram to expect the series in 2025, and just recently she revealed that the release date is June 18 on Prime Video.

Entertainment Weekly also gave an exclusive first look at the series with photos of the liars themselves, their mothers and the whole Sinclair family.

L-r: Candice King, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Mamie Gummer, Joseph Zada, Emily Alyn Lind and Shubham Maheshwari in ‘We Were Liars

Is We Were Liars in production?

Yes! The series has wrapped production.

Who will be in We Were Liars?...

With November marking the return of the UK’s only Oscar-qualifying animation festival, we’re once again diving into the Manchester Animation Festival programme to highlight must-sees for attendees and flag standout shorts for those following along from afar. With a mixture of recognisable names and exciting new talents, Maf once again promises to be one of the highlights of the festival calendar. This year’s festival offers a range of features, talks, and events, but we’ve zeroed in on the short films and selected eight must-see titles for you to check out:

A Crab in the Pool – Alexandra Myotte & Jean-Sébastien Hamel

Synopsis: In a run-down neighborhood, Zoe and her little brother Theo are left to fend for themselves.

Why to Watch: A regular fixture on the festival scene over the last couple of years, winning awards at Ottawa, SXSW and more, A Crab in the Pool might seem...

Shantanu Maheshwari’s upcoming series Ishq In The Air is shaping up to be an exciting new venture for him! After his previous roles in Campus Beats and Medically Yours, this romantic drama will showcase a different side of his acting abilities. The series’ setting across Indore, Kutch, and Mumbai hints at a rich, dynamic narrative, and the romantic theme seems like a great fit for Maheshwari’s versatile skills.

The fact that the show will be available on a mainstream Ott platform should help it reach a broad audience. With Medha Rana joining him, the chemistry between the leads should be interesting to watch. It’ll be exciting to see how Maheshwari handles this new genre and what the series has to offer.

Meanwhile Shantanu Maheshwari’s enthusiasm about his role in Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha and his connection with Ajay Devgn is palpable. It’s clear that...

The bigger tragedy than the tragedy on screen was the one off it: there were only eight people in the movie theatre.

Neeraj Pandey’s first foray into romance is not as awful as what the reviews tell you. It has its high moments: how can it not when you have the exceptionally involved Tabu and Ajay Devgan helming a love story that is designed as an epic. That it fails to reach its goal is unfortunate. Nonetheless, Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha (what an inapt title!) is an honourable failure, and one that I suspect will garner more respect as time goes by.

For now the problems with the film seem glaring and insurmountable The pacing is uneven and awkward , sometimes bordering on the self-destructive. Edito Praveen Kathikuloth needed to excercize much more discipline and austerity. Who signs Devgan and Tabu to play intense inseparable lovers and then squanders...

Raghav Subbu, and Patrish Mehta’s Kota Factory make us privy to the coaching capital of India and how education was commercialized in the small city. While many students found order in that kind of chaos, there were others who lost everything in the process. Kota Factory makes you think about the state of society and what we are inflicting upon the young minds of our country. So let’s find out what happened in Kota Factory seasons 1 and 2 and what are the essential plot points that you need to know before the arrival of final season, i.e., Season 3.

Spoilers Ahead

How was Vaibhav’s experience in Kota?

We have all heard stories about Kota and how the small city has become the epicenter of Iit coaching. Every year, hundreds of students reach the city to prepare for one of the toughest examinations in the country. Vaibhav came to...

Emily Alyn Lind, Shubham Maheshwari, Joseph Zada and Esther McGregor have joined the cast of Prime Video’s new drama series “We Were Liars,” based on the young adult novel of the same name by E. Lockhart.

They join previously announced cast members Mamie Gummer, Caitlin FitzGerald, Candice King, David Morse, and Asher Ali.

Lind joins the cast as Cadence, “the revered eldest granddaughter of a Kennedy-esque American dynasty, effortlessly clever and adventurous [with] a knack for dramatic storytelling,” per the official character description. Maheshwari will take on the role of Gat, a “thoughtful, ambitious and intelligent 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.” McGregor will play Mirren, a “wickedly funny and keenly observant…artist who is too worried about being perfect to color outside the lines.” Zada has been cast as Johnny,...

We Were Liars, Prime Video’s series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s YA novel, has found its infamous Liars. Emily Alyn Lind (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), newcomer Shubham Maheshwari, Esther MacGregor (Baby Girl), and Joseph Zada (Total Control) are set as series regulars, joining Mamie Gummer, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Candice King and David Morse. The series hails from Julie Plec, Carina Adly MacKenzie, Universal Television and Amazon MGM Studios.

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.

Lind plays 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,...

Earlier this year when covering the National Film and Television School’s 2024 Graduate Showcase we watched Mansi Maheshwari’s nightmarish animation Bunnyhood for the first time. It was a film that instantly created an impression on us through its tense narrative and scratchy, frenetic visuals, which we described at the time as being like, “the scribbled drawings etched onto an old school desk come to life”. It’s no surprise to us then that the film has gone on to secure a place in the prestigious La Cinef programme at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It’s an inclusion which which we thoroughly back. Dn caught up with Maheshwari as she was preparing for the short’s world premiere on the 23rd May on the French Riviera to discuss her film, learning more about her lengthy process of cel animation and how her time studying at the Nfts has impacted her creative practice.

New Delhi, Aug 4 (Ians) US-based consumer technology company Honeywell on Friday announced that former Microsoft India head Anant Maheshwari has been named President and CEO of Honeywell’s High Growth Region portfolio, effective from September 4.

Maheshwari will succeed Ben Driggs, who will take another leadership role in the company. He will be a Corporate Officer of the Company, reporting directly to Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur and will be located in Dubai.

He previously had leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Honeywell from 2004 to 2016, launching new businesses and leading mature business portfolios.

Maheshwari then joined Microsoft, where he served as President and CEO of Microsoft India.

“Maheshwari’s experience over the last two decades proves that he has an ability to deliver impactful results for a diverse set of industries. He is the right person to continue to deliver our local-to-local presence and expand Honeywell’s business in controls and automation,...

New Delhi, Aug 1 (Ians) Microsoft on Tuesday announced that former senior Aws executive Puneet Chandok will be appointed as the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft India and South Asia.

Effective from September 1, he will assume the operational responsibilities from Anant Maheshwari.

Supported by a strong leadership team, Chandok will oversee the integration of Microsoft’s businesses across South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, further boosting the company’s presence in the region.

Ahmed Mazhari, President, Microsoft Asia, said that Chandok has a strong track record of building and growing technology businesses and leveraging technology to deliver impact and change.

“As we embrace an AI-led future, Puneet’s leadership will play a vital role in ensuring Microsoft’s ongoing success in South Asia, and I extend my thanks to Anant Maheshwari for setting us on a growth path,” Mazhari added.

Chandok joins Microsoft from Aws, where he...

New Delhi, July 7 (Ians) Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari, who has moved on from the tech giant to pursue a new path, worked with all the stakeholders to continue to establish India as the trusted tech partner for the world.

Maheshwari, who joined Microsoft in 2016 after serving at top-notch organisations like HoneyWell and McKinsey & Company, was responsible for all of Microsoft’s product, service, and support offerings across India and continuing the company’s transformation into the leading productivity and platform company for the mobile-first, cloud-first era.

He was also a key figure in the company’s renewed push for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge use cases in the country amid the tectonic shift in AI.

“Almost every sector is becoming digital and that transformation is impacting every company in India,” Maheshwari had said.

In nearly seven years as Microsoft India President, Maheshwari became instrumental...

New Delhi, July 7 (Ians) Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari has moved on from the company to pursue a new path, the company said on Friday.

Chief Operating Officer Irina Ghose has been promoted to Managing Director of India.

Maheshwari, who joined Microsoft in 2016 after serving at HoneyWell and McKinsey & Company, steered the tech giant growing across the spectrum, be it workplace productivity, skilling and local innovation at scale in India.

“We can confirm that Anant has decided to leave Microsoft to pursue a role outside the company,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

“We would like to thank Anant for his many contributions to our business and culture in India and wish him every success in his future endeavours,” the spokesperson added.

Maheshwar is a graduate from Birla Institute of Technology. He also studied at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

–Ians

na/vd...

Among all the other categories in film and television, there has always been a place at the table of themes for mythical creatures. Whether you go back to Ted Browning’s 1931 theatrical adaptation of Dracula that starred Bella Lugosi or you’d rather have something more recent and catch up on all the five parts of the Twilight saga that originally premiered on the big screen in 2008, filmmakers throughout time have always found a unique and entertaining way for the audience to bite into the vampire character.

Whether the draw for the story is based solely on a simple yet entertaining combination of romance and horror or, rather, a whole fantastical universe is whipped up instead that not only includes vampires but werewolves, shape-shifters, and vampire-human hybrids (oh my!), the numerous related works seem to be just as ageless as the original character that was created by Bram Stoker in 189.

Just recently,...

New Delhi, April 29 (Ians) India’s Ganemat Sekhon, shot well to qualify third in the women’s skeet competition at the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (Issf) World Cup Shotgun in Cairo, Egypt, before bowing out in eighth place in the ranking round.

Gurjoat Khangura in the men’s skeet, however, missed a top-eight finish, when he went out in a shoot-off for the final qualifying spot.

Those were the best Indian results on Day 3 of the competitions which saw the first medals being awarded. Rio Olympic champion Gabrielle Rossetti of Italy won the men’s skeet even as teenaged Chinese Jiang Yiting, sealed a first World Cup win with a triumph in the women’s skeet competition.

Ganemat shot a perfect 25 in the fifth and final qualifying round earlier in the day to finish with a score of 117. That tied her with Italian Chiara Di Marziantonio whom she beat...

New Delhi, April 25 (Ians) It industry’s apex trade body Nasscom on Tuesday announced the appointment of Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India as its chairperson for 2023-24.

Nasscom also announced the appointment of Rajesh Nambiar, Chairman and MD, Cognizant India as its Vice Chairperson for the same time frame.

Maheshwari takes on the new role from his previous role as Vice Chairperson succeeding Krishnan Ramanujam, President, Business and Technology Services, Tata Consultancy Services.

In addition, Nasscom also announced its new Executive Council for 2023-2025 that will play a strategic role in enabling the tech sector to lead on the global stage through focused initiatives and programmes.

“Building on the core capabilities in tech services, India is now demonstrating broader technology leadership for the world, both in trusted innovation capabilities and also as a leading example of digital public platforms with billion population scale implementation,” said Maheshwari.

“I look forward to...

Mumbai, March 14 (Ians) Brace yourself, some of the most loved streaming shows are getting renewed for their third seasons. Shows like ‘Delhi Crime’, ‘Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’, ‘Kota Factory’, ‘Mismatched’, and ‘She’ are set to return with their new instalments.

‘Delhi Crime’ is an International Emmy nominated show and stars Shefali Shah as Dcp Vartika Chaturvedi, Rajesh Tailang as Inspector Bhupendra Singh, Rasika Dugal as Neeti Singh Ips and Adil Hussain as Kumar Vijay.

While the first season of the show followed the story of the shocking 2012 Delhi gang-rape, the second season of the show told the story of Chaddi Baniyan Gang. The fans of the show are eagerly waiting to know what the third season will bring along.

‘Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ focuses on the personal and professional lives of Neelam Kothari, Maheep Kapoor, Bhavna Pandey and Seema Kiran Sajdeh (formerly known as Seema Khan), wives of Bollywood actors Samir Soni,...

New Delhi, Jan 17 (Ians) Z3Partners, a leader in tech and digital investment in India, on Tuesday said it has closed its latest fund at Rs 550 crore that will primarily invest in 8-10 early-growth, digital and tech startups, with a ticket size of Rs 50-80 crore.

Leading global and domestic institutions and family offices, including Hdfc Life and Sidbi, participated in the fund.

Z3Partners said it has already made five investments in cybersecurity startup Cyfirma, social e-commerce firm DealShare, agri-tech platform Gramophone, SaaS-based logistics management leader Shipsy and AI-led celebrity engagement platform True-Fan.

DealShare turned unicorn in 2022 after its 165 million Series E financing round.

“Our vision is to identify the most disruptive and cutting edge startups and provide them with necessary support to grow into market leaders,” said Gautam Patel, Founder and Managing Partner.

The Vc firm also announced the joining of Rishi Maheshwari as a Co-founder and Managing Partner.