We Were the Lucky Ones

This mini series is based off a book and is the true story of Jewish adult siblings, their parents and spouses, and the variety of real paths their lives take as WWII unfolds. The book is written by a member of the family. Many siblings go paths I knew nothing about or aren't commonly talked about. Once books turn to film, they often disappoint, but not this one. It's engaging, inspiring, and unimaginable. I am excited for future episodes. My husband, who has not read the book, is equally engaged. The acting and story line are top notch. We must never forget these are really people who went through these atrocities.

We Where the Lucky Ones is now streaming all episodes on Hulu. This true story about one family's experiences trying to survive Nazi occupied Poland consists of an entirely Jewish cast lead by Joey King and Logan Lerman. It is based on the book of the same name by Georgia Hunter and was created by Erica Lipez, who previously worked as a writer on Suits, Bates Motel, and The Morning Show.

This show sucked me in from the first episode. The way this show was written was so captivating that I found it hard to wait each week for a new episode to drop. The name of the show is We Were the Lucky Ones, and the tagline reads "inspired by one family's true story of survival" so viewers can assume that all or at least most of the family members survive. This knowledge did nothing to make this show less suspenseful or keep me from being on the edge of my seat scene after scene. All I kept thinking was "I cannot believe they survived this" and "how the hell do they survive this?"

The show not only highlights the family's survival but also does a great job of educating the viewer on the world's darkest period. Shows and movies that center around the Holocaust are extremely important and need to continue to be produced, especially now where we have seen a disgustingly high increase in antisemitic incidents since last year (361% according to CNN). The more we learn about this, the less likely it is that history will repeat itself.

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This story will make your heart hurt and you will feel like you know this family. As many times as I have read or seen WW11 stories, it still blows my mind all of this happened to human beings. This show makes you connect to each character. One story line that is beautifully and heartbreakingly done is the mother/daughter story. Parts of the episodes are difficult to watch but you need to because it happened and this show does a good job of showing the horror of early wartime in Poland. I am not done with the series yet but look forward to each episode. If this is your history genre, watch and read the book.

As a Jew I find this series to be astonishingly good and difficult to watch. The director only chose Jewish actors for the main roles which is significant. When I watch or read anything about the Holocaust I feel it in my bones. The book it is based on was written by the great-granddaughter of Nechuma and Sol. I know any Jewish actor playing a role in a script about the Holocaust would not be acting....they would be thinking it could have been them and still might be. Anti-Semitism is the oldest hatred in the world dating back 2000 years. The story is a biography about a real family that managed to survive intact. That is a miracle. A must see in my opinion.

Four episodes in, and every one is a consistent 8/10. Not great art, a little hokey, but the compulsive gotta-see-what-happens-next factor is very strong with this one.

The cast is mostly unknowns and surprisingly strong. I particularly like Moran Rosenblatt as Herta, the kind of tough cookie who can survive anything.

Logan Lerman as the Parisian sophisticate Addy is also very good. He looks like someone who could have been an actor in the 1940s. Reminds me of Tyrone Power in his glory days, has a lot of the same angsty energy.

I always like seeing attention to detail in historical stories to avoid anachronisms. Seeing someone in the streets of Paris wearing a WWI era gas mask wouldn't have been surprising. They would think the last war would pose the same dangers as the coming one.

When Addy plays "Puttin' on the Ritz," the lyrics are from the original version, about Harlem. A sloppier show would have used the more well known lyrics that were written for a post-war Astaire film. Nice job on research there.

It's a good thing Hulu is doling this out weekly. Otherwise I'd just binge watch the whole thing in one weekend.