One of Us Is Lying Review: The Breakfast Club With a Criminal Twist

Netflix’s latest book to screen adaptation is based on Karen M. McManus’s debut novel from 2017, One of Us Is Lying. The series is developed by Erica Saleh and, produced by Brian Leslie Parker. The cast includes Annalisa Cochrane as Addy, Chibuikem Uche as Cooper, Marianly Tejada as Bronwyn, Cooper van Grootel as Nate, Barrett Carnahan as Jake, Jessica McLeod as Janae, Mark McKenna as Simon and, Melissa Collazo as Maeve. The series consists of eight episodes, each with a runtime of over 50 minutes.

– Netflix’s One of Us Is Lying Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers –

One of Us Is Lying: The Breakfast Club x Pretty Little Liars x Gossip Girl

If you have read McManus’s book, this series and, its tropes will not come as a surprise. But, even if you haven’t, you can pin out who is behind all that is going on after a while. You might not be able to completely believe it but, hold on to your gut because this is a vulnerable teen ride to be on.

We are introduced to the five stereotypes of high school- Bronwyn: the A+ student aiming to go to Yale, Addy: the Homecoming queen with estranged parents, Cooper: the jock who is actually gay, Nate: the heart robbing bad boy on probation and, Simon: the outcast gossip guy of the school. We see the students of Bayview High return back to the school corridors after a summer of secrets and shenanigans. With the reopening of the school, we see the school gossip website ‘About That’ go live, teasing four students whose secrets will be revealed by the end of the school week.

The camera closes in on Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper and Nate making us know that these are our potential targets of the ‘About That’ app run by, none other than Simon. However, strangely enough, all five students end up in detention on the first day of school’s opening. But, only four of them walk out alive. What happens in the room, who dies and, who is the killer lying about it is for the audiences to tune in and, find out.

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Yes, the series is engaging and, keeps us guessing things even with a plotline that will look very predictable by the end. But, it is just not even in telling its story. It does not take us more than one episode to know what are secrets our prime targets are hiding. And, even when they are revealed they would look too frivolous to dwell on and, react to. Given the series is aimed at mostly teens, it makes sense but, even for the age group the series is directed towards would agree that high school has bigger problems.

The series also tries to show how scandalous sexuality and, mental illness is. We see our culprit’s mental illness villainized to a point to play a part in what was orchestrated. Cooper’s sexuality is made to look scandalous rather than his personal choice and, struggle to come out. Even the romance between Nate and Brownyn is too cliched to be accepted.

One of Us Is Lying Season 1: Final Verdict

Overall, One of Us Is Lying really plays it right when it comes to being a thriller. But, the subplots and characters ruin the process. You will not really feel connected to the characters, not because of what wrong they have done but, because of the lack of responsibility, they feel towards their actions. From the villains to the victims, every character is really not worth getting invested into which makes the entire experience of watching this series kind of detached.

You can watch One of Us Is Lying Season 1 now on Netflix.

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