With the success of Freeform’s Cruel Summer, it seems only natural that other streaming platforms would be trying to find their own version of the YA whodunnit drama. What do you get when a princess, jock, geek, rebel, and recluse all get detention in the same room? Peacock’s One of Us is Lying. Based on the New York Times Best Selling YA Novel of the same name by Karen M. McManus, the series tells the story of five Bayview High students who end up in detection together…only to have four of them walk out alive. Dun dun DUNNNNN!

The murdered student is Simon, the school’s real-life Gossip Girl who had a blog that revealed his fellow classmates’ deepest, darkest secrets. He was ready to reveal huge, juicy, summertime gossip on the first day of school. However, our killer had other plans. Our suspects, Bronwyn – the girl about to fail out, Addy – the cheater, Nate – the drug dealer, and Cooper – the closeted jock. 

On paper this series sounds intriguing. However, I found the execution of these first three episodes to leave much to be desired. While trying to uncover the mystery of who killed Simon, the series doesn’t write the characters/suspects’ stories in a way that makes you care about who they are or what would happen to them if they turned out to be the guilty party. And even though every episode ends with a dramatic reveal all of these “OMG” moments feel unearned. 

One Of Us Is Lying Hits You Over The Head

There are also a handful of incredibly obvious red herrings. As someone who never read the book, I’m curious about the differences in storytelling. When watching a series like this, I need to care about the characters, I need to know who they are, and I need to 2nd guess myself every episode like I did with Cruel Summer. Sadly, that just isn’t the case here.

The eight episodes of the series will roll out over the course of 3 weeks starting with the first 3 episodes dropping on Thursday, October 7th. Episodes 4-6 will drop on Thursday, October 14th with the finale 2 episodes (7&8) dropping on Thursday, October 21st.

Personally, I don’t have any desire to finish the series, but maybe I’ll chime in for the finale just to find out who actually killed Simon. I just don’t want to watch the journey.

So, are you interested in One Of Us Is Lying?

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