Who did it? As One of Us Is Lying is gearing up for an explosive premiere on Peacock, the questions about the show are continuing to add up.
The mystery series channels Pretty Little Liars and The Breakfast Club to tell the story based on Karen M. McManus‘s best-selling novel. The show follows a high schooler named Simon (Mark McKenna) who runs an online gossip website. After he dies due to an allergic reaction during detention, his remaining classmates are considered suspects in the investigation.
Karen previously reflected on how the iconic John Hughes film inspired the story she was looking to tell.
“One of my favorite things about that movie is the bonding that takes place as the characters realize they’re not as different as they thought,” the author told Book Club Babble in 2019.
For Karen, the concept of detention forced the core four to interact with one another as the mystery continues to unfold.
“The world constructs so many artificial barriers between people based on surface impressions and narrow definitions: who’s popular, who’s successful, who’s a troublemaker, who’s forgettable,” she noted at the time. “But that public face is never the sum total of any individual.”
The writer later detailed how the topic of social media played a huge role in the book and is confronted just as much in the show, according to the official trailer.
“I find social media fascinating. Not only because, as you note, it makes privacy seem almost quaint, but because it provides a mechanism for curating your life—showing the parts that you want people to see, while hiding the aspects that are less camera-friendly,” Karen added during the interview. “But that only works when you control the narrative. If there’s a Simon in the background spilling secrets you’d rather keep quiet, or if a negative story goes viral, it’s very hard to take that back.”
Fans may also be surprised to find out that the pilot episode was directed and produced by Jennifer Morrison.
Jennifer, who has made her mark as an actress on projects like House and Once Upon a Time, discussed how her journey to becoming a director was shaped by those around her.
“It would’ve probably been a much harder journey had I done this 10 years ago,” Jennifer shared with Bustle in 2018. “Because I wouldn’t necessarily have the support that I’m getting. I wouldn’t be any less talented or any less capable, but perceptions may have been in the way of me being able to do the sort of things that I’m doing.”
Scroll down for everything we know about the upcoming Peacock series.
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
