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Life + Culture

ELLE Exclusive: Emily Alyn Lind And Shubham Maheshwari On Bringing 'We Were Liars' To Life

Meet the cast of Prime Video's new series 'We Were Liars'—the haunting tale of memory, privilege, and a summer that changed everything—in a candid chat.

| Ekta Sinha
We Were Liars
A still from'We Were Liars' Image Credit: Prime Video

There’s something about We Were Liars, the kind of book you read in one sitting, heart pounding, only to flip right back to page one because what just happened? E. Lockhart’s twisty, lyrical YA novel became a rite of passage for a generation of readers, dominating best-seller lists and BookTok recs alike. So when news of a screen adaptation dropped, the internet did what it does best: spiral into excited speculation.

We’re living in the golden age of books-to-screen transformations, where cult novels and BookTok favourites are being reimagined with big budgets and breakout casts. We Were Liars is no exception. Set on a private island where memory, money, and mystery collide, the story follows 17-year-old Cadence Sinclair as she tries to unravel the truth behind a summer she can’t fully remember.

At the heart of this haunting Prime Video's adaptation are Emily Alyn Lind (as Cadence) and rising star Shubham Maheshwari (as Gat Patil), whose quiet magnetism and emotional depth anchor the show. In conversation with the duo, we talk script reads, filming chaos, and what it means to lie for love and for survival.

When Emily Alyn Lind first read the script for We Were Liars, she was quite literally soaking it in. "I was in a bathtub in London," she laughs, setting the scene like a director would. "I started reading it and couldn’t stop. It was juicy, it was fun, it had teeth. I called my reps mid-soak and said, ‘Yeah, this is sick. I’m in.’”

Shubham Maheshwari, who plays Gat Patil, recalls a more structured setting: “I was actually with my dialect coach the first time I read it. I kept thinking, ‘Is this accent working?’ But then I got completely pulled into the story. It was so beautifully adapted, and the way they built on the book without losing its heart really stuck with me.”

Asked how they prepped for roles that required both emotional restraint and raw vulnerability, the two glance at each other knowingly. “Honestly? It was kind of disguised as summer vacation,” Emily says. “We were jumping into the ocean, playing in the sand,it felt like a dream, until things got heavy.” Shubham agrees. “The story isn’t told chronologically, so filming out of order meant we were always toggling between versions of our characters,one who knew everything, and one who didn’t. That confusion? Weirdly helpful.” Emily nods. “Yeah. That blur, between truth and memory, it bled into how we played it.”

Given the book’s massive fandom, there was bound to be pressure. Emily admits she felt it the moment casting was announced for TV. “I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction,so much love, so fast. It really put things into perspective.” Shubham jumps in with a grin: “My follower count basically doubled overnight. I went from like 2K to 3K. Massive!” Emily cracks up: “We’re practically influencers now.” But jokes aside, both actors took the responsibility seriously. “We wanted to honour the book and give something extra to the fans,layers, nuance, maybe even surprise them,” Shubham says.

The energy on set, they say, was equally intense and intimate. “It felt like a family,” Emily says, without hesitation. “Just chaotic, in the best way.” But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Filming on location in Nova Scotia brought its own challenges,weather, bugs, ocean winds. “We weren’t on a soundstage. We were battling the elements,rain delays, hair continuity, sun that set too fast,” Shubham recalls. “But our crew was incredible. Everyone wanted to get it right.”

When the conversation turns to their characters, they take a beat before throwing out descriptors. “Gat? He’s observant, ambitious, and... deep,” Shubham offers. Emily smirks. “Cadence? Sexy.” Shubham laughs. “She said it, not me.” Emily continues, more thoughtful now: “Naive. Intelligent. And funny. In a tragic way.”

Pressed about the most challenging moments to film, they hesitate. “We can’t spoil it,” Emily warns. But both agree,the ending was emotionally brutal. “And then there’s the stuff we added,” Shubham hints. “There are surprises even for fans who know the book inside out.”

So what makes We Were Liars different from the teen dramas that flood our screens? Emily doesn’t skip a beat. “Our adult cast is insane,David Morse, Caitlin FitzGerald, Amy Gummer. They elevate everything.” Shubham points to the emotional tone: “It’s darker than people expect. There’s grief woven into the sunlight. That tension,it gives the show its soul.” Emily adds, “But it’s not just heavy. There’s laughter, silliness, softness. It’s like therapy in a designer swimsuit.”

They hope the audience will feel what they felt while making it,something visceral, something honest. “It’s a ride,” Shubham says. “You’ll cry, you’ll laugh... or you won’t. In which case, we did our job terribly.” Emily grins, “But we did feel it. Every bit of it.”

Stream the show on Amazon Prime

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