Parents' Guide to We Were Liars

TV Prime Video Drama 2025
We Were Liars TV show poster: Three blonde white teens and a South Asian teen stand at a beach under the text "We Were Liars."

Common Sense Media Review

Polly Conway By Polly Conway , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 14+

Lots of drama, sex, drug use in soapy teen mystery.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 14+?

Any Positive Content?

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  • We Were Liars TV show screenshot: Two teen girls and two teen boys sit together embracing

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

 

 

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age 15+

Based on 13 kid reviews

Kids say that this show is emotionally powerful and resonates well with older and more mature audiences, particularly due to its themes of sadness and dark realities. Many viewers found the unexpected plot twists and the intense ending memorable, although some pointed out the significant amount of mature content, including language and depictions of substance use, making it more suitable for teens rather than younger kids.emotional depthmature themesunexpected twistsintense endingtarget audience
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What's the Story?

Cadence Sinclair, a 16-year-old member of the wealthy Sinclair family, spends summers on Beechwood, a private island in Martha's Vineyard. There, she meets up with her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and with her aunt's partner's nephew Gat. Together, they're known as The Liars, and they have fun and get into trouble like any wildly privileged teens. But when she begins a relationship with Gat, things get complicated. One night, Cadence washes up on shore, nearly dead, with no recollection of how she got there or what happened. As she slowly recovers from amnesia, pieces of that night and that summer come back to her—but her relationship with The Liars will never be the same.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 2 ):
Kids say ( 13 ):

This soapy teen series is a fun summer diversion, but it doesn't bring much new to the table aside from a wild ending twist. We Were Liars features impossibly good-looking people in a gorgeous setting; it only occasionally tries to say something about the nature of wealth and privilege. Still, teens will find the mystery of Cadence's memory compelling—but may or may not be satisfied by the payoff.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what it might be like to grow up in a family like the Sinclairs. Does wealth change the way they live their lives and make choices?

  • Talk about the racism that Gat and his uncle experience as "outsiders" in the Sinclair family.

TV Details

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We Were Liars TV show poster: Three blonde white teens and a South Asian teen stand at a beach under the text "We Were Liars."

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