How ‘Inform Me Lies’ on Hulu Differs from the Guide

For anybody who’s ever had a poisonous, just-can’t-quit-you kind of relationship with a major different, the brand new Hulu present Tell Me Lies may really feel a bit of too acquainted. Govt produced by Emma Roberts and primarily based on the addictive novel by Carola Lovering, the collection introduces us to Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten), a twentysomething lady on her approach to her faculty buddy’s engagement get together—solely to seek out her biggest-deal ex, Stephen DeMarco (Jackson James White), additionally in attendance. The collection then flashes again to Lucy’s first 12 months of faculty and proceeds to point out us precisely how Lucy and Stephen acquired concerned—and what their relationship finally price, not solely the 2 of them however everybody else of their orbit.

In the best way that the storyline intently tracks Lucy’s time at Baird School and the evolution of her relationship with Stephen, the Hulu collection stays essentially trustworthy to its supply materials. From the primary scene, although, it’s clear that showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer isn’t afraid to make a number of departures from Lovering’s guide. So what tweaks have been made in adapting Inform Me Lies for the small display? Glad you requested.

Spoilers for each the guide and collection of Inform Me Lies comply with.

Setting: Within the guide, Lucy and Stephen have relocated from the neighboring Lengthy Island cities of Chilly Harbor and Bayville (respectively) to attend Baird School in sunny Southern California. Within the collection, Lucy and Stephen are each nonetheless Lengthy Islanders—however Baird School has been moved to New York State. It’s exhausting to inform precisely the place the school is positioned, however given the characters’ semi-regular jaunts into NYC, we’d should guess it’s not more than an hour or two north of the town.

Lucy’s relationship with meals: We study from nearly the primary web page of the guide that Lucy lives with a fairly extreme consuming dysfunction, and that she’s been battling it for fairly a while. All through the novel, Lovering pulls no punches in describing the extent to which Lucy’s preoccupation with meals shapes her life. Within the collection, nonetheless, little to no point out is fabricated from Lucy’s relationship to meals. Actually, this appears to be a whole nonissue for her.

Household issues: Within the novel, Lucy comes from a well-off household in Chilly Harbor, Lengthy Island, and grew up surrounded by preppy teenage tennis gamers with their sights set on Ivy League schools. Her dad is well-to-do, whereas her mom, CJ, comes from a much less illustrious background and could be very invested in her identification as a wealthy man’s spouse. Within the collection, Lucy hails from the identical prosperous neighborhood, however her circle of relatives’s circumstances are rather less grand. CJ is a working mother, and Lucy—who, within the guide, took tennis classes throughout a pivotal highschool summer time—hasn’t spent a lot time courtside. Most importantly, her father, who handed away a number of years in the past, was a military vet—not fairly the high-flying monetary skilled he’s within the novel.

Episodic Modifications

Whereas the big-picture modifications are important, the variations get much more pronounced as you watch the person episodes. Right here’s what every installment does otherwise from the novel.

Episode 1

Lots occurs within the first episode: Lucy settles in at college, the place she meets her soon-to-be besties and her new roommate—Macy Campbell. Lucy and Macy shortly bond with Pippa and Bree, who dwell within the room throughout the corridor, and Pippa invitations the ladies to a junior-year get together at her friend-with-benefits Wrigley’s home. There, Lucy meets Stephen—who appears to intrigue and alienate her in equal measure—in addition to Diana, whom Lucy doesn’t but know is Stephen’s on-again, off-again ex-girlfriend. Inside days, the joy of the brand new faculty 12 months comes crashing to a halt—actually—when Macy dies in a automotive accident whereas driving house from an off-campus get together.

• Bree getting married: Within the guide, Lucy is heading to Bree’s wedding ceremony (and plus-ones aren’t allowed until engaged or married, so she’s flying solo). Within the present, Lucy is on her approach to Bree’s engagement get together—and he or she leaves her boyfriend house on objective, telling him it’s not a sufficiently big deal for him to come back, then mendacity to her buddies on the get together by saying that he was held up due to work.
• Rearranged roommates: Within the guide, Lucy exhibits up at Baird haunted by the demise of a highschool buddy named Macy Peterson. As soon as there, she shortly types a bond together with her roommate, Jackie, who’s additionally from Lengthy Island. Within the first episode of the collection, although, Lucy exhibits as much as her dorm room to satisfy her new roommate—Macy Campbell. By the tip of the episode, Macy dies simply as she did within the guide, making the trauma of her demise a a lot brisker expertise for Lucy than it was within the novel.
• Stephen’s mother: Stephen has a fraught relationship along with his dad and mom in each the guide and the collection. Within the novel, that’s as a result of his mother was severely mentally in poor health, and he hasn’t seen her since his dad—who’s nonetheless hung up on her—divorced her when Stephen was a teen. Within the collection, Stephen’s mother continues to be a tough lady, nevertheless it’s his dad who’s not within the image: he tells Lucy that his dad left them when he was little, leaving his mother to boost him and his two siblings by herself.
• Wrigley’s brother: Wrigley is basically the identical as he was within the guide—heat, pleasant, a bit of too into coke—however a distinguished new addition is the addition of Drew, Wrigley’s little brother, who can also be a freshman at Baird. (Wrigley makes no point out of any siblings within the novel.) Drew appears to hit it off with Bree, however that ends after he ghosts her following Macy’s demise. Talking of which, it turns into clear by the shut of the episode that he is aware of extra concerning the accident than he initially let on…

Macy (Lily McInerny) and Lucy (Grace Van Patten) share a second within the eating corridor.

Episode 2

At the start of the episode, Drew tells Wrigley and Stephen precisely what he is aware of about Macy’s demise—and Stephen advises him to maintain it a secret. In the meantime, Stephen and Lucy develop nearer.

• Drew’s involvement: In tears, Drew admits that he was at an off-campus get together the evening Macy died, left to make an alcohol run—and swerved to keep away from an oncoming automotive that appeared to come back out of nowhere. The opposite automotive crashed, and Drew fled the scene with out calling for assist, solely discovering later that the driving force who crashed was Macy. This marks a major departure from the guide, wherein Macy’s demise came about whereas she and Lucy have been nonetheless in highschool, and Stephen was the one different individual at Baird who ever knew her—not to mention was affected by her demise.
• Princess Diana: Within the guide, Lucy by no means actually interacts with Diana, Stephen’s on-and-off ex. Within the second episode, nonetheless, she attends a fundraiser thrown by Diana’s sorority, the place she’s dismayed to study that Diana is definitely a genuinely candy and sort individual.

Alicia Crowder as Diana.

Episode 3

The key of Drew’s involvement in Macy’s demise begins to succeed in new folks. In the meantime, Stephen and Lucy are getting scorching and heavy, however Stephen doesn’t need to be monogamous together with her. (In all probability as a result of he’s secretly nonetheless attempting to get again with Diana, although Lucy doesn’t know that.) He encourages her to see different folks—and he or she decides to take him up on it. At house, Stephen goes by way of his outdated pictures…together with a number of bare photos he took of Macy. Dun, dun, dun!

• Wrigley’s incapacity: We study on this episode that Wrigley has a critical studying incapacity, however he apparently hasn’t informed anybody in his life about it and is extraordinarily reluctant to ask for testing lodging. Simply when it appears a failed midterm could pressure him off the soccer group, the sports-obsessed alumni affiliation arranges for him to obtain tutorial assist in non-public.
• The bartender: Whereas out getting drinks on the town with Bree, Lucy meets a bartender named Max, who seems to be the bar proprietor’s son. Bree heads again to campus, however Lucy stays behind—and winds up spending the evening with Max, who doesn’t seem within the guide in any respect.
• The reality will get out: After attempting to make one another jealous at a celebration, Pippa and Wrigley get right into a battle that solely will get additional sophisticated by Drew. When Drew drunkenly blurts out some cryptic feedback in entrance of Pippa, Wrigley chases after her and tells her about the place Drew was the evening Macy died. Although Wrigley and Pippa finally make up and determine so far completely, she admits to him that she needs he’d by no means informed her.

Spencer Home as Wrigley (left) and Benjamin Wadsworth as Drew (proper).

Watch Tell Me Lies on Hulu

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