Latest news with #WeWereLiars
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Exploring Class And Character In Costumes For Prime's ‘We Were Liars'
The Liars on the beach during Summer 16. Jessie Redmond Amazon Prime's We Were Liars is a very good show. But please know, though it may feel like the streaming equivalent of a beach read, this story is ancient and close to universal. Cadence, Cady if you prefer, our main character in We Were Liars , has an awful lot of overlap with Cordelia, the doomed favorite daughter in William Shakespeare's King Lear . It's the same way in the novel this show is based on. I cannot promise that E. Lockhart, author of the 2014 novel on which this series is based, wrote it as a modern take on King Lear, but I very much suspect that it was. I also suspect that Lockhart is familiar with the work of Marian Roalfe Cox, but that is far too much to get into. The stories that people tell each other, the ones we cherish most, have not changed very much over the centuries. The details have, absolutely, but the broad strokes are the same and they are what allow us to find and leave Easter Eggs. Storytelling is about connections and stories remind us that we are all connected. As We Were Liars opens and we meet our cast of characters, it was immediately obvious that time and effort had been invested in making certain that it would be impossible to confuse any of these blonde ladies. It's all very Ralph-Lauren-American-Aristocracy, but the five women are distinct, even if their collective costumes all ascribe to a (very) particular aesthetic. When I met with the costume designer for the series, Amanda Riley, I explained that the process of working it all out fascinated me, that I very much wanted to know how it had been accomplished. The younger generation of Sinclair's play croquet outside Clairmount house on Beechwood island, off Martha's Vineyard. Jessie Redmond 'Each of the individual characters felt so different as people,' Riley explained. 'So, it didn't feel like work as much as it was effortless. Once an actor steps into the fitting room, you start to realize this is truly the embodiment of this character. Caitlin FitzGerald, she was Penny Sinclair, all of the things that we gravitated towards in the fitting room had these long lines and elegant colors. Her palette was extremely clean and very refined, a lot of it was architectural, but didn't feel too stuffy. Bess Sinclair, Candice King,' the designer continued, 'her clothing was harder to source than one would think because how she dresses, it's not who she really is on the inside. She ends up being this woman that's just somehow thought that she was doing the right thing. But her clothes, what I loved is it felt like it embodied somebody else, like its just this idea that she's sweet, that's not really who she is. And then Carrie Sinclair, Mamie Gummer, as a designer, pulling all this stuff together, it does take a while to be able to find the exact fabric, but then you find it, you finally see it. And when the actor looks at the rack and says, 'oh, this is exactly that person.' Carrie had all this vintage YSL, all of these really great pieces. And her jewelry was made by a friend of mine, CKD Design Studio, we had made that jewelry from scratch for her.' I was very impressed by the cast, perhaps especially Emily Alyn Lind who portrays Cadence "Cady" Sinclair Eastman. This young woman did an excellent job. All the young actors on this series did very good work. Cadence "Cady" Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind) with dark hair in Summer 17. Jessie Redmond 'This was a challenging shoot,' Riley told me, 'because of where we were located. Nova Scotia is far out, there are great white sharks right in the water right there. I mean, locations were really far out. Sometimes you're driving with no reception for an hour and a half, but wow, the heart and soul that people gave to it. I feel like that's what filmmaking is all about. Being able to tell the story in that way where everyone's coming together to make it. I mean, that's why I love the industry. This was a project where, for me, all of the actors became people that I respected as such wonderful, wonderful human beings. And that really helped when we were in a situation where it's not as warm as you're hoping it would be. People were cold out there, and the showrunners and executive producers could feel that these people were in it. Everybody was into the story, into the project and from behind the camera and what you see in front of the camera, everybody gave it a hundred percent. And I think you see that.' There is a lot that this show does well, after all, shows don't become number 1 hits for no reason. Transitions between timelines, differentiation between characters then and now, keeping what happened when straight is a place where even the best work can falter. We Were Liars never does, to Riley's immense credit, because the costumes she designed will not allow it. Before and After are distinct and the transitions between the two extremes are easy to follow. I asked the designer about maintaining the integrity of the story when it was divided between past and present. Cadence "Cady" Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind) tries to piece together what happened last summer. Jessie Redmond 'We start in Summer 17 and it's really intense,' she explained, 'but as Cady starts to feel a little bit more into what could have happened, her new relationship and what changes with the Liars; there is an evolution of Cadence's look. So, we start to see some of the dresses return. And in the later episodes, she's got boots on, some of the little floral dresses and cardigans are returning, she's got some jewelry. She wants to feel attractive in front of Gat. And part of her essence, who she always has been, especially in Summer 16, is starting to come back. So the colors are a little bit different and there's a lot more subtlety. But she's starting to wake up and you can see it in her clothing subtly. That first outfit that she wears in Summer 17, when she sees the Liars for the first time, it is really representative of how she is at that moment, how cloudy and dark she is. Even the shirt she's wearing is this blue, it almost has a cloudy nature to it. The shirt speaks to where she is most emotionally.' There are subtle transitions in this narrative, carefully plotted points of reference which keep the story from ever feeling disjointed or abrupt. This is a place where costumes do a lot of heavy lifting, and Cady is a great example, her wardrobe shows us what is happening to her inside. 'She's coming back to herself,' Riley explained. 'When she's on the dock with Gat and wearing this beautiful floral dress, it's the first time that she dresses up for Gat because they're going on a date. Carina Adly MacKenzie, our amazing showrunner and executive producer, along with Julie Plec, are so involved in the story and the costumes. We worked together. And one of the things we discussed was how we manage that change. Because one of the style points that we used for Cady was the fact that she wears these high tops, which are so cute and flirty, but still show that she's a teenage girl. We decided to use that same element, but something that's a little bit edgier because Cadence is really questioning all that's going on around her subconsciously. I believe she knows when she's out with Gat that something is off. She just can't figure out what it is. To show the rebellion she's got these boots on, even though she's wearing the dress.' Harris Sinclair (David Morse) and his wife Tipper Taft Sinclair (Wendy Crewson). Jessie Redmond 'Harris,' Riley said with a laugh, 'with his idea of his Sinclair women, they're well-dressed and tanned and put together. And we never see what's happening on the inside.' Harris Sinclair (David Morse), Grandfather to the Liars, who gives off creepy vibes immediately, has very specific ideas regarding the women in his family. 'Love, and be silent' is not much of a stretch. There's a whole underlying theme related to the difference between material wealth and honest emotional connection, between perception and reality, that all feels very timely, given the state of, well, everything in 2025. 'For the Sinclairs,' Riley told me, 'it was important for me to be able to have a handful of really key pieces. But I believe that the people like Sinclairs, they're not throwing their money away. Even if she's buying a pair of $5,000 pants, those $5,000 pants, they're going to probably last, that's one piece she'll wear throughout the entire summer because they understand the value of investing in these things. The Sinclair Sisters; Bess (Candice King), Penny (Caitlin FitzGerald), and Carrie (Mamie Gummer). Jessie Redmond 'As a costume designer,' she continued, 'knowing that every single thing that we touch on the planet as humans, as people, as living beings, affects other people. Being able to work on a show like this that I think is the content itself feels really important to share. I think we're seeing a lot of change, especially in fashion, because something has to happen about the world of fast fashion. I believe that designers need to start speaking up, we need to start. And this was a huge goal of mine too, like, how can I find things that are beautifully made, designer, but don't necessarily come right off the rack of a department store. How can we use things that are secondhand or gently used or designer consignment? Especially here in Europe, it's amazing the stuff you can find, and why pay that much money for clothes?' I asked the designer if she had seen the finished episodes, what she thought about the show as a whole. 'Every time I watch any of the episodes I cry, ' Riley told me. 'I'm savoring a few of them because I wanted to watch with a couple of other people, but the last scene where she's running in that dress, I mean, that's Cady, she's becoming herself. Even though she's tanned and bronzed as Harris would like her, the woman that has gone through this incredible tragedy, the person that she has always been inside, looking for answers, she knows that this life that she's born into is something to be questioned and where does she fall in it? Where are her values? How can she make a difference? It is a fairy book story, and even though the ending is tragic, there is something so beautiful about remembering that, and using that as a guidepost.' The Liars: Cady (Emily Alyn Lind), Mirren (Esther McGregor), Johnny (Joseph Zada), and Gat (Shubham Maheshwari). Jessie Redmond/Prime The ending to this story is sad, but it is also powerful and deserves to be seen. This is not Nahum Tate and we are not in the 19th century convinced we can 'fix' Shakespeare's work so that a tragedy becomes a happy ending. Today's audiences, even our youngest adults, want the devastating emotional assault. Perhaps all of us should think about why that is a little more. As with many enormous ideas, it's summed up rather perfectly in a line by Shakespeare, one he gave to Cordelia aptly enough Bard: 'We are not the first Who, with best meaning, have incurred the worst.' All episodes of 'We Were Liars,' with gorgeous costumes designed by Amanda Riley, are now available to stream on Amazon Prime. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes All Hail Qveen Herby: A Conversation About Costume Versus Clothing By Rachel Elspeth Gross Forbes Creating Costumes For Teen True Love In Netflix's 'Forever' By Rachel Elspeth Gross Forbes 'Dressed To Kill': PBS' 'Human Footprint' Examines Apparel And Evolution By Rachel Elspeth Gross
Cosmopolitan
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
From We Were Liars to The Summer I Turned Pretty S3, here's everything on our Prime Video summer watchlist
A hot-girl summer isn't just about rooftop bars and iced lattes, it translates to what you watch, too. And Prime Video has got you covered this year, with some seriously hot TV and film. From love triangles to dangerous family secrets, frenemies and hidden identities, I've rounded up the shows and films you'll want to add to your watchlist. Expect juicy plots, strong female leads, and just the right amount of emotional chaos to keep you entertained this summer. Belly makes a return for a third season of the romantic drama based on Jenny Han's novels of the same title. Picking up two years later, Belly, played by Lola Tung, is now in college and engaged to Jeremiah – that is, until his brother Conrad returns, reigniting old feelings and shaking everything up. The love triangle reaches its emotional peak as Belly has to decide once and for all: Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah? Get your pomegranate margaritas ready because, if season three stays true to the book, we're going to need one – or the entire jug. If you love TSITP, We Were Liars is your next obsession. Like the former, it's also set at a beach house, although Cousins Beach is a chill summer's break compared to Beechwood Island, where the Sinclair family hides dangerous secrets (think fire and loss). In the eight-part series, which launched in June, Cadence, aged 17, returns to her family's private island one year after a mysterious accident, with no memory of what happened. As she starts putting together the pieces of the summer, old friends and buried truths emerged. With an impeccable cast and a twist you absolutely won't see coming, We Were Liars is summer drama with a haunting edge. I was completely obsessed with Blake Lively's deviously cunning Emily and Anna Kendrick's overly-pedantic Stephanie, so when I heard there was a sequel to A Simple Favor, I wasted no time giving it a watch. And you won't want to delay, either. In the second film, the unlikely duo are back and the twists are even more absurd than the last time, as Stephanie travels to Italy to be a bridesmaid at Emily's wedding to the super-rich Dante Versano. There's more deaths, revenge, chaos and OTT fashion. Plus, Michele Morrone plays Emily's soon-to-be-husband – surely that's enough to pique your interest. Hook-up disasters, frat-party drama and secret crushes? Overcompensating delivers the ultimate college chaos, as closeted Benny, played by Benito Skinner, tries to navigate his freshman year while keeping his sexuality a secret. Desperate to keep up his straight-guy act, Benny teams up with ballsy outsider Carmen (Wally Baram), and together they stumble through the joys of college in this coming-of-age story. With bold humour and a killer soundtrack, including tracks from the likes of Britney and Charlie XCX, the eight-part series is a fresh take on identity, friendship and self-discovery. Estranged sisters reunite in this thriller starring Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks. While Chloe (Biel) lives an idyllic life with her husband Adam and their son, Nicky (Banks) struggles to make ends meet. When Adam is brutally murdered, the two sisters are forced to put their complicated past behind them to find out who is responsible. As the investigation deepens, buried family secrets, fractured sibling bonds and shocking twists emerge. Based on Alafair Burke's novel, the eight-part drama is giving major Gone Girl and Big Little Lies vibes, and worth bingeing this summer. Prime Video is available in the UK and Ireland at no extra cost to a Prime membership for just £8.99 a month or £95 per year. New customers can find out more at and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.
South China Morning Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is Shubham Maheshwari, who plays Gat on We Were Liars? He's a Hollywood newcomer with no previous screen experience – but as a teenager, he was inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio
Shubham Maheshwari stands out like a sore thumb on the fictional Beechwood Island where Amazon Prime Video's latest drama series, We Were Liars, takes place. Adapted from author E. Lockhart's book of the same name, We Were Liars centres on Cadence Sinclair ( Emily Alyn Lind ), the daughter of a wealthy family who suffered a terrible head injury. Shubham Maheshwari (left) with his We Were Liars co-stars Esther McGregor (in yellow), Joseph Zada and Emily Alyn Lind. Photo: @shubham/Instagram Holidaying on her family's private island, Cadence tries to regain her memory with the help of her two older cousins ( Esther McGregor and Joseph Zada ) and their friend, Gat Patil, played by Maheshwari. Unlike his ultra wealthy, ultra blonde friends, Maheshwari's character is of Indian descent and was raised in New York in a working-class family; these differences play a role in Gat's relationship with the Sinclairs. Advertisement Shubham Maheshwari plays Gat Patil in We Were Liars. Photo: @primevideo/Instagram But what do we know about Shubham Maheshwari, the actor behind We Were Liars' Gat Patil? He had no professional acting experience Shubham Maheshwari was studying economics when he applied for the We Were Liars role. Photo: @shubham/Instagram Born and raised in Dubai to Indian immigrant parents, Maheshwari had never set foot on a film set, had no screen credits to his name, and had no agent before landing his breakout role as Gat Patil on We Were Liars. Unlike his three co-stars, he also had no connection to the industry – Emily Alyn Lind, Esther McGregor and Joseph Zada all have parents in showbiz. Maheshwari was a university student studying economics when he came across an open casting call on Backstage, the 'LinkedIn' for models and actors, for the role of Gat Patil. 'Reading their brief character description of Gat, I immediately knew this was something I would apply for, but that was about it – I did not think or expect anything,' Maheshwari said in an interview with Backstage. 'I then immediately read the book and fell in love with this incredible story.'
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We Were Liars' star Mamie Gummer is happy to move on from 'the ingenue' or 'the girl' roles, into deeper work
In recent weeks, Mamie Gummer has been riding the wave of fandom that came along with the release of the successful Prime Video series We Were Liars, based on the novel by E. Lockhart. Starring alongside Candice King, Caitlin FitzGerald, Emily Alyn Lind, David Morse, Rahul Kohli, Esther McGregor, Joseph Zada and Shubham Maheshwari, Gummer is an absolute force on screen, making a big impact in her portrayal of the complex character Carrie Sinclair. "It's really satisfying to know that we made something intended for people to see and that they're seeing it, because that doesn't always happen," Gummer told Yahoo. The series is still the most popular show on Prime Video. "I'm always so grateful for anything messy and complicated, and I'm kind of relieved to seem to be aging out of 'the girl' roles, and things are deepening now and becoming more nuanced. I think the fact that this project was crafted by women entirely, for the most part, was significant, and that it was always going to be a multi-dimensional experience." A core part of what makes Carrie such an interesting character is that she has this rebellious spirit, but as we see with how she dealt with the scandal surrounding her son, she feels she needs the patriarchal structure that she's been raised in, under her father Harris (David Morse). It's those layers in the character that Gummer really effectively, and beautifully, pulled out in We Were Liars that felt so engrossing to watch. "You kind of meet everyone at an inflection point, a time of crisis," Gummer said. "Carrie, out of the rest of the family, has this kind of renegade spirit and has faced the consequences of challenging that particular, as you said, patriarchal power structure, and has experienced the high cost of doing so, and has been kept caged in by that and is compromised by it, on a really deep level." Gummer added that there's also an interesting and tragic "crossover" between Carrie and Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), the character that leads us through the story setup as a tale of Cadence trying to find out the circumstances that led to her traumatic head injury, and resulting memory left the We Were Liars fans in shock at the end of season, particularly those who haven't read Lockhart's books, with the final moments showing Carrie relapse as she's secretly taking pills in the family's Beechwood home. And it's at that moment that she sees the ghost of her son Johnny (Joseph Zada). When she says she thought he "left," he responds by saying, "I don't think I can." Revealing that Cadence isn't the only one who's seeing the ghosts of their dead family members. "I had always known that moment was coming, so I sort of had been straddling two or three different realities, which was challenging, and also really fun as an actor, to have so many secrets and such a wealth of backstory," Gummer said about the show's ending. "And to hold all that awareness, but keep it under wraps, it was kind of a great relief and release ... to pull back the curtain a bit on everything that had been kept locked away, both in the story and also within what I tried to do performance wise." But a real highlight throughout We Were Liars are those scenes between Carrie and Johnny. There's so much emotional impact that both Gummer and Joseph Zada brought to those moments that felt particularly special in a show that does already have so much drama and complexity with its characters. "There's so many parallels [Lockhart] and [co-showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie] and all the writers painstakingly drew out," Gummer said. "Johnny's character is also very reminiscent of a person, [a formative relationship for Carrie], he shares a lot of the qualities, and so I think that binds her to him in a way that predates his birth even." "They were sort of destined to be intrinsically connected always, and by saving him I think she feels like she might be able to retroactively resurrect some stuff that she's had to contend with in her youth, and failed. I think that she also doesn't know how to take care of herself very well. I don't know that she trusts herself entirely as a mother, but she is so devoted to trying. I love anyone who just tries with all their might, even if they get it wrong over and over and over again." Fans are anticipating that the We Were Liars series will continue with Lockhart's prequel, which is focused on Carrie and her sisters when they were younger. Gummer actually read the books in chronological order, which meant she had a lot of details about her character in her mind crafting Carrie for We Were Liars. The actor stated that she hopes there is the opportunity to explore the prequel story, an origin story for the sisters, and the trauma bond established in their younger years. Gummer also celebrated how well each character in We Were Liars was crafted, particularly the women, whether they're teen characters or adults in the show, adding that the process was very collaborative. "Isn't it nice? ... And from the get, when I met with [co-showrunners] Carina and Julie [Plec], it was over Zoom, and it was a conversation and it was a collaboration, which is not always the case in the nature of the industry and how things have changed," Gummer said. "You often make a tape in your closet and then, more or less, kind of chuck it out the window and say a prayer. ... There's not a lot of feedback." "And so I knew that it was going to be a very worthwhile endeavour, and one of mutual respect, and I loved that." While Gummer has seen great success on screen, from We Were Liars to True Detective, The Good Wife and Ricki and the Flash, the actor would love to continue to do more theatre, after giving a sensational performance in the off-broadway play Ugly Lies the Bone in 2015, a story about a newly discharged soldier who returns home to Florida, using virtual reality video game therapy to provide relief from the physical and mental pain of the experience in Afghanistan. Gummer's other theatre credits include Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, Uncle Vanya and The Water's Edge. "I would love nothing more," Gummer said about doing more theatre work. "It's my favourite place to be." "And it's funny, I just saw Lindsey Ferrentino and Patricia [McGregor], who directed [Ugly Lies the Bone], when I was in New York, and we were just scheming about trying to mount that again, do it again. It was such a great piece. I love them all so much." In terms of what made Ugly Lies the Bone feel like a special show, Gummer said she just felt the "fire." "It just took a hold over me. ... I was at a place in my life where I was really ready to just hurl myself at something, no matter the cost or the sciatica that resulted from it," she said. "I'm always more interested in process than product. Like even if three people see something great, it feels just as if not more rewarding than the opposite." Another project that felt particularly special for Gummer was the limited-time performance Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters with her siblings, Grace Gummer, Louisa Jacobson and Henry Wolfe. While Gummer is someone who gets lots of questions about working with her family members, including her mother Meryl Streep, there was something "sacred" about doing the Three Sisters workshop and performances in this limited capacity. "It was just cosmically and creatively so fulfilling, and I think it was because it was only ever going to be just what it was," Gummer said. "It was a meta exercise too, because Louisa really led the charge on that, which is very fitting for her character, and we all sort of reluctantly fell in line, but she was so right. So the baby became the boss. ... I think we were all sort of surprised by it and what we gained from doing it." "But that having been said, I don't know that we would do it again, because none of us wants to, I don't know, exploit the art. What is so sacred, what we hold so closely. So it was always going to have to be kind of an intimate exercise, experience." Looking forward in her career, Gummer is ready to move into possibly crafting her own projects to work on, and maybe specifically for live performances. "I'm feeling a little bold, ... now that I've clawed my way out of the ingenue thing, and I kind of want to start ... building stuff from the bottom," Gummer said. "There's an idea that I have to do [Chekov's] The Seagull, but to make ... the main character into a woman, and make Nina like a hunky young actor guy." "I feel that theatre, in particular, might really have a great resurgence, as we're seeing in live music and real life communion, being around people. You don't even have to necessarily talk to them, but just to feel ... our humanity sort of reaffirmed I think is going to be more and more important."
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We Were Liars' star Mamie Gummer is happy to move on from 'the ingenue' or 'the girl' roles, into deeper work
In recent weeks, Mamie Gummer has been riding the wave of fandom that came along with the release of the successful Prime Video series We Were Liars, based on the novel by E. Lockhart. Starring alongside Candice King, Caitlin FitzGerald, Emily Alyn Lind, David Morse, Rahul Kohli, Esther McGregor, Joseph Zada and Shubham Maheshwari, Gummer is an absolute force on screen, making a big impact in her portrayal of the complex character Carrie Sinclair. "It's really satisfying to know that we made something intended for people to see and that they're seeing it, because that doesn't always happen," Gummer told Yahoo, as the series is still the most popular show on Prime Video. "I'm always so grateful for anything messy and complicated, and I'm kind of relieved to seem to be aging out of 'the girl' roles, and things are deepening now and becoming more nuanced. I think the fact that this project was crafted by women entirely, for the most part, was significant, and that it was always going to be a multi-dimensional experience." A core part of what makes Carrie such an interesting character is that she has this rebellious spirit, but as we see with how she dealt with the scandal surrounding her son, she feels she needs the patriarchal structure that she's been raised in, under her father Harris (David Morse). It's those layers in the character that Gummer really effectively, and beautifully, pulled out in We Were Liars that felt so engrossing to watch. "You kind of meet everyone at an inflection point, a time of crisis," Gummer said. "Carrie, out of the rest of the family, has this kind of renegade spirit and has faced the consequences of challenging that particular, as you said, patriarchal power structure, and has experienced the high cost of doing so, and has been kept caged in by that and is compromised by it, on a really deep level." Gummer added that there's also an interesting and tragic "crossover" between Carrie and Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), the character that leads us through the story setup as a tale of Cadence trying to find out the circumstances that led to her traumatic head injury, and resulting memory left the We Were Liars fans in shock at the end of season, particularly those who haven't read Lockharts books, with the final moments showing Carrie relapse as she's secretly taking pills in the family's Beechwood home. And it's at that moment that she sees the ghost of her son Johnny (Joseph Zada). When she says she thought he "left," he responds by saying, "I don't think I can." Revealing that Cadence isn't the only one who's seeing the ghosts of their dead family members. "I had always known that moment was coming, so I sort of had been straddling two or three different realities, which was challenging, and also really fun as an actor, to have so many secrets and such a wealth of backstory," Gummer said about the show's ending. "And to hold all that awareness, but keep it under wraps, it was kind of a great relief and release ... to pull back the curtain a bit on everything that had been kept locked away, both in the story and also within what I tried to do performance wise." But a real highlight throughout We Were Liars are those scenes between Carrie and Johnny. There's so much emotional impact that both Gummer and Joseph Zada brought to those moments that felt particularly special in a show that does already have so much drama and complexity with its characters. "There's so many parallels [Lockhart] and [co-showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie] and all the writers painstakingly drew out," Gummer said. "Johnny's character is also very reminiscent of a person, [a formative relationship for Carrie], he shares a lot of the qualities, and so I think that binds her to him in a way that predates his birth even." "They were sort of destined to be intrinsically connected always, and by saving him I think she feels like she might be able to retroactively resurrect some stuff that she's had to contend with in her youth, and failed. I think that she also doesn't know how to take care of herself very well. I don't know that she trusts herself entirely as a mother, but she is so devoted to trying. I love anyone who just tries with all their might, even if they get it wrong over and over and over again." Fans are anticipating that the We Were Liars series will continue with Lockhart's prequel, which is focused on Carrie and her sisters when they were younger. Gummer actually read the books in chronological order, which meant she had a lot of details about her character in her mind crafting Carrie for We Were Liars. The actor stated that she hopes there is the opportunity to explore the prequel story, an origin story for the sisters and the trauma bond established in their teenage years. Gummer also celebrated how well each character in We Were Liars was crafted, particularly the women, whether they're teen characters or adults in the show, adding that the process was collaborative. "Isn't it nice? ... And from the get, when I met with with [co-showrunners] Carina and Julie [Plec], it was over Zoom, and it was a conversation and it was a collaboration, which is not always the case in the nature of the industry and how things have changed," Gummer said. "You often make a tape in your closet and then, more or less, kind of chuck it out the window and say a prayer. ... There's not a lot of feedback." "And so I knew that it was going to be a very worthwhile endeavour, and one of mutual respect, and I loved that." While Gummer has seen great success on screen, from We Were Liars to True Detective, The Good Wife and Ricki and the Flash, the actor would love to continue to do more theatre, after giving a sensational performance in the off-broadway play Ugly Lies the Bone, a story about a newly discharged soldier who returns home to Florida who uses virtual reality video game therapy to provide relief from her physical and mental pain from Afghanistan. "I would love nothing more," Gummer said about doing more theatre work. "It's my favourite place to be." "And it's funny, I just saw Lindsey Ferrentino and Patricia [McGregor], who directed [Ugly Lies the Bone], when I was in New York, and we were just scheming about trying to mount that again, do it again. It was such a great piece. I love them all so much." In terms of what made Ugly Lies the Bone feel like a special show, Gummer said she just felt the "fire." "It just took a hold over me. ... I was at a place in my life where I was really ready to just hurl myself at something, no matter the cost or the sciatica that results in it from it," she said. "I'm always more interested in process than product. Like even if three people see something great, it feels just as if not more rewarding than the opposite." Another project that felt particularly special for Gummer was the limited-time performance Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters with her siblings, Grace Gummer, Louisa Jacobson and Henry Wolfe. While Gummer is someone who gets lots of questions about working with her family members, including her mother Meryl Streep, there was something "sacred" about doing the Three Sisters workshop and performances in this limited capacity. "It was just cosmically and creatively so fulfilling, and I think it was because it was only ever going to be just what it was," Gummer said. "It was a meta exercise too, because Louisa really led the charge on that, which is very fitting for her character, and we all sort of reluctantly fell in line, but she was so right. So the baby became the boss. ... I think we were all sort of surprised by it and what we gained from doing it. "But that having been said, I don't know that we would do it again, because none of us wants to, I don't know, exploit the art. What is so sacred, what we hold so closely. So it was always going to have to be kind of an intimate exercise, experience." Looking forward in her career, Gummer is ready to move into possibly crafting her own projects to work on, and maybe specifically for live performances. "I'm feeling a little bold, ... now that I've clawed my way out of the ingenue thing, and I kind of want to start ... building stuff from the bottom," Gummer said. "There's an idea that I have to do [Chekov's] The Seagull, but to make ... the main character and to a woman, and make Nina like a hunky young actor guy." "I feel that theatre, in particular, might really have a great resurgence, as we're seeing in live music and real life communion, being around people. You don't even have to necessarily talk to them, but just to feel ... our humanity sort of reaffirmed I think is going to be more and more important."
