Branden Cook is set as a series regular opposite Grace Van Patten and Jackson White in Hulu’s straight-to-series drama Tell Me Lies. Spencer House and Benjamin Wadsworth are also cast in the series based on Carola Lovering’s novel.
Meaghan Oppenheimer is adapting the series that follows eight years in the life of a young woman named Lucy Albright (Van Patten), who arrives on her college campus wanting to leave a traumatic relationship with her mother behind. There, she meets a young man named Stephen DeMarco (White). They start off with your average early romance, but then things “quickly fall into an addictive entanglement that will permanently alter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.”
Lucy is described as superficially appearing to be “a sheltered but well-adjusted girl from an affluent Long Island town” who is labeled as the “Ice Queen” by her peers. Really, she feels disconnected from them by childhood events that make it hard to connect. Stephen is described as fiercely intelligent, with an ability to read people that he uses as a way to survive, though he hides a dark side underneath his charm. He brings out a frightening side of Lucy when they meet, spurning a journey of repercussions that neither could have predicted.
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Cook will play Evan, a kind, intelligent guy who often feels stunted by his father’s success, causing him to sometimes lack motivation. He is overly concerned with being the “nice guy” and puts his friends’ needs before his own – this leads to a repressed anger that might eventually get the better of him. House will portray Wrigley, the most celebrated athlete on campus and always the life of the party. Although it seems like life is easy for him, his big personality hides a wealth of insecurities. Wadsworth will play Drew, a college freshman and Wrigley’s younger brother. He is shy but smart, and is used to living in the shadow of Wrigley.
Emma Roberts is executive producing the project along with Oppenheimer, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer under the Belletrist TV production company established by Roberts. Other executive producers from Belletrist are Karah Preiss and Matt Matruski, but Laura Lewis and Stephanie Noonan of Rebelle Media, and Vice Studios’ Shannon Gibson and Sam Schlaifer from Refinery29 are also on board. Lovering will be consulting on the project. 20th Television is the studio.