Exclusive | Julie Plec on twisty teen thriller We Were Liars and why she hopes Meryl Streep likes it

Liar, liar. Prime Video’s new teen drama “We Were Liars” (premiering Wednesday, June 18) is a twisty summertime thriller. Based on a wildly popular novel of the same name, the show is helmed by “The Vampire Diaries” mastermind Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie. “What drew me to it is the deep emotional roller coaster that this story takes you on, starting from what seems just like a very simple, sweet, nostalgic coming-of-age story about first love and best friends and summer, and takes you from basically all those vibes on a very twisty-turny, surprising journey into a big tone shift,” Plec exclusively told The Post. “We Were Liars” follows Cadence Sinclair Eastman (Emily Alyn Lind) and her circle of cousins and friends –  including Johnny (Joseph Zada), Mirren (Esther McGregor), and Gat (Shubham Maheshwari) – who have adventures over the course of several summers on her affluent family’s private island.But, things take a darker turn as Cadence must figure out what’s happening after she loses her memory, and everyone seems to have secrets. Rounding out the cast is Candice King, Mamie Gummer, Rahul Kohli, and David Morse. “Casting a big ensemble like this, where everybody is supposed to be related to each other and blonde, as in the books, is never easy,” said Plec.She added, “Blonde, you can usually fake, and, which we did pretty well in a couple situations, but you really need to be able to believe that they’re all of one piece.”For Gat, an Indian boy who is Cadence’s love interest, she said, “We looked high and low.

We were able to cast the role of Gat from a beautiful young actor who had never acted for a living before at all.His audition tape was done in his dorm room on campus just before he graduated [from] university.”Plec continued, “We got to discover the incredible.

Mamie Gummer, who’s worked for years, but is stepping into her own as a leading lady.” Gummer, 41, is Meryl Streep’s daughter.Wh...