Tell Me Lies Cast Talks Exploring New Sides To Their Characters Outside Of The Book In Season 2

Tell Me Lies is one of television’s most unpredictable, toxic, and shocking dramas out there, perfectly capturing the tumultuous college years. Season 2 has only built on the secrets and lies in season 1, leading to a compelling show worth tuning into each week. Pop Culture Planet’s Jordan Bohan interviews the cast about adapting the book and what they were excited to explore in this new season.

Season 2 newcomer Tom Ellis plays a professor in which Bree (Catherine Missal) takes a keen interest in. Married to the series’ showrunner, Ellis got quite the insight into adapting a book to screen, but this season was a big departure from what is in the book. “Meaghan [Oppenheimer] got what she could out of the book in season 1,” he told me. “But season 2 is very much out of her head so it didn't feel like I was joining an adaptation in that sense.”

Meanwhile Missal expressed her fears surrounding adapting something so beloved. “There's probably a nervousness surrounding people's expectations, but this season especially is a divergence from the book, especially with the ensemble cast of characters,” she said. “We definitely explore their lives more.”

Missal, being one of the youngest of the cast, reflected upon her time making the show and the comparisons it has to being on a college campus. “We bonded so much and so it definitely is that kind of atmosphere of we're having fun. I never went to college, but I'm definitely looking at it as these are my years to have that college fun,” she shared. “It's exciting even getting to shoot on a real campus and the sets were so amazing. We had these awesome dorm spaces on the stages and they just did such an incredible job that it really does feel so real when you're in it.”

Ellis and Missal has the difficult task of portraying a blurred lines professor and student relationship this season. Ellis reflects on his approach to the storyline and how things have evolved since the time period the show takes place in. “Obviously, it was a delicate line to walk and I think Meaghan wanted to put a story in like this because these relationships do happen. I think the interesting thing about Tell Me Lies is that it takes place in 2008 and, since 2008, the conversation about sex, sexual dynamics, consent, and power has evolved a lot,” he explained. “The ambiguity of what goes on behind closed doors and how people feel about that and the conversation was very different back then.”

Missal adds how she approached the new season 2 storyline. “I think these types of things do still happen and, in that time period, there weren't as many boundaries, rules, or consequences. In terms of handling, I just appreciated how we both came in with so much care and we really wanted to tell the story in the most genuine way,” she shared. “I think people are are going to relate to it and and I hope people take something away that is helpful.”

Thomas Doherty is another new season 2 addition as Leo, a mutual friend returning from a semester abroad who takes an interest in Lucy. “The best thing about this show I think is it's so nostalgic for so many people, but then also if it's not nostalgic, it's still like really entertaining and relatable,” he said. “I feel like young adult angst is universal and timeless.”

While he loved the story and themes, he did share some hesitation in joining the previously bonded cast. ”It's always really stressful as an actor to join in a cast that's already very well established. It's quite nerve-wracking, but I came in and everyone was so welcoming, so kind, and so lovely,” Doherty said. “Most of my scenes are with Grace and I get on so well with Grace. She's a wonderful human and an incredible actor. I feel very honored and grateful to be able to be in this show because the show is amazing and it was a really special time and experience.”

Spencer House and Branden Cook reprise their roles in season 2 as best friends Wrigley and Evan. The show has given them space to reflect upon that time period in their own lives. “I was an idiot in college, but I don't think I was this dumb,” laughed House. “Study hard, go to class, all that good stuff. Watch this show and if you do everything opposite to every character then you'll probably have a good time.”

Formerly enemies, Alicia Crowder and Sonia Mena’s characters Diana and Pippa share a closer connection this season. “For Diana we see a lot of instability which gets exaggerated even more this season. Having to think on your feet and make quick decisions when your your back as is up against a wall was really fun to play with, especially with a character who on the outside seems like she like has everything together,” said Crowder. “Things are really falling apart for her very quickly so that was honestly really exciting.”

Meanwhile, Pippa also endures quite the evolution both internally and externally “I think Pippa changes a lot. She comes back looking different and then, as the year goes on, she just keeps changing,” Mena reflected. “It was exciting for me as an actor to be holding the character that I made before but also finding ways that I can sort of expand it and have it still feel like Pippa. It was really fun to experiment with that.”

Pippa and Diana have some real character development this season where they are tested and pushed. Crowder shares her advice to those in this time in their life when they’re questioning things. “Just trust your gut and believe in yourself because it's so easy to have all these different people in your ear,” said Crowder. “Just really trusting yourself and knowing that no one knows you better than you do.”

Mena continued: “I hope that [Pippa] is able to start to turn everything that she's been sitting on into something that really fuels her and helps her heal and helps her start to get agency back and feel like she's in charge of her life. Trusting yourself, it's such a huge part of that just being in college and in that age.”

Tell Me Lies season 2 is streaming on Hulu.