How Hulu’s Tell Me Lies Series Is Different Than The Book

Hulu just dropped the first three episodes in their new show Tell Me Lies. Fans are loving the show, and the series seems to be the streaming service’s next big hit. The story focuses on Lucy Albright, who is played by Grace Van Patten, as she struggles with her relationship with her college love Stephen DeMarco, portrayed by Jackson White. Their story stretches over eight years, showing their whole relationship.

Hulu’s Tell Me Lies is based off the book of the same name written by Carola Lovering. The novel is all about the toxic yet addictive nature of Lucy and Stephen’s relationship, and fans of the novel are thrilled to see the story come to life. For the most part, the show is staying true to the source material. Some changes have been made, so let’s get into how Hulu’s Tell Me Lies is different than the book.

8 Where Is Tell Me Lies Set?

In the book Tell Me Lies, character Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco attend Baird College in sunny and warm Southern California. They both relocated from towns in Long Island, New York to attend the college. However, to make filming easier, showrunner of Hulu’s Tell Me Lies series Meaghan Oppenheimer chose to compress the setting to one location.

Instead of Baird College being located in Southern California, the character’s college is now set in New York. The exact location of the school is unclear, but the characters do go into New York City fairly often, so it cannot be too far away.

7 Did Hulu’s Tell Me Lies Remove Lucy’s Eating Disorder?

One of the key aspects of character Lucy Albright that is featured in Carola Lovering’s novel Tell Me Lies is her relationship with food. In the novel, Lucy has a pretty severe eating disorder. Lovering is very blunt in the novel with how Lucy’s eating disorder has altered and shaped her life.

Hulu and showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer, however, seem to have chosen to remove this issue. The first three episodes of the show Tell Me Lies does not highlight any issues with an eating disorder. Perhaps later episodes of the show will incorporate the subject, but so far Lucy, who is played by Grace Van Patten, has a healthy relationship with food.

6 Lucy’s Family History Has Changed

In Carola Lovering’s novel Tell Me Lives, the main character Lucy Albright comes from a very well-off family. She grew up in a neighborhood surrounded by young and preppy tennis players. The expectation of the neighborhood was Ivy League for their children. Her mother’s identity was centered around being a rich, financial professional’s wife.

Hulu’s Tell Me Lies is taking her family in a slightly different direction. While the show still has Lucy growing up in a wealthy community, her mother is a working mom. Most importantly, her late father is an army veteran rather than a financial professional.

5 Will Lucy’s Mom Sleep With Her Crush?

One of the largest twists in Carola Lovering’s novel Tell Me Lies is the revelation that Lucy Albright’s mother CJ slept with her daughter’s high school crush. This act of CJ has caused a huge wrench in CJ and Lucy’s relationship. This might change in Hulu’s show.

Instead of a crush, Lucy had a boyfriend in high school in the series Tell Me Lies. Her ex-boyfriend also seems completely irrelevant to the show, which might mean they chose to leave this plot line out in favor of something else. If CJ, played by Jessica Capshaw, did sleep with her boyfriend, this might make the betrayal even worse.

4 Jackson White’s Stephen DeMarco Will Be Humanized

The novel Tell Me Lies portrayed character Stephen DeMarco has a very polarizing personality. Readers were hoping for Lucy to move on from the love interest. Hulu’s Tell Me Lies will show the character of Stephen in a bit of a different light.

“If someone is just completely, there’s no hope for them, then there’s not much space to play with that,” showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer revealed to Hollywood Life. The hope is they have the series be ongoing, so a completely hated love interest is not ideal. “I think at least you will understand him more than in the book.”

3 Lucy And Stephen’s Relationship Affects Everyone

Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco are the definition of a toxic and unhealthy relationship. Carola Lovering’s novel really focuses on the two of them and how the relationship affects them, but Hulu is taking things a step forward.

Hulu’s Tell Me Lies is attempting to showcase how Lucy and Stephen’s relationship not only affects them, but also the affects on those around them. “The point is that this toxic relationship affects everyone around them,” Jackson White, who plays Stephen, told E! News. “You see how everyone is going through the ripple effects.”

2 What Will Happen To Macy In Tell Me Lies?

Carola Lovering’s novel Tell Me Lies has a very crucial plot line regarding the character of Macy. Macy is Lucy’s friend from high school who unfortunately dies in a drunk driving accident—and a very important character is responsible. Considering her death in high school, fans were shocked to see Macy at college with Lucy in Hulu’s Tell Me Lies series.

Showrunners maintain that the trauma centered around Macy will be crucial to the show, but the timing and events surrounding her have been altered. Grace Van Patten was drawn to the character of Lucy due to her trauma, so fans are excited to see when this aspect will come into the show.

1 How Will Tell Me Lies End?

Hulu is skilled at releasing successful shows like Lily James’s Pam & Tommy and Tell Me Lies. The streaming service hopes Tell Me Lies will go beyond one season, fans might have to wait a long while to see what becomes of Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco. Spoiler alert: they likely will not end up together since they part ways at the end of the novel.

The road to getting there, however, could be very different. Fans are curious to see how Lucy learns to put herself first. They are also hoping for the strong feminist ending they got in the novel, in which Lucy chose herself and her career over staying involved with the toxic relationship.