What the Inspiration for Hulu’s ‘Tell Me Lies’ Can Tell Us About Season 2

As season 2 of Hulu’s popular Tell Me Lies approaches, viewers may be curious about whether the show is based on a book—and what that book might be able to tell us about what’s to come.

Spoilers ahead for season 1 of Tell Me Lies

Tell Me Lies first premiered in September of 2022 and follows the toxic relationship between Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White). The show switches between the present day and eight years earlier, when Lucy and Stephen first began their relationship as college students. However, it’s quite a turbulent relationship as the pair struggles with infidelity and hold dark secrets about the tragic death of Lucy’s best friend, Macy Campbell (Lily McInerny). Season 1 ends on a shocking cliffhanger when it’s revealed that Stephen has a new fiancée in the present day, who happens to be Lucy’s high school best friend.

With the cliffhanger ending, viewers were left wondering what season 2 could have planned and whether there’s any source material they can turn to for answers.

Is there a Tell Me Lies book?

Tell Me Lies is based on a book. It’s an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Carola Lovering. Like the show, the book is a thriller that delves deep into toxic relationships and narcissism. However, the show does change several major aspects of the book. For one, while the book focuses primarily on Lucy and Stephen, the Hulu series dives deeper into all the supporting characters and further develops their stories. For example, while readers only see a one-dimensional view of Diana from Stephen’s perspective in the book, the show lets viewers see the more nuanced version of her that other, nonbiased characters see.

Tell Me Lies also adjusts the timeline a bit, including making Macy’s death a fresh event that happens shortly after she and Lucy meet in the college. In the book, Macy is actually Lucy’s high school friend, who died before Lucy went to college. The show even invents some characters, such as Drew Wrigley (Benjamin Wadsworth), who don’t exist in the book. Another character created specifically for the show is Max (Edmund Donovan), with whom Lucy has a romantic fling. In the book, Lucy doesn’t see other people while dating Stephen, but the show changes this by introducing Max and exploring how Stephen’s treatment of her influences her treatment of Max.

Perhaps the show’s biggest and most impactful change is in the season finale. The finale takes place in the present day, where Lucy is forced to face Stephen again at their friends’ wedding. Stephen shows up at the wedding with his new fiancée. In the book, Stephen’s new fiancée is Jillian, a woman he met at a party and struck up a connection with. However, in the show, his new fiancée is Lydia (Natalee Linez), Lucy’s childhood friend. The change ensures that even though season 1 adapted the complete Tell Me Lies book, the show can continue by starting a largely original story in which Stephen’s persistent presence in Lucy’s life continues.