TV Writer James Evenden reviews the latest Netflix teen drama series, finding its central mystery predictable and passable at best
In a seemingly already over-crowded field of cliché teen murder mysteries, Netflix’s latest, One of Us is Lying, proves to unfortunately be yet another one to add to the pile. It is a shame, as the initial setup for the mystery did pique my interest. However, by the end of the eight-episode run, it has long overstayed its welcome as a pulpy mystery. By its end, it felt like a chore to get through, all to get to a painfully predictable climax that thoroughly underwhelms.
By its end, it felt like a chore to get through, all to get to a painfully predictable climax that thoroughly underwhelms
Based on a book by Karen M. McManus, One of Us is Lying follows the lives of five high school students at Bayview High. After they all end up in detention on the first day of school and tragedy strikes, the students seek answers. The characters all fit the high school stereotypes. We follow as the typical archetypal high school characters pretend like they are real people and not just cutouts. One of Us is Lying makes cute winks at the audience to acknowledge that it is cliché. This does not make up for characters that do not for one moment feel believable. Their backstories are obvious given the character mould they fit into. The performances are fine, but the actors are not given much to work with.
They are forced to espouse at times some truly bad teen dialogue. The writers throw in popular buzzwords. They force in Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish songs in obvious places that every teenager will recognise. It all comes across as pandering, and at its worst as fetishization, specifically of its LGBTQ+ characters. This feels noticeable with Cooper Clay (Chibuikem Uche) as a black athlete struggling with his sexuality. It feels particularly tokenistic in its portrayal of homosexual relationships. Their over-sexualisation compared to heterosexual pairings stuck out to me. Coupled with writing that barely scratches the surface of real issues for any character, it all feels like a wasted opportunity.
Most aspects of One of Us is Lying feels overly glossy in a bad way. It is always beautifully sunny outside, and the actors always look amazing. The teenage characters are yet to turn eighteen in the show but look as if they are in their mid-twenties. This has always been a thing in young adult television and film, and it is a pet peeve of mine that at times took me out of the drama. I understand that realism is never going to be on the agenda for a mystery like this, but it takes away from the supposed grittiness of the mystery.
The problem is that as One of Us is Lying attempts to probe into the lives of its characters, it becomes much less engaging
This is not saying everything about One of Us is Lying is terrible. For a while, as the mystery unfolds in its middle episodes, it gripped me enough to binge it in a couple of days. It is clear there was enough source material to just about fit the episode count to keep a somewhat fast pace to the reveals. The problem is that as One of Us is Lying attempts to probe into the lives of its characters, it becomes much less engaging. The characters work best when together, and One of Us is Lying tries to separate them too much to keep the fast pace from feeling meaningful.
In the end, there is not a lot to say about One of Us is Lying that has not already been said about any other average teen murder mystery. It does not do enough to separate itself from the crowd. Coming from someone who is usually awful at guessing the bad guys in mysteries like this, if I can guess after one episode I take that to mean that the show is lacking in the one thing it needs to do to keep me guessing. One of Us is Lying is nothing more than a passable teen murder mystery that will entertain you enough to keep you binging, but not one that will stay in your memory long after you finish it.
Comments