T.V. Review: 'One of Us Is Lying'

NEW YORK (CNS) — In 2017, Karen M. McManus published her young adult novel “One of Us Is Lying.” Currently streaming on Peacock, the first three hourlong episodes of showrunner Darío Madrona’s eight-part adaptation of the bestseller reveal it to be unconvincing, crass and morally wayward.

Set among California high school students, the mystery series — three more installments of which will become available Thursday, Oct. 14, with the final two chapters arriving a week later — is narrated, initially, by senior Simon Kelleher (Mark McKenna).

Chibuikem Uche and Zenia Marshall star in a scene from the television show “One of Us Is Lying,” streaming on Peacock. (CNS photo/Nicola Dove, courtesy Peacock)

Despite the fact that his mother, Rebecca (Sara Wiseman), is his hometown’s mayor, Simon informs us that he “hates the privileged” who think “the rules don’t apply to them.” He then introduces us to the group of peers he intends to bring down through the cruel gossip he disseminates via his well-trafficked social media site, “About That.”

The ensemble is made up of stock characters. Bronwyn Rojas (Marianly Tejada), for instance, is an academic high achiever angling to be accepted to Yale University and Simon’s rival for valedictorian. At the other end of the intellectual spectrum is over-sexed, pill-dependent blond cheerleader Addy Prentiss (Annalisa Cochrane).

Attractive bad boy Nate Macauley (Cooper van Grootel) is on probation for dealing drugs, a penalty that has done nothing to deter him from plying his trade. A recent transplant from Mississippi, African American Cooper Clay (Chibuikem Uche) has moved to the Golden State in hopes of securing a contract to pitch professionally in the major leagues.

During a detention session that finds him in the company of all four of his targets, Simon drinks a cup of water, has a seizure and subsequently dies in the hospital, a victim of anaphylactic shock. Once the police determine that Simon’s death was deliberately induced, his fellow students all become suspects.

As the quartet alternates between presenting a united front and accusing one another, someone begins posting at Simon’s old site, suggesting anonymously that he or she is the killer. This provokes increased speculation, doubt and fear among the accused.

“One of Us Is Lying” is obviously aimed at teens. But its distressing portrayal of the ethically unmoored life of contemporary adolescents makes it unsuitable even for adults.

Besides the narcotics theme already mentioned, the drama also includes frequent and gratuitous rough language as well as rear nudity. Underaged drinking and bedding down together are depicted as commonplace. Homosexual activity is treated as another given.

On an artistic level, moreover, the show has a credibility problem. While the underlying point about people employing the internet for malign purposes is valid enough, the effect of this message is undermined by the casting of actors who are clearly too old to be in college, much less high school.

Overall, the show makes for a tiresome course in youthful amorality. So viewers would be well-advised to opt for a different elective.