“One of Us Is Lying” takes the five students who enter detention and finds only four walking out alive, and turns it into a TV show. Erica Saleh created the series, which premiered on Peacock. The show follows Addy Prentiss, Cooper Clay, Bronwyn Rojas, Nate Macauley, and Janae Matthews, each of whom walks into detention and comes out alive while one of them stays behind.
The premise is simple: one student dies, and the others are left to find out why. That simplicity is also the show’s strength. Every episode returns to the detention room, where the remaining students sit together, talk, argue, and slowly narrow down the list of suspects. The show trusts its audience to remember the details from the previous week, and that trust pays off.
Trailer, via Peacock.
The Cast Holds the Room
Annalisa Cochrane plays Addy Prentiss, the girl who knows more than she lets on. Chibuikem Uche plays Cooper Clay, whose father complicates everything he touches. Marianly Tejada plays Bronwyn Rojas, the quiet outsider who watches everyone else closely. Cooper van Grootel plays Nate Macauley, the boy who wants to be loved and is willing to lie to get it. Jess McLeod rounds out the main group as Janae Matthews, the girl who sees the world in terms of popularity and status.
Each actor brings a distinct energy to their role. Cochrane plays Addy as guarded and curious, while Uche gives Cooper a simmering anger that keeps him dangerous even when he isn’t speaking. Tejada’s Bronwyn is the calm center of the group, watching everyone else move around her. Van Grootel’s Nate is the most obvious liar, which makes him the easiest suspect to dismiss until the show forces you to look again. McLeod’s Janae is the most visible of the group, always performing for the crowd, and that performance is exactly what makes her believable.
What Works, What Doesn’t
The show’s best episodes are the ones that let the characters breathe outside of the investigation. A scene between Bronwyn and her mother, or a moment between Nate and his sister, humanizes these students in a way that the mystery alone couldn’t achieve. Those quieter moments are what keep the show from feeling like pure procedural. The worst episodes are the ones that rush the reveal, cutting away from the suspense to jump straight to the answer.
The pacing can be uneven, and some viewers may find the middle stretch of the season slow. But the show earns its payoff by building genuine stakes around these characters, not just the mystery itself.
Renewal and Cancellation
The show was renewed for a second season, which premiered on Peacock. In January 2023, the series was canceled. That cancellation means the story ends where it does.
“Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.”
That line captures the show’s approach to its characters. No one is innocent, and no one is entirely guilty either. The show asks viewers to keep an open mind about everyone in the room, even as it narrows down the list of possible killers.
Ranking the Seasons
- The first season builds the world and the characters with care.
- The second season rushes the reveal but still delivers on the promise of the first.
- The show’s weakest moments come in the middle of both seasons, where the pace slows and the tension dips.
“One of Us Is Lying” is a solid teen drama that understands its own formula. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t need to. The show trusts its audience to follow a complicated web of lies and suspicions, and it rewards that trust with a satisfying resolution. It’s not perfect, but it’s consistently entertaining, and it knows exactly what kind of show it wants to be.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
