Shubham Maheshwari Teases How Prime Video’s ‘We Were Liars’ Series Compares to E. Lockhart’s Novel (Exclusive)

Prime Video’s adaptation of We Were Liars elevates E. Lockhart‘s book series — but how does it compare?

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Shubham Maheshwari broke down how the book served as inspiration for the show, saying, “I read the book after my first or second audition. That was the first time I had read the book, and it really changed my whole process with respect to the character and the story.”

Maheshwari, who plays Gat, credited Lockhart’s novel for guiding him.

“Obviously, it helped so much. I understood the story better. I understood this character much better and that made a big difference,” he noted. “Luckily for me, this was based on a book that’s already out there. I just finished it in one sitting. That’s the feeling that I hope is evoked from the audience when watching this show.”

Based on the YA book series, We Were Liars centers on the affluent Sinclair family, known for the idyllic summers they spend on their secluded island. Prime Video’s adaptation, which premiered Wednesday, June 18, focused largely on The Liars: Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), Gat (Maheshwari), Mirren (Esther McGregor) and Johnny (Joseph Zada).

“[Creators] Julie [Plec] and Carina [Adly Mackenzie] added a little bit to it. But for the most part, it stays true to the book. So having the book was incredible and having the author on set was such an incredible gift,” Maheshwari noted. “She was a big part of that creative process as well.”

Plec spoke with Us as well about bringing the show to life, saying, “One of the biggest challenges when you’re adapting a very, very beloved novel is, to put it simply: how not to totally screw it up. We approached this adaptation with the utmost care and respect for We Were Liars — because we loved that book so much. There are some things that are different, as there always will be. But I think any true fan will recognize every page of that book in this season of television. And I hope they feel really good about the respect we paid to the novel.”

She added: “The first time I read this book, which — let me tell you — was about 11 years ago,  I’m fairly certain I cried so hard that my contacts fell out of my eyes. So if I can deliver even one iota of that emotion to the audience watching the show, I hope I’ve done my job well. I hope everyone else can have that same shared experience.”

While We Were Liars stuck to the major plot points, the show expanded on other details — including the way it showed more from Gat’s perspective.

“It was explored in the book more just from Cadence’s perspective. But we get to see in the show an episode from Gat’s perspective. It was so important to justify their decisions toward the end. That was a very important thing,” he said. “[Gat goes through this] feeling of being out of place. It is something that I just think people of color would relate to. But I think anybody could just be feeling out of place and the way they’ve shown it in the show is so true and so honest. It’s such an important part of the story to show it from his perspective too.”

Maheshwari was also grateful for the addition of Gat’s uncle (Rahul Kohli) and an appearance from Gat’s mother (Karen David).

“It does give him more life and just gives it a bit more depth. It was important more so than anything else to just show that difference of the worlds that they come from,” he explained. “How distinct they are, the difference in class and the difference in wealth.”

We Were Liars marks Maheshwari’s first major acting role, which he didn’t take for granted, telling Us, “I’ve worked on student films before but nothing of this magnitude. This is a whole different thing. There was definitely that feeling of angst and nervousness as I was heading to Nova Scotia, where we filmed the show. That was only temporary though, because as soon as I met the cast, the producers and the directors, they were just so lovely. They immediately made me feel comfortable. It was such a collaborative environment on set. Immediately I could tell this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

We Were Liars is currently streaming on Prime Video.