Tell Me Lies...Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

When I saw the trailer, I was skeptical. I thought this show might be another ‘After’ tragedy. Girl meets bad boy in college…But one night, I decided to give it a try…and by the next day, I had finished the whole first season.

Let me tell you why I love this show. First, the setting: 2007. BlackBerries, Juicy sweats. I was living for it.

Second, the sex scenes. Awkward…just as they should be. I grew up watching ‘Felicity’ and ‘Glee’, shows that completely romanticized sex and made virginity a bigger deal than it is, especially in college. Although ‘Tell Me Lies’ has a few steamy and romantic encounters, mostly, the sex scenes are just plain awkward! No music to set the mood, a great directing choice. You almost feel like a fly on the wall. I believe this show is going to be relatable for a lot of young people. And even people in their mid 20s like myself! The main love interest, Stephen, completely reminded me of my ex boyfriend. That’s not because of the sex, that’s because he’s a manipulator…moving on! But really Jackson White (Stephen) is so good it's scary. And a show like this one that explores some shameful topics, by society's standards, for instance guys in their late teens and early twenties experiencing ED*, college age girls watching porn, and a lot less than perfect sex scenes is going to help people, make young adults feel normal. And no virgin shaming! It’s hardly even a topic except for the character Bree’s first time, a completely awkward encounter that even she recounts as “funny…that’s the only way to describe it”.

*Erectile dysfunction

Third, the music! Of course, this wouldn’t be a Hot Child in the City blogpost without a little music conversation. A show that has the Black Keys AND ‘Mr. Brightside’ in its soundtrack? Sign me up! Remember the show takes place in 2007 so we get some bangers from childhood. The show opens with ‘Crazy’ by Gnarls Barkley, for crying out loud…I mean come on. This soundtrack slaps! The show does a great job at using music mostly from 2007-2015 (2015 is a time jump to the characters post college).

Tell Me Lies has been renewed for a second season (yay!) and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.