Sacred Lies: The Best Show You’re Not Watching

By starrymag | August 31, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Let’s be real—there’s a lot of television out there. A lot. In addition to traditional outlets like network and cable, there are dozens of streaming platforms competing for your attention. I completely understand feeling too overwhelmed to keep up with it all. But I feel it’s imperative to tell you about one show you probably aren’t watching on a platform you might not ever have even heard of: “Sacred Lies” on Facebook Watch.

 

Based on the novel The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes, the show centers around Minnow (Elena Kampouris), a teenager with no hands who is suspected of knowing who killed her cult’s leader and lands in juvenile detention. I know what you’re thinking: “Facebook is branching into television now? And it’s actually…good?” Trust me, I was skeptical, too. But all my preconceived fears and notions about the show were not only quickly assuaged—my expectations were absolutely blown out of the water. Here are eight reasons why you need to give this show a chance:

 

1. The cast is diverse. Characters of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and sexualities are shown to be well-rounded, fully fleshed-out people. Rashida (Zamani Wilder) plays an African American lesbian who has found new belief in God through a juvie youth group. Tracy (Jennifer Tong), who is of Asian descent, is Rashida’s more serious partner-in-crime. There’s Dr. Wilson (Kevin Carroll) who is the African American FBI agent with secrets of his own who acts as Minnow’s pseudo-therapist, confidant, friend and foil. Then, there is Jude (Shane Paul McGhie), an African American teenager who Minnow falls in love with, causing quite a stir within her community. Angel (Kiana Madeira), Minnow’s tough, science-loving roommate, is half-Portuguese and Miss Bailey (Katrina Law), the compassionate but wounded English teacher in juvie, is part-Taiwanese. The list goes on.

 

Additionally, within this vast pool of characters, there are no real heroes or villains. Like real life, everyone has strengths, flaws and complex motivations for their actions. Topics like racism come heavily into play and are handled raw, realistically and respectfully.

 

2. There’s great disability representation. “Sacred Lies” is breaking new ground in terms of showing disabilities. The viewer discovers within the first few seconds of the show that Minnow has no hands and part of her journey is figuring out how to do things without them. Show creator Raelle Tucker was adamant they make this as authentic as possible, having professional dancer and amputee Kristie Sita work closely with Kampouris so that every motion and movement she made using her prosthetic stumps would be believable.

 

Even more impressive is that the show never treats Minnow like a victim, nor does Minnow view herself as one. Her disability does not define her. The fact that she doesn’t have hands is a small, practically insignificant part of who she is as a person. We quickly learn there are far, far more interesting things about her.

 

3. It’s informative about underrepresented communities. Not only does this show shine a light on people with disabilities, but it also gives a voice to other underrepresented communities. Cults and juvie are two places most people know very little about and there is a stigma attached to both. This show; however, twists these stereotypes on their heads, making you emphasize instead of judge.

 

Again, this stems from authenticity. Tucker actually grew up in a cult, although one much less sinister and scary than the one in the show. A good portion of the art hanging up in the juvie building was made by young girls in an actual juvenile detention center and none of the actors were allowed to wear makeup, as that wouldn’t be allowed in a real juvie.

 

4. The women are strong. These ladies are tough and not just because they can fight. They’re definitely badass, and they can definitely land a punch if need be, but this isn’t the only way they show their toughness. All of the girls in juvie have been through tragedies and traumas, and their mental and emotional perseverance is shown as a badge of honor. A main message of the show is that standing up what you believe in and doing what is right in the face of adversity is the hardest, most important thing you can do. Love is not a weakness, but a gift and something which is worth fighting.

 

These girls are also smart. Angel explains Science and Astronomy to Minnow, who has been sheltered from traditional education nearly her entire life. Minnow rattles off questions and explanations of her own and the two engage in deep, philosophical debates about existence and purpose.

 

5. The acting is phenomenal. The entire cast is so committed that it’s hard to pick a standout, but twenty year-old Kampouris truly grounds the entire show with her layered, nuanced and genuine portrayal of Minnow. Managing to effortlessly mix innocence with darkness, being fearful with someone-to-be-feared, she’s constantly compelling. Switching between flashbacks at the cult to present-day in juvie, Kampouris has to run the gamut—romance, mystery, thriller, drama with a little comedy sprinkled in—but she does it all effortlessly.

 

Carroll is equally wonderful as the potentially shady, potentially good-hearted FBI agent. He is simply magnetic, playing the role with such subtlety and understatement it’s impossible not to get sucked in. Madeira is definitely worth noting as well, able to evoke laughs with her dry, sarcastic delivery and heartbreak with her thinly-veiled pain.

 

6. The writing is top-notch. These writers manage to masterfully fuse so many tones and genres together without anything feeling out-of-place. There are hints of “Orange is the New Black,” “Once Upon a Time” and “Riverdale” scattered in while still keeping a decidedly fresh and unique tone unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

 

The fact that the episodes are only thirty minutes long is a testament to how tight and efficient they are with their story. I’m always left wanting more but never feeling confused.

 

7. It’s free. You read that right: free. That’s almost unheard of in this day-and-age, what with Netflix talking about cranking up their subscription fee, Hulu charging extra for no commercials and MoviePass on its last leg. All you have to do is go to the Facebook search bar and type: Sacred Lies. No special sign-up, no additional subscription and maybe ten seconds of ads throughout the entire episode. Pretty sweet.

 

8. It’s interactive. A new episode is released every Friday at 9pm ET/6pm PT, during which you can leave comments in real-time below the video as it airs. Many of the shows actors, writers, and crew will lurk in the comments, too, and there’s a good chance they’ll response to you. There’s also a page called Sacred Lies: The Community of over 15,000 people where you can go to talk about the show with other fans as well as watch exclusive content like behind-the-scenes footage, bonus features, extra short scenes and more. There’s also an official after show that airs every Sunday where hosts have guests from the show in to talk about the most recent episode.

 

If you’re in the market for a smart, unique show that’s pushing the envelope you ought to give “Sacred Lies” a shot. Though it’s aimed at the young adult demographic, I truly believe there’s something in it for everybody. What are you waiting for? Be initiated into the cult, get locked up in juvie and find out what happened to Minnow Bly.