Sacred Lies

Premise

Sacred Lies (Season 1) follows "a handless teen who escapes from a cult and finds herself in juvenile detention, suspected of knowing who killed her cult leader."

Cast and characters

Main

Elena Kampouris as Minnow Bly, a young teenage girl and former member of the Kevinian cult. She emerges from the woods of Lolo National Forest after 12 years, now missing both of her hands. She is sent to the Missoula Youth Correctional Facility after attacking a schizophrenic teenage boy. Zoë Noelle Baker portrays a young Minnow Bly in a recurring role.

Kevin Carroll as Dr. Alan Wilson, an FBI forensic psychologist that studies religious crimes, cults, and extremist groups. He has struggled from alcoholism and became estranged from his wife Carol following the death of their son Marcus. As he gets to know Minnow and her story, he attempts to separate his personal feelings of concern for her from his professional obligations as a member of the FBI.

Kiana Madeira as Angel Trujillo, an inmate at the Missoula Youth Correctional Facility and Minnow's roommate. She was incarcerated at the age of 12 and sentenced to serve 20 years. She was convicted of murdering her uncle with a shotgun after he sexually abused her.

Toby Huss as Kevin Groth a.k.a. The Prophet, the leader of the Kevinian cult, known to its followers as The Community, who is killed under mysterious circumstances. He claims to speak directly with God whom he knows by the name of "Charlie". He hails from Hamilton, Montana where, when he was 2 years old, his father died. Six months later, he was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis though later claimed to be cured as proof of his power & faith in “Charlie”. Eric Vincent portrays a young Kevin Groth in a guest appearance in the episode "Chapter Four: God's Eyes".

Ryan Robbins as Samuel Bly, a construction worker and Minnow's father. Dissatisfied with his family's living situation and struggling with a gambling addiction, he eagerly joins the Kevinian cult. He is chosen as the Keeper of The Community upon their arrival in the woods wherein his responsibility is the safety and security of his fellow cult members. Following the death of his wife Olivia, he enters into a relationship with fellow Kevinian Vivienne

Guest

Wesley Salter as Scott Nussbaum ("Chapter One: The Handless Maiden"), a member of the extremist group Army of Mercy who is interviewed by Dr Wilson. He killed a doctor, and the man's wife, who had performed abortions

Ari Solomon as Charlie Dunlap ("Chapter Four: God's Eyes"), a janitor at Kevin Groth's high school for over 30 years that was fired after reports of inappropriate behavior with students. He reportedly died of cancer not long after his dismissal

Christina Jastrzembska as Mrs. Groth ("Chapter Four: God's Eyes"), Kevin Groth's widowed mother who holds her son in high esteem and believes that he was destined for a divine purpose.

Duncan Ollerenshaw as Carl Groth ("Chapter Four: God's Eyes"), Kevin Groth's brother who harbors feelings of resentment towards him due to the fact that he was left to care for their mother alone.

Isaach de Bankolé as Dr. Carter Elgin ("Chapter Eight: Wedding Day"), the owner of Elgin Advanced Robotics Laboratory who is developing new robotic prosthetics for amputees. He entered into his field after losing a leg in the Rwandan genocide. Dr. Wilson visits him to inquire about obtaining a pair of robotic hands for Minnow.

Eric Bempong as Marcus Wilson ("Chapter Ten: Subject - Minnow Bly"), Dr. Wilson's late son who committed suicide by driving his car off a bridge. Dr. Wilson continues to feel great remorse over his death and holds himself responsible for not doing more to prevent it.

Main

Juliette Lewis as Harper

Ryan Kwanten as Peter/Hunter

Jordan Alexander as Elsie/Maya

Kristin Bauer as Shannon

Kimiko Glenn as Lily

Emily Alyn Lind

Siobhan Williams

Odiseas Georgiadis

Adrian Holmes

David Paetkau

Michael Kopsa

Episodes

Production

Background

Series creator Raelle Tucker has expressed how she was initially drawn into developing the series due to her own childhood experiences growing up in a cult. During the 1970s, Tucker and her family were members of the Rajneesh movement and years later these events would inspire her to want to work on a project involving the subject of cults.

Development

On January 16, 2018, it was announced that Facebook had given the production, a television series adaptation of Stephanie Oakes's novel The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was set to be written by Raelle Tucker who would also executive produce alongside Scott Winant, Jason Blum, Marci Wiseman, and Jeremy Gold. Tucker was also set to act as the series' showrunner while Winant would direct the first two episodes. Production companies involved in the series were slated to include Blumhouse Television, a subsidiary of independent film company Blumhouse Productions. On June 23, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on July 27, 2018. On December 13, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season which premiered on February 20, 2020 under the title Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones.

Series writer Molly Nussbaum has expressed the difficulty involved in the series' writing due to the time constraints imposed by Facebook. She explained how instead of viewing the limitation as an obstacle the staff saw it as a creative opportunity saying, "the 30-minute challenge really made us rigorous and smart."

Casting

On March 2, 2018, it was announced that Elena Kampouris, Kevin Carroll, Kiana Madeira, and Ryan Robbins had been cast in main roles. A month later, it was announced that Toby Huss had joined the main cast in a series regular role and that Katrina Law and Leah Gibson would appear in a recurring capacity.

Filming

Principal photography for season one began on March 15, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada and was set to last until May 25, 2018. Filming for the second season began on July 3, 2019 and ended on September 13, 2019.

Release

Marketing

On June 23, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released. On July 16, 2018, the full trailer for the series was released. From July 19 to July 22, 2018, during the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, the series was promoted through an escape room experience outside of Petco Park.

Premiere

On June 24, 2018, the series held a screening at Seriesfest, an annual international television festival, at the Sie FilmCenter in Denver, Colorado. The screening was followed by a question-and-answer session with creator/executive producer Raelle Tucker, director/executive producer Scott Winant, Blumhouse co-president of television Jeremy Gold, and cast members including Kiana Madeira, Kevin Carroll, and Elena Kampouris. It was moderated by Facebook Watch's head of development, Mina Lefevre.

Reception

In a positive review, Variety's Caroline Framke offered the series praise saying, "With episodes running at an economical half-hour, Sacred Lies maintains a solid enough balance between withholding answers and laying groundwork for the mysteries ahead." In a similarly favorable critique, Paste's Alexis Gunderson lauded the series saying, "It is very artistic, not just in the color saturation, but in every shot of hands, fingers, and things that need hands and fingers to cross Minnow's line of sight in the detention center—shots that would feel fetishizing were it not for the absolute opacity of thought with which the shrewd Minnow, who is never presented as an object of pity, regards them. It is absolutely artistic. It is also grim. It is also an active, challenging watch. It is, as far as I can tell, all the things everyone's favorite dark prestige television is." In a more mixed assessment, The Globe and Mail's John Doyle offered the series restrained approval saying, "Sacred Lies is a good, multilayered drama, although the vaguely supernatural quality to Minnow's past is milked a bit too hard." In an overall negative review, Indiewire's Ben Travers gave the series a grade of "C−" and criticized it saying, "This half-hour drama is ineffective in teasing its larger mystery, and its dialogue can be laughably blunt. Die-hard fans of the book may stick around to see how it all plays out, but that would take a level of commitment usually seen...in cults!"

Other media

Aftershow

The Official Sacred Lies After Show is a companion aftershow series that airs live on the series' official Facebook page on Sunday evenings. The series is produced by AfterBuzz TV, hosted by Juliet Vibert, and features a panel of commentators and a featured guest from the show's cast or crew. Each episode runs between seventeen and fifty-three minutes in length.

Fatal Following

Fatal Following: The Truth About the Kevinian Cult is a companion true crime pseudo-documentary series released exclusively on the series' official Facebook page. The series is done in the style of modern true crime docuseries and every episode delves into the background of a different member of the Kevinian cult. Each episode runs between two and three minutes in length.

Juvie Stories

Juvie Stories is a companion series released exclusively on the series' official Facebook page. The series is done in the style of internet vlogs and features various inmates from the Missoula Youth Correctional Facility speaking directly to camera. Each episode runs between one and four minutes in length.