THE LYING GAME: Introducing ABC Family’s New Series (2011)
Tiffany Vogt
In a classic tale of mystery, two twin sisters Emma and Sutton propose a risky scheme to swap lives -- but then something goes very wrong when one disappears.  The remaining twin is left in a life that she knows little about other than everyone around her is lying about something.  As the web of…
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The TV Watchtower
In a classic tale of mystery, two twin sisters Emma and Sutton propose a risky scheme to swap lives — but then something goes very wrong when one disappears. The remaining twin is left in a life that she knows little about other than everyone around her is lying about something. As the web of deceit is revealed, Emma discovers that life as she knows it will never be the same again. Taking a few minutes to chat with press, stars of the show shared a few insights on this new show of intrigue and deception.

Alexandra Chando and Blair Redford

Can you talk a little bit about your characters and what you know and don’t know at this point?

ALEXANDRA: Well, I play two characters. I play Emma Becker and Sutton Mercer and they are identical twins separated at birth, and they meet up. They are very different. One was adopted into a very wealthy family and the other was raised in the foster care system. So they are very different characters. And I don’t know a lot because they keep it under wraps. It’s a very mysterious show and it is actually a surprise to us. Every single script has a new bombshell. But that’s life.

BLAIR: I play Ethan Whitehorse on the show. I am romantically involved with the character Sutton as the series starts out. Then I meet Emma, the other twin, and from there on out, my character has to deal with both and has feelings for both, somewhat. And, obviously, there’s a whole other storyline there involving the three of them.

What do you know about the disappearance of Sutton?

ALEXANDRA: He’s the first person to notice.

BLAIR: I’m the first person to know. I don’t want to disclose too much as there’s a mystery there. But my character does figure out more than the others and get involved with the behind the scenes planning that the twins develop.

What drew you to the show?

ALEXANDRA: I don’t know. It’s just one of those shows that makes you feel good. It’s hard to explain. I just loved it.

BLAIR: I thought the writing was really great and that’s one of the first things that I noted when I was reading scripts during pilot season. I liked that fact that it was based on a book that was well-written. It also had very strong characters and strong relationships. I knew it was going to make a lot of material for the actors and some cool scenes. That’s what piqued my interest.

Helen Slater and Andy Buckley

How would you describe the show and your role on the show?

HELEN: We’re promoting THE LYING GAME, which is a new ABC Family show that is kind of like a Prince and the Pauper with a little twist of TWIN PEAKS in there as a one hour show.

ANDY: It’s another one of those great ABC Family shows that I’ve become a big fan of. It’s like a little DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES for the teenage crowd-set and hopefully their parents will watch as well. It always offers a return to some big moment after every commercial break.

HELEN: We play the parents on the show and there is a mystery unfolding in the first season.

ANDY: Big secrets in everybody’s past! Slowly over the first season there’s a little of this and a little that.

HELEN: It should be very satisfying it you like Dickens or that kind of cliff-hangery stuff. At the end of every episode there’s a bit ‘Ah!’ reveal.

Does it seem that this kind of show is a bit dark for ABC Family? A bit more grown-up than its other kinds of shows?

ANDY: It is grown up and I think it is a sign of the times. Kids are growing up faster than they used to. They are traveling the world and doing more as well.

What do you identify with for your characters on the show?

HELEN: The absolute horror of raising a teenager. Just kidding! [laughter] I have a 16-year old and she’s lovely. So I don’t really identify with my character’s situation since I don’t have the same problems. However, the rite of passage of raising a teenager — it is really tricky. They are trying to feel their independence, yet you’re still connected to them. They do a phenomenal job of weaving that into our show and showing how tricky it is to negotiate. It is just really delicate.

ANDY: As parents in general, you’re constantly trying to do the right thing. I don’t know, maybe there are parents who do always tell the truth, but sometimes it is just easier to tell the little ‘white lie.’ There’s some big secrets and lies that we have kept to ourselves or told our kids — and in the moment, that was the right thing — but it comes back to haunt you.

Adrian Pasdar

What is it like working on this new show since the beginning?

ADRIAN: This is nice as I am at the beginning with these young whippersnappers. There’s some excitement as they are on their first show. It’s a lot of fun.

Did this show surprise you as coming from ABC Family and being geared towards a little bit older audience?

ADRIAN: This is skewing a lot more mature. Look, they hired me and I’m not your typical ABC Family character/actor. I’ve come from some darker stuff. It doesn’t break their image, but it does push it. Because it is a little bit more layered and complicated. It’s not a cookie-cutter comedy. It’s got levels to it of deception. One of the best parts about this show that I’m realizing is that you make decisions as a teenager and in your early 20’s that come back at you when you’re in your 40’s and 50’s. And that’s what this show is about. How decisions you make that may be seemingly innocuous are really impactful for the rest of your life. It may disappear in importance for a little while, but will become completely relevant and manifest in a big way later on in your life. That’s what this show’s about. I think it is really interesting for me to deal with those levels of hormone-driven decisions and then the impact of those 20-30 years later as they took root in your life. So this show may just seemingly be about one thing, it’s about many things.

What can you tell us about your character?

ADRIAN: I play Alec Rybak, the father to Madeline Rybak on the show. But without giving away the store, that’s about it. What I can say, is that decisions he made earlier in his life are now coming back to haunt him.

To see how the labyrinthine story plays out and what secrets everyone is hiding, be sure to catch the premiere of THE LYING GAME on Monday, August 15th at 9:00 p.m. on ABC Family.

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