After 6 Weeks in Hulu’s Top 10, This 3-Part Toxic Romance Thriller Is the Ultimate Weekend Binge

1 week ago 11

Published Feb 20, 2026, 9:26 AM EST

Giovana Gelhoren is a High-Trending Topics Writer at Collider, covering the most-talked-about stars, movies, and TV shows. Before joining Collider, she was a Digital News Writer at People Magazine and served as Associate Editor at SheKnows, where she honed her expertise in celebrity coverage and entertainment journalism.

A proud Latina from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Giovana graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She has interviewed countless celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brenda Song, and is known for her encyclopedic knowledge of film, TV, and pop culture.

Every once in a while, a TV show comes along that becomes a true phenomenon. Just this year, some of them have been HBO's Heated Rivalry, Season 4 of Netflix's Bridgerton and the long-awaited Season 3 of Tell Me Lies on Hulu. The series, which first aired back in 2022, made quite a splash on the streaming platform, earning the top spot in streaming for six weeks, as well as seeing a raise of approximately 150% from the Season 1 premiere.

With the warm reception from audiences and critics alike, Tell Me Lies is certainly establishing itself as one of the biggest must-watches on Hulu. Plus, now that the Season 3 finale is confirmed as the series finale as well, viewers can begin watching knowing that the drama and chaos will all come to a satisfying and exciting end.

What Is 'Tell Me Lies' About?

Based on Carola Lovering’s 2018 novel of the same name, Tell Me Lies follows a group of college students and their messy, complicated dynamics over the years. At the center is Grace Van Patten's Lucy, who in the first week of freshman year meets the charming yet mysterious Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White). After sparks fly between them, Stephen's manipulative and calculating ways come to the surface, and the two begin a toxic, unhealthy relationship that continues on and off throughout the seasons.

Also important to the story is the rest of their friend group, including the best friend with a dark past, Bree (Catherine Missal), the supportive friend with a feisty edge, Pippa (Sonia Mena), the fan-favorite good guy, Wrigley (Spencer House), and the naive rich kid, Evan (Branden Cook). In each of the seasons, showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer takes viewers on an adventure, showing how their friendships and relationships get tested, get betrayed and change as they navigate college life.

Costa D'Angelo wears a gray shirt and looks off screen in Tell Me Lies

'Tell Me Lies' Is a Hit With Audiences and Critics Alike

While viewers might tune in to TV shows to root for their favorite characters, or even "ship" their favorite couples, Tell Me Lies has fans and critics alike at the edge of their seats just to see how toxic these characters are to one another. That tension, which certainly escalates in Season 3, has compelled viewers each season, and made the show the phenomemon it is.

In Collider’s Isabella Soares review, in which she awarded the series a huge 8/10 in her review, she claimed that Tell Me Lies has owned its niche more than ever. "For those wondering if Tell Me Lies has still maintained its gripping narrative while also raising the bar on messiness, the answer is yes," Soares wrote, adding, "From examining toxic relationships under a microscope to tackling mental health and questioning moral parameters of what is and isn't worth the judgment, Hulu's best guilty-pleasure watch will pull you in, mess with your head, and make you second-guess why you're so intrigued by the complicated characters at the center of its story."

With that said, now that Tell Me Lies has come to an end with Season 3, the toxic romance thriller is as unmissable as ever. With compelling characters and even more controversial relationships between them, the series has become one of Hulu's biggest streaming hits, and one of the most enthralling and gripping college TV shows to date.