Tell Me Lies Spinoff Series Teased By Disney TV Exec

2 weeks ago 13

Grace Van Patten wearing a coat as Lucy in an episode of Tell Me Lies

Published Feb 20, 2026, 12:52 PM EST

Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour.

A top Disney executive just hinted at a Tell Me Lies spinoff after the TV drama recently came to an end on Hulu.

Tell Me Lies, an adaptation of the Carola Lovering novel, debuted in 2022 and received a 75% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. The third and final season was the show's most popular installment yet, with 5 million viewers streaming the premiere during the first week and 3.5 million tuning in to the series finale just on the release date alone.

After that massive success, Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich told THR that he and his fellow executives have "definitely discussed" a potential spinoff with a "new set of characters."

While Lovering has written other books besides Tell Me Lies, she has never published a sequel to the 2018 novel, so any TV spinoff would be an original story.

Tell Me Lies creator and showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer already has some "initial" ideas in mind, but before a spinoff can even happen, she is developing a different TV show that's an "original take on family dynamics." This unrelated series is being worked on under Oppenheimer's overall deal with 20th Television.

"Yes, we’ve definitely discussed what another Tell Me Lies might look like with a new set of characters. Meaghan has some initial notions, but she also has an original take on family dynamics that’s a completely new series. We’re excited work with Meaghan again. I think she’s incredibly talented at telling stories about complicated relationships."

Erwich noted that Tell Me Lies wasn't a huge hit right out of the gate. "It was a slow build. It required word of mouth," he explained. The team used social media, including sharing clips on TikTok and creating a podcast, to help spread the word.

Then star Grace Van Patten landed the role of Amanda Knox in Hulu's true crime miniseries The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, "which introduced her to a wider audience." In turn, it helped drive higher viewership for Tell Me Lies season 3, which premiered just three months later.

"From day one, we loved the show and believed in it. The first episode of season one did not come out of the box gangbusters. It was a slow build. It required word of mouth. I think we understood who the audience was, and we built experiences for them. So we seeded TikTok clips, videos for people to share—that helps spread the word—and the podcast around the show. I do think one of the things that helped is we cast Grace [Van Patten] in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, which introduced her to a wider audience. And that’s very much a page from the Disney playbook. You know, [president of Disney Branded Television] Ayo Davis does this in our kids and family efforts."

That slow build paid off and resulted in season 3's ratings surging 150% compared to the first season, "which is pretty unheard of," according to Erwich. Tell Me Lies became a must-watch and "addictive" show, and fans took to social media to help grow the show even more.

The Disney executive added that it's "pretty special" when the opportunity arises to "empower the conversation and bring that community of fans together and give them the materials to kind of evangelize on your behalf."

"[Tell Me Lies] is up 150% [in viewers, season 3 versus season 1], which is pretty unheard of. But also it’s so addictive, which is, I think—at the core of every great original that we do here, it’s not that you just can’t stop watching this show, you cannot stop talking about. And if you can empower the conversation and bring that community of fans together and give them the materials to kind of evangelize on your behalf, but just also to interact with it, it’s pretty special."

Tell Me Lies starred Van Patten as Baird College student Lucy Albright as she experienced a toxic relationship with fellow student Stephen DeMarco, played by Jackson White. The cast also included Catherine Missal, Spencer House, Sonia Mena, Branden Cook, Benjamin Wadsworth, Alicia Crowder, Tom Ellis and Costa D'Angelo.

Tom Ellis joined the Tell Me Lies cast in season 2 as an ambitious character named Oliver; the actor is married to showrunner Oppenheimer.

Aside from being the creator and showrunner, Oppenheimer also served as an executive producer alongside actor-turned-filmmaker Emma Roberts, Karah Preiss, Matthew Matruski, Shannon Gibson, Samantha Schlaifer, Laura Lewis, Stephanie Noonan, Jonathan Levine, Dan Attias, Tyne Rafaeli and Mathew Hart.

Hours before the Tell Me Lies season 3 finale was released on Hulu, the streaming service announced that the episode would also serve as the series finale, with Oppenheimer admitting that she and the writing team always envisioned the series ending at this point.