# Liar (2017)

> After a seemingly innocent date, a schoolteacher and a surgeon find their lives upended by a scandalous accusation.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/63999

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 46 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, crime, mystery, thriller
- Created by: Jack Williams, Harry Williams
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Joanne Froggatt, Ioan Gruffudd, Warren Brown, Zoë Tapper, Shelley Conn, Jamie Flatters, Danny Webb, Richie Campbell
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6021284/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, unsettling, morally uncomfortable, suspenseful, bleak

## What critics say

Audience reception is mixed, with a tense central premise and performances praised while the twisty plotting and second season draw criticism.

## Synopsis

Liar (2017-2020) is a British ITV1 psychological thriller created by Jack Williams and Harry Williams. Schoolteacher Laura Nielson (Joanne Froggatt) and surgeon Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd) go on a date that seems harmless, but soon they are blindsided by scandalous accusations that drag them into a police investigation. Detectives DI Vanessa Harmon (Shelley Conn) and DS Rory Maxwell (Danny Webb) pursue conflicting accounts, while Laura's and Andrew's families, colleagues and friends are pulled into the fallout. The engine of the show is the gap between what each person says happened and what can be proven, and each episode peels back another layer of testimony, suspicion and private motive. Told across two seasons of twelve episodes in total, the series moves through interview rooms, hospital corridors, school staffrooms and tense domestic spaces. The tone is taut, tense and morally uncomfortable, with a steady undercurrent of dread about how easily a reputation can collapse. Its unsettling mix of courtroom-style scrutiny and intimate character drama will appeal to viewers who enjoyed the British crime drama The Accused, the public scrutiny of Broadchurch, and the gripping espionage tension of The Night Manager.

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