A romantic drama, Tell Me Lies is a Hulu series grounded in the 2018 novel of the same name authored by Carola Lovering. The plot of Tell Me Lies revolves around a relationship between Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco.
The series chronicles the ups and downs of their relationship over the course of eight years after meeting at college. Tell Me Lies is set in the late 2000s. It takes place in a fictional school in Upstate New York called Baird College.
Tell Me Lies has recently wrapped up its second season. The series' cast features Jackson White, Grace Van Patten, Spencer House, Catherine Missal, Tom Ellis, Sonia Mena, Benjamin Wadsworth, and Branden Cook.
Some episodes of Tell Me Lies feature an appearance from Stephen DeMarco's mother, played by Katey Sagal. While Sagal plays Stephen's mother on screen, she is also his mother in real life.
Who plays Stephen's mother in Tell Me Lies?
In the series, audiences see that Stephen and his mother share a tense and troubled relationship. It is safe to say that his mother's manipulative tactics have impacted Stephen since his childhood.
This effect of his mother's manipulation can be seen in many of Stephen's life decisions. In the Tell Me Lies episode, when Stephen returns home from college for Christmas, audiences see his character go through a visibly hard time.
This episode is also the first time audiences are introduced to Stephen's mother, Norah. As the episode progresses, Norah is shown to be a single mom who raised three children. Stephen was the middle child.
She is shown to be an extremely manipulative mother who often distorts reality and uses her children as scapegoats when being held accountable for her own behavior.
How was it for Jackson White to work on-screen with his mother in Tell Me Lies?
Jackson White has stated that the Tell Me Lies episode he filmed with his on-screen and off-screen mother was not only his favorite but also the hardest episode he's had to film. When asked if he worked on his character's backstory with his mother, he stated,
"Yeah, I didn't have to prep anything. It was really potent. It was there. But yeah, like I said, it influences everything. That's enough for him to go nuts. She was great in that."
The showrunner of Tell Me Lies, Meaghan Oppenheim, has also in the past talked about wanting to cast Katey Sagal to play the role of Stephen's mom. Oppenheim expressed her obsession with the sitcom Married...with Children starring Katey Sagal.
Oppenheim added that she had the idea to ask Sagal when she wanted to cast Stephen's mother. Before asking Sagal, she first wanted to ask White. Oppenheim stated,
"I felt I had to ask Jackson before anyone else. So I texted him. I said, 'How would you feel if your mom played Norah?' And he didn't respond for a while and then he was like, 'I love it. Let's talk to her."
In the past, Katey Sagal stated that it only took a chat with Oppenheim that made her immediately agree to play Norah. Jackson White has also stated that Sagal's casting was insane but perfect. When talking about working with his mother, he stated,
"I'm friends with my mother, and we had to be extremely passive aggressive and tense, but it was so fun and exciting to build that relationship and talk to each other how we've never really talked to each other'.
Katey Sagal agreed with Jackson White's statement and further added,
"It was a challenge to leave our very close relationship at the door, and take on the extremely toxic dynamic between Stephen and his mom. Jackson shows up fully on set, ready to play, present, and collaborative. It was beautiful."
Katey Sagal's career and notable projects explored
An award-winning actress, Katey Sagal has been in the film and television industry since 1971. She began her career in the entertainment industry as a singer and songwriter. She started as a backup vocalist for artists like Etta James, Bob Dylan, and Tanya Tucker.
Previously, she was also a member of the Harlettes and Bette Midler's backup singers. She has released and contributed to albums such as Covered, Sons of Anarchy: Shelter- EP, Well..., and Room.
As an actress, she is best known for playing Peggy Bundy on Married...with Children. She is also known for previously playing roles such as Leela in Futurama, Cate Hennessy in 8 Simple Rules, Gemma Teller Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, and Jake Peralta's chaotic yet sweet mom, Karen Peralta, on and off in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
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