We Were The Lucky Ones Author Talks Hulu Adaptation, Staying True To Family Story & Involvement (2024)

Georgia Hunter's powerful and decade-spanning novel of survival makes its way to the screen with We Were the Lucky Ones. Based on the true story of Hunter's own family, the Hulu miniseries chronicles the lives of the Kurcs, a Polish Jewish family whose lives are upended when Germany invades the country in 1939, kicking off World War II. The family will find themselves scattered across the globe and struggling to help fellow Jews evade Nazi capture and reunite with one another.

Logan Lerman and Joey King lead the ensemble We Were the Lucky Ones cast alongside Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Amit Rahav, Hadas Yaron, Sam Woolf, Michael Aloni, Moran Rosenblatt, Eva Feiler, Lior Ashkenazi and Deadwood vet Robin Weigert. Developed by The Morning Show alum Erica Lipez, the creative team took a step further by inviting Hunter on as a creative consultant throughout the show's development and production, making it all the more powerful and authentic.

In anticipation of the show's premiere, Screen Rant interviewed Georgia Hunter to discuss We Were the Lucky Ones, her appreciation for Lipez and director Tommy Kail's passion for the novel, her close involvement with its production, and one key change made from the book.

Hunter Goes "Way Back" With We Were The Lucky Ones Director Tommy Kail

Screen Rant: It's a wonderful opportunity to meet you, Georgia, and to talk about this show. It is such a beautiful, and heartwarming, as well as heartbreaking, story. When you were first approached by Tommy and Erica, what was it like learning that they wanted to help bring this story to the screen?

Georgia Hunter: Well, thanks, Grant, for having me. Tommy and I actually go way back. We met in 1999, he's a dear friend of my husband's from their summer camp days, so I've been lucky enough to be his friend and follow his work for the entirety of his career. And when he approached and said, "Hey, buddy, how would you like to partner up and try to bring this story that is so precious to you to the screen?", it felt like a dream come true to have a friend to partner with who I trusted innately, and adored, and I admire for his work.

He introduced me to Erica, and they've known each other for a long time, too. And when the story fell into her heart, and she embraced it in the same way that he had, I knew it found its home. So it all, really from the get go, I've just felt so lucky to have it fall into their hands and their hearts. It really has been a true partnership from the very beginning.

I love to hear that, and I actually did want to touch on the partnership you've just mentioned. How involved were you in the actual development, writing and all of that on the show?

Georgia Hunter: Yeah, they gave me the option to be involved or not, and I said, "I would love to be involved every step of the way." And they said, "Wonderful, we would love for you to be." So really, from the pitch on to the writers room, I got to be in the room for five months, five hours a day every day, getting to know the writers. I did not write a script, I was more there as a consultant and a sounding board, and to provide source materials and answer questions. I think they were so grateful to have me there as that person that's closest to the story itself.

We tried to stay very, very true to the story, obviously, wherever we could, since it's based on my family history. And then, I was invited on set and was a part of the shoot, and have been in post-production on all the meetings ever since. Sound, and color, and VFX. So, I recognize that this is a very special once-in-a-lifetime moment for me, and I'm leaning in to all of it. It's been an incredible learning curve, and I've just been bowled over by the results of all the work that everyone's put into it.

Hunter & Co. Made 1 Change From The Book (& She Loved It)

I always love to hear when the original author is that deeply involved, it means that something very special's being created. You mentioned staying true to the source material. Were there any major changes made to your book and your family story going into this?

Georgia Hunter: Obviously, we had to make a few cuts here and there. We didn't have the luxury of telling a 400-page novel word for word, and it was challenging trying to tell some backstory, and portray thoughts and the things that I was able to use prose for. But our writers were so phenomenal, they somehow managed to pull this nine-year history together into eight beautiful episodes.

One change that we made that I love is that in the novel, we open in 1939, just before the war breaks out, and my grandfather is unable to return from France, where he is living, to Poland, where his family is. It's a story that he told my mom growing up, and his mom wrote him a letter and said, "Hey, it's getting unsafe here, you shouldn't come back." And he was stuck in France. So, instead of beginning there, we decided to begin in 1938 and show that family over Passover which, in the novel, Addy just remembers in his mind what it was like.

I think it was really important to set the stage for audiences to meet this family. It is a true family, a true ensemble of a piece with the five siblings and the parents and a young baby born along the way. So, I loved that opening, and being a part of that shoot was one of my favorite days on set.

About We Were the Lucky Ones

Based on Georgia Hunter’s New York Times bestselling novel, the television adaptation of “We Were the Lucky Ones” is a limited series inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of WWII. The series follows them across continents as they do everything in their power to survive, and to reunite. “We Were the Lucky Ones” demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive. The series is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds.

Check out our other We Were the Lucky Ones interviews with:

• Erica Lipez & Tommy Kail
• Robin Weigert
• Hadas Yaron & Michael Aloni

We Were the Lucky Ones begins streaming on Hulu on March 28.

We Were the Lucky Ones

TV-MA

Drama

Based on the novel by Georgia Hunter, We Were the Lucky Ones is a 2024 drama-history television series created for Hulu by Erica Lipez. The film follows a Polish Jewish family who try to find one another decades after the aftermath of World War II.

Cast

Joey King , logan lerman , Henry Lloyd-Hughes , Amit Rahav , Hadas Yaron , Sam Woolf , Michael Aloni

Release Date

March 28, 2024

Seasons

1

Writers

Erica Lipez

Directors

THomas Kail

Creator(s)

Erica Lipez

Where To Watch

Hulu