We Were The Lucky Ones: Erica Lipez and Thomas Kail Interview
By Sioph LealBased on Georgia Hunter's critically acclaimed novel of the same name, We Were The Lucky Ones tells a suspenseful and poignant story of the Kurc family's struggle to survive and come together in the midst of the Holocaust's horrors. Through its captivating storyline and deep character growth, the series explores themes of love, resiliency, and the eternal strength of familial ties. Visitors are taken on an emotional historical journey where they see the triumph of the human spirit over unfathomable adversity.
Sioph Media spoke to director Thomas Kail and creator/screenplay writer Erica Lipez about the new series We Were The Lucky Ones to talk about the challenges of adapting such a compelling story.
Sioph Media: Did you feel pressure adapting such an incredible and personal story about this real family?
ERICA LIPEZ: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think, you know, when I read Georgia’s book, it was the most beautiful love letter to a family I had ever read. She did 10 years of research and so many family interviews, and it was just all there on the page, and I fell so madly in love with this family. It was a really daunting challenge to bring it to the screen, but we just knew we had to surround the project with a lot of love and positivity and the right group of people. This was the biggest, most amazing team bringing this series to life. And so, I think, with that combination, we felt like we could do it.
Sioph Media: What family member's story did you resonate more with?
THOMAS KAIL: You know, I'm someone, and as Erica knows, I feel very defined by my family birth order. I'm in the middle of two sisters, and so I tend to find myself as the person who's helping navigate and negotiate. So there's something about that mentality that I certainly understand, and I think that in many ways, what's sort of fascinating about this story is that the given circumstances shift the needs of the family and thus also the trajectory and the expectation of what might come. Erica and I have spoken about the way that Halina, who is the youngest chronologically, steps into certain moments, which does not necessarily feel like the traditional action of the youngest, but in that moment, and I think that's what the series and the story so compelling, it's about in these heightened expressions in these, these times of turmoil. Where do we look? What happens when our parents can't take care of us anymore? What does it mean to take care of your parents? One of the beauties I think of the series is it also allows the parents to express themselves. What does it feel like to not to not feel like they're the ones who are lifting up their children? Although, of course, they have spent 30 years doing so, and I think part of being a child becoming an adult is trying to carry some of the burden for the family, and every family has weight to carry. I do feel like there's something about Halina’s front-footedness that made me feel like there was something. There was something there that we could all hook into it, and I certainly did.
Sioph Media: How about you, Erica?
ERICA LIPEZ: Well, I mean, I think for me, I think particularly approaching it as a writer, there's something that I connect to in every single storyline, every character. It was really exciting for me having a sister myself and exploring some of those sister dynamics, whether it was between the two actual sisters of the show, Halina and Mila, or some of the sort of sister-like bonds that form between characters like Halina and Bella, And you know, I think female characters aren't always as foregrounded in these historical stories, so that was really exciting to me. I think there really was something for everyone, like Genec. I come from a family of lawyers; the way Genec’s mind works is just—I mean, it's everyone in my family. I love them, but there's a lot of reason and a lot of logic. And then, Audie, the musician, there's a lot of music in my family too and Jakub with his gentle spirit and heart. That was the joy, that there was something to fall in love with with everyone.
Sioph Media: One of the biggest moments of the show is the reunion, and to me, I love the different tone compared within the family. You have the entire family very loud and very emotional, and then you have Selim, who is quite quiet and seems to step back and let Mila time with the family. I thought that added more emotional weight. I loved that, and I'm just wondering if that was intentional.
THOMAS KAIL: What a lovely thing to hear and to pick up on. I mean, I think that that character, who has lost his family and we learned about this later that so many of his family he doesn’t have the chance to connect with but the fact that he gives that reunion space is a gesture of unbelievable generosity, and it not only allows them to have their own, but it's, you know, one imagines what it what it must feel like for him to to see the the coming back together and knowing what he's not able to experience that. I think it was beautifully played by Michael and that scene with that particular reunion, and what Hadas and Michael brought to that, it just felt so lived in and so deeply understood.
ERICA LIPEZ: I think also, I mean, that moment was so directly pulled from the book too, I think what Georgia captured, which is true, is that when you experience that kind of separation and I mean, even though it means everything to find each other to still be alive, you don't know each other in the same way anymore. So, I think that space and that tenderness with which they approach each other and the gentleness with which he approaches his child I think, allows her to feel comfortable with him, and it was, so beautifully realized by that trio of actors, it was amazing.
We Were The Lucky Ones releases on Hulu, March 28th 2024.