Introduction

We Were The Lucky Ones is an American historical drama miniseries developed by Erica Lipez for Hulu that premiered on 28 March 2024. It is an adaptation of the 2017 book of the same name by Georgia Hunter, inspired by the story of her own family.

It depicts the Holocaust from the perspective of the Kurc family, Polish Jews, during World War II. The story centres on siblings played by Joey King, Logan Lerman, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Amit Rahav and Hadas Yaron and their parents, played by Lior Ashkenazi and Robin Weigert.

Outline

Prior to World War II, the Kurcs, a Polish Jewish family, lived successful and relatively peaceful lives in Radom. Their success protected them from some of the virulent antisemitism in the country. Their protection does not last as Hitler’s persecution of European Jewry intensified. Some members of the family find themselves in hiding and in concentration camps. Other members of the family managed to escape to France, Brazil, West Africa and Russia. Once the war ends, survivors from the family attempt to discover any living relatives and reunite.

Cast

• Joey King as Halina Kurc, the youngest sibling, who works as a lab assistant for her brother-in-law, Selim
• Logan Lerman as Addy Kurc, the middle sibling, who lives in Paris, where he is pursuing a career as a composer
• Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Genek Kurc, the oldest sibling, a lawyer, married to Herta (Rosenblatt)
• Amit Rahav as Jakob Kurc, a law student and boyfriend of Bella, with a passion for photography
• Hadas Yaron as Mila Kurc, Selim’s wife and mother of Felicia
• Sam Woolf as Adam Eichenwald, an architect lodging with the Kurc family and Halina’s love interest
• Michael Aloni as Selim, a doctor, Mila’s husband and Felicia’s father
• Moran Rosenblatt as Herta Seifert, Genec’s wife
• Eva Feiler as Bella, Jakob’s girlfriend and childhood sweetheart
• Lior Ashkenazi as Sol Kurc, the family patriarch and proprietor of the Kurc boutique
• Robin Weigert as Nechuma Kurc, the family matriarch and seamstress
• Ido Samuel as Isaac, A loyal friend, his relationship with the Kurc family – is painfully tested by his role in the Jewish Police.
• Lihi Kornowski as Elisabeth (Eliska), a Jewish woman from Prague, impressed with Addy
• Marin Hinkle as Madame Lowbeer, Eliska’s mother
• Artemisia Pagliano as Young Felicia
• Belle Swarc as Felicia

Production

The series is produced by 20th Television and is adapted by Erica Lipez from the 2017 Georgia Hunter book We Were The Lucky Ones, a New York Times Best Seller inspired by the story of her own family. Lipez also serves as showrunner and executive producer. Thomas Kail is director and executive producer, along with Adam Milch and Jennifer Todd who executive produces for Old 320 Sycamore and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon who executive produces for Pearl Street Films. The score is composed by Rachel Portman and Jon Ehrlich.

Casting

Joey King, Logan Lerman, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Amit Rahav and Hadas Yaron were cast as siblings who grow up in Radom, Poland with Lerman’s role of Addy Kurc based on Hunter’s real-life grandfather. Both King and Lerman have discussed having family members themselves who escaped The Holocaust.

Most of the characters are Polish Jews and these roles are mostly played by Jewish actors from the United States, Israel and England. This is the second time that Yaron and Aloni have appeared as a couple, following their 2015–2021 work in the Israeli drama series Shtisel. The role of Madame Lowbeer is portrayed by a non-Jewish actress, Marin Hinkle, who in real life is married to a Jewish man and raised their son Jewish.

Filming

Filming took place from December 2022 and finished in spring 2023. Primarily filming took place in Bucharest, Romania with filming locations also including Málaga and Cádiz in Spain.

Release

The series premiered on Hulu in the United States on 28 March 2024.

Trivia

• This is the second time Joey King and Logan Lerman play siblings on screen.
  • They played previously sister and brother in “Bullet Train” (2022).
• Joey King is Jewish in real life.
• Third project for Logan Lerman set in or centred around WW2. Fury (2014) Hunters (2020-2023), and We Were the Lucky Ones (2024)

We Were The Lucky Ones Series

• Episode 01: Radom.
• Episode 02: Lvov.
• Episode 03: Siberia.
• Episode 04: Casablanca.
• Episode 05: Ilha Das Flores.
• Episode 06: Warsaw.
• Episode 07: Monte Cassino.
• Episode 08: Rio.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Amit Gupta … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Neasa Hardiman … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Thomas Kail … (2 episodes, 2024)
• Producer(s):
  • Kelly Applegate … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Alma Bacula … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Eboni Booth … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Jonathan Caren … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Mia Del Duca … associate producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Christina M. Fitzgerald … producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Chloe Hales … associate producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Thomas Kail … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Erica Lipez … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Adam Milch … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • David Minkowski … co-producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Nick O’Hagan … co-executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Kate Sullivan … producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Jennifer Todd … executive producer (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Amit Gupta … executive producer (7 episodes, 2024)
  • Georgia Hunter … co-executive producer (7 episodes, 2024)
  • Silvia Araez Guzman … spain producer (6 episodes, 2024)
  • Stuart Sutherland … spain co-producer (6 episodes, 2024)
  • Neasa Hardiman … executive producer (3 episodes, 2024)
• Writer(s):
  • Tea Ho … (staff writer) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Tea Ho … (written for television by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Georgia Hunter … (based on the book by) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Erica Lipez … (developed for television by) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Erica Lipez … (written for television by) (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Anya Meksin … (story editor) (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Anya Meksin … (written for television by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Adam Milch … (written for television by) (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Eboni Booth … (written for television by) (1 episode, 2024)
  • Jonathan Caren … (written for television by) (1 episode, 2024)
• Music:
  • Jon Ehrlich … (8 episodes, 2024)
  • Rachel Portman … (8 episodes, 2024)
• Cinematography:
  • Tim Ives … (4 episodes, 2024)
  • Ruairí O’Brien … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • David Pimm … (1 episode, 2024)
• Editor(s):
  • Erica Freed Marker … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Kate Sanford … (3 episodes, 2024)
  • Jonah Moran … (2 episodes, 2024)
  • Dave Labich … (1 episode, 2024)
• Production:
  • 20th Television
  • Hulu
  • Icon Films
  • Old 320 Sycamore
• Distributor(s):
  • Disney+ (Non-US, 2024)(VOD, Star, video)
  • Hulu (United States, 2024)(VOD, video)
  • Star+ (Non-US, 2024)(VOD, video)
• Release Date: 28 March 2024 to 02 May 2024.
• Running time: 60 minutes.
• Rating: TV-MA.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Clip(s)