Raelle Tucker has a long list of great series she’s been involved with, she wrote and produced “True Blood”, as well as “Jessica Jones”, and now the second season of the series she created, “Sacred Lies”, is streaming FREE on Facebook Watch, from Blumhouse. I had the pleasure of speaking with Raelle about the series. Here’s our conversation:
Horror Fuel: “I’m hooked. I watched what is out of season two and then went and watched season one. I’m on the season one episode where the father did that horrible thing to his daughter. It’s intense.”
Raelle Tucker: “Yeah. That’s probably my favorite episode of the first season. I really love the ending of that episode.”
Horror Fuel: “It’s good. So, tell me how this wonderful series came to be.”
Raelle Tucker: “So, with season one, I had the pleasure of reading “The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly” by Stephanie Oakes. I optioned the book for season one. I had this crazy idea to make a series about the character of Minnow Bly, this girl from a cult in juvenile detention. There has never been anything like it. It’s a very strange story. We talked to Facebook Watch and they were really excited. And I got to make this show with an incredible cast. Then we got this amazing fan base called “The Keepers.” They were really invested and just so passionate that we got to make a second season. We were clear that season one was limited story and that the characters needed to walk off into their version of a sunset. We couldn’t pick up where we left off. So we started to think about what made “Sacred Lives” so popular.
It’s really about the mystery of life and the more obscure Grimm fairytales that have been around for hundreds of years before Grimm adapted them. They feature a keen lesson that’s pretty profound. So it’s about taking those and finding a very modern-day tone and mystery. I went away completely nervous and tried to figure out how the hell I was going to come up with a new murder mystery that’s also a fairytale that also has a lot of heart and talks about a lot of social issues.
What I think people are loving about the second season of “Sacred Lies”. It’s based upon “The Singing Bones” and based on the real-life cases of real-life missing Jane Doe stories and crimes many of which have not fully been solved.”
Horror Fuel: “Not only does it feature these long-standing tales with a modern spin, but it also has the true crime stuff that everyone loves so much these days. The series is so great and I love that it is an anthology. And I love that you never know what’s around the corner in the series. You get so attached to the characters.”
Raelle Tucker: “I hope so. I love true crime, I’m addicted to it as well [laughter]. I love that we get to tell these stories. I love that we get to tell a finite story. I worked on six seasons of “True Blood.” I had an incredible experience but after a certain point, you are just going crazy trying to come up with what the characters are going to do. And they are making them do the most insane things. You have to come up with so much story. This is a different experience because you have ten episodes, five hours. We know that there is going to be a clear beginning, middle, and end. You really get to pick the most profound, important moments for each character. It has an end, you’re not going to be stretching it out.”
Horror Fuel: “Things did get pretty strange by the end of “True Blood” but don’t get me wrong, I loved the show. I understand exactly what you mean. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to stretch out shows when they shouldn’t.
I have to ask because now I’m hooked. There will be a third season of “Sacred Lies”, right?”
Raelle Tucker: “The truth is if you write about it, and a ton of people watch and say that they want it, hopefully, Facebook Watch will order another season. It depends entirely on the fans.”
Horror Fuel: “I sincerely hope that Facebook Watch is paying attention. I would love to see it continue.”
Raelle Tucker: “Thank you. I hope so too.”
Horror Fuel: “So, what does it take to create a series? How does it evolve and go from a script to an actual series?”
Raelle Tucker: “That’s a really complicated question. It take a lot of hard work. Well, I optioned the book, then I wrote a script based on that book for last season, then we sent it to Facebook Watch, they picked it up. From there we hired a team of writers. We spent six to eight months in rooms writing scripts and rewriting scripts, getting notes from the studio and Blumhouse. You then start casting and from there go into production. And here we are. It’s a long process.”
Horror Fuel: “I’m glad that we have the opportunity to see both seasons. All of your hard work was worth it in my book.
What did you learn from your work on “True Blood” that helped you create “Sacred Lies”?
Raelle Tucker: “Oh my god, I learned so many things from six years of working on “True Blood”. I learned so much from working with the writers on that show and the incredible actors and the other people that worked on that show. I learned so much about cliffhangers, how to build those exciting moments in the episodes. I learned a lot about writing action and how to write fights that come at it from the character’s perspective so that people emotionally invested in the fight.
After doing a show that was so graphic and violent. I decided that I didn’t need a lot of blood in my show. I think the scariest thing is for people not to see it often. I feel like your imagination is so much scarier. There’s a scene where our main character gets her hands cut off, people said it was so graphic, but you don’t actually see any of it in the show. It actually avoids the really graphic moment. People are so used to seeing horror films with all the blood, so by not giving you that we open a way for your imagination to come up with something far more terrifying.
I fell in love with “Sacred Lies”. Each of the seasons features strong female characters who somehow find the strength to uncover the truth and fight to overcome their terrible circumstances. I found myself cheering for these women. That’s something we need more of in entertainment. I must applaud Raelle for that. The stories are engaging and fraught with drama, intensity, horrific situations, they will keep you hooked. I sincerely hope that we get more seasons of “Sacred Lies.” If you watch and feel the same, I urge you to reach out to Facebook Watch and tell them you want more! Be sure to use #SacredLies on social media.
You can watch episodes free on the “Sacred Lies” Facebook Watch page. To talk to other fans and learn more, join the community.
