The Big Picture

The Hulu limited series ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ tells the story of a Jewish family that survives and reunites during WWII, emphasizing hope and love out of heartbreak.
Series star Joey King signed on before reading the script, trusting the team, including executive producer/director Thomas Kail, completely.
Co-Stars Joey King & Logan Lerman hope audiences gain compassion and perspective from watching the series.

Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, the limited Hulu series We Were the Lucky Ones tells the true story of a Jewish family separated at the start of World War II who must survive one of the darkest times in history, in order to cross continents so that they can reunite. As the members of the Kurc family are each on their individual journeys and facing their own hardships after being forced into hiding, sent to concentration camps, or fleeing danger, they do everything they can to endure what comes their way and hold onto hope and love.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Joey King, who plays youngest Kurc sibling Halina, and Logan Lerman, who plays middle Kurc sibling Addy, talked about why they wanted to be a part of telling this story, which one of them signed on before ever reading a script, how there’s something to learn from what this family experienced, how long they waited to be able to read the final script, figuring out their accents, learning to sing in a Polish dialect, being huge fans of each other before working together, and what they hope audiences take from seeing this series.

We Were the Lucky Ones A Jewish family is determined to survive and reunite after being separated in World War II.Release Date March 28, 2024 Cast Ido Samuel , Marina Bye , Gabriela Calun , Robert Dölle , Joey King , logan lerman , Marin Hinkle , Artemisia Pagliano Seasons 1

Joey King Signed Onto ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ Before Ever Reading A Script
Image via Hulu

Collider: When this came your way, what was it that most struck you about it? There have been so many stories told, and movies and TV series made, but this takes a more personal family approach. Was that what you most connected to, when it came to this?

JOEY KING: First of all, I signed onto this before I even read the script. I spoke to Tommy Kail, our episode one and finale director, and he told me the concept, about the book, and about (author) Georgia [Hunter] and her family. I was like, “Yeah, great, I’ll do it,” before I saw a shred of material. There are some instances in life where it’s rare, but it feels right. I’d never really signed onto something without reading the material before, but I was fully in. It just really struck me with how it was told. Yes, there’s a lot of heartbreak, but there’s a lot of hope and a lot of joyous moments throughout this show as well, and throughout this family’s journey. And how the tragedy was also dealt with was really beautiful.

LOGAN LERMAN: And just to add to that, the first thing I think when I’m sent a project that has to do with this history and subject matter is, “Why? Why tell this story?” I’ve had other opportunities in the past that I’ve declined because it didn’t really answer that question well. When I read this book for the first time, it was clear to me that this had something new to explore that I haven’t seen before, in film or television. There were aspects of the history and angles on this particular period of time in history that felt surprising and new. My character’s journey is a refugee story of somebody who’s getting out of Europe and who’s trying to get any country to take him in. I haven’t really seen that explored before, and it was exciting for me, as an actor.

Related ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’: Everything We Know About Joey King’s Holocaust Drama Series King and Logan Lerman play siblings trying to find their way back to each other amid World War II.

Logan, as a testament to how different the stories of this time period can be, all you have to do is compare it with Hunters.

LERMAN: It’s very different. It’s dealing with a similar subject matter, but they’re completely different stories and completely different tones. What really stood out for me and struck me with this one was the truth. It’s real. It’s not fiction. It has to be real.

KING: There are so many real stories in World War II that haven’t been told. There are so many different perspectives, and any time there’s a new story told about a different perspective, that is true and that is from this period of time, there’s something to learn.

LERMAN: It becomes important, in that regard, and it becomes necessary. It feels like there’s something here to learn from this experience rather than feeling exploitative. It’s a really well-written story on top of it all.

Related ‘Hunters’ Cast and Character Guide A king and his knights, rooks, bishops, and a pawn are going in for the big kill.

Joey, after signing on without a script, did you ever worry that the script could just be awful? Did you breathe a sigh of relief once you were able to read it?

KING: I love that question. That’s hilarious because that’s a very fair question. To be honest, I don’t always trust my gut. She’s wrong sometimes, and that’s fine. But there was something about this one where I just trusted Tommy. He was the first person I talked to, and I just trusted him so much. And when I spoke with (showrunner) Erica [Lipez], I trusted her so much. I never had a shred of doubt that these scripts would be phenomenal, and I was right in that they were really phenomenal. What makes them so special is that these characters are flushed out so beautifully. Each person is a real person, and that translated in the script. They have niche anecdotes about them and qualities that are unique to them. Each character feels truly like a character with things that make them who they are. They’re not just people on a page going through something terrible. They are people who are also going through something terrible, and their personalities also come through in those moments, whether it’s with joy or immense heartbreak. You fall in love with them and their little anecdotes so much that you really care about what they’re going through, and I found that to be really captivating while reading.

LERMAN: I had the opposite experience. What I mean by that is, I didn’t see any scripts either. I only had the book, and I was like, “I really don’t know. What if they screw it up?” When I got the script, I was worried. Every one that came in was a sigh of relief. I was like, “This is so beautifully written, with such care and love for the book and for these characters.” The writing team just blew me away. I didn’t have faith. I was like, “I like you guys a lot, but I wonder if this is going to be good.” You have to read it in the script.

KING: There was something that was really special about the relationship we had with Erica. If we were like, “I don’t know if that feels so true. What about this?,” she would be so collaborative, which is really wonderful.

How long did you have to wait to read the last script?

KING: The last script came in less than a month before we shot. It was crazy how close to filming the last episode that the script came in. It was insane. The episodes prior to that were absolutely fabulous, but there was a lot to fit in with the last episode and a lot of loose ends to tie up because everyone needed their ending. Even with so much going on in the last episode, it doesn’t feel like too much. It feels like you get the ending that you so desire for each person.

Logan Lerman Found It Challenging To Sing In A Polish Dialect for ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’
Image via Hulu

What was it like to find the accent and to get it to a point where it feels right? Is it ever hard to stay in an accent when you’re doing more emotional stuff?

LERMAN: Yeah. Dialect is difficult. It takes a lot of work. This is a family from different countries, with all the actors, so to find this middle ground in dialect was difficult. Emotions are hard too because when you’re dealing with a scene, you don’t want to think about your dialect.

KING: You’re yelling or crying, and you’re trying to stick in it.

LERMAN: I had to sing with a dialect, and that was really tough. One of the hardest things was singing in a Polish dialect when you’re not a singer. You’re trying not to make it sound like Dracula: The Musical. That was really hard. I’m not a singer. I had to just hope it went well.

How do you even get through something like that when you’re thinking about all those things?

KING: I think we’re both good at doing something, and then going home at the end of the day and letting it go. A lot of people fester and they’re like, “I could have done this take better.” But once I’ve shot something, I’m like able to be like, “Okay, it’s out of my hands,” which is a really helpful thing to feel.

LERMAN: It’s healthier than keeping it with you. What makes it easier is giving time to prepping it and rehearsing it and investing in that time spent. And then, you can say, “That’s all I could give and this is what it’s going to be. Hopefully, it’s good.”

KING: It makes it easier to make spontaneous decisions when you have that prep work there.

What do you guys hope audiences take from watching this?

KING: There are a lot of takeaways, but one of the most important takeaways, in my opinion, is that this is one family’s story that’s an amazing recount of a true story of survival. I just hope this allows people to hold space for other people’s pain. It doesn’t matter who it is or what walk of life someone comes from, everyone deserves compassion. I hope that this story sheds a new light on that for some people. We’re also in a time period where the last victims of the holocaust who survived are starting to not be around anymore. They’re very old and they’re not gonna be around for very much longer. So, the responsibility of keeping these stories alive is so important. It’s on us, as a whole, to keep the different perspectives of the holocaust alive in the mainstream conversation, so that people don’t forget.

Do you guys know what you’re going to be doing next?

LERMAN: I’m working on things, but I’m not sure when start dates are. There’s no immediate going-to-work-in-two-weeks kind of thing.

KING: Me, as well. I have no start dates, but this year, I’m very grateful. It’s gonna be a big year. I’ve got a lot of great, fun things coming out this year. I’ve got a lot of promoting in my foreseeable future.

Related The True Story Behind ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ It’s a harrowing story, but one that deserves to be told.

Acting is an unusual profession where you can grow up watching other actors and admire them, and then become an actor and find yourself sharing scenes with people that you watched. What is a significant time that’s happened for each of you on a project?

KING: To be honest with you, it happens a lot. But to talk about something relevant, I was a huge fan of Logan before I ever met him. And then, I met him probably 10 years ago when we did some panel together and I was like, “This guy is so cool.”

LERMAN: I felt the same way about Joey.

KING: We weren’t necessarily very close, but we were supportive of each other from afar. And then, we got the opportunity to reconnect on Bullet Train, which really kick-started this new phase of friendship for us. And then, we got to work on this show together. It was all very coincidental. When we were filming Bullet Train, we didn’t know that this would happen. It was one of those things where I was a fan, and then I met Logan and he was wonderful. And then, years passed, and I got to be in projects with Logan and have a friendship.

LERMAN: It was such a good excuse for us to hang together, to make more movies and TV shows.

KING: We love to hang.

LERMAN: Yeah, it’s true. Sometimes you meet somebody that you really respect and you’re working with them, and then you’re like, “God, they suck!” It happens.

KING: It does happen.

LERMAN: But we’ll save that for another interview.

KING: Do you want me to tell you who? Just kidding.

We Were the Lucky Ones is available to stream on Hulu. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Hulu