'We Were the Lucky Ones' Tells a Story of Optimism & Hope in the Face of Evil

Stories about the Holocaust are important to tell. Not just because of the familiar adage that those who don’t remember history are condemned to repeat it (something that is clearly happening currently in many parts of the world). But also because we must honor the lives that were lost and the lives of those who survived. The generation above me lived through World War II. But for the generation below me, the war and all its atrocities are something they learn about in school. But importance alone doesn’t make a great series. To truly have an impact, the series must be gripping and entertaining. It must draw the viewer in with its story arcs and create characters we can connect with.

We Were the Lucky Ones, the eight-episode Hulu series, which premieres with the first three episodes on March 28, 2024, does precisely that. Based on the 2017 book of the same name by Georgia Hunter, the series tells the true story of Hunter’s grandfather, Addy (Logan Lerman), and his family during World War II. Hunter, who also serves as co-executive producer on the series, grew up in Massachusetts, never knowing what her ancestors had endured until she was a teenager. It is an exquisite series. Emotionally moving. Impeccably acted. Deftly directed. At times utterly devastating, but always brimming with hope.

The series begins in 1939 in Radom, Poland. Addy, a composer and pianist, has come home from Paris to celebrate Passover with his parents Sol (Lior Ashkenazi) and Nechuma (Robin Weigert), his sister Halina (Joey King) and Mila (Hadas Yaron) and his brother Ganek (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) and Jakob (Amit Rahav). The Second World War is near, but the threat of it and the horrific violence that the Jewish people will soon face is not yet real. The most significant impact they currently face is that some customers are no longer coming to Sol and Nechuma’s tailor shop.