We Were the Lucky Ones

We Were The Lucky Ones is an American historical drama miniseries developed by Erica Lipez for Hulu that premiered on March 28, 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. The story centers 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.

Plot summary
Prior to World War II, the Kurc family, Polish Jews, lived successful and relatively peaceful lives in Radom. Their success protected them from some of the virulent anti-semitism 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, the second youngest sibling, a law student and boyfriend of Bella, with a passion for photography
 * Hadas Yaron as Mila Kurc, the second oldest sibling, 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, Genek'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 March 28, 2024.

Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 95% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 22 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Equal parts harrowing and life-affirming, We Were the Lucky Ones is a sensitively told tale of perseverance given tear-inducing heart by its wonderful ensemble." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the limited series a "generally favorable" score of 80 out of 100, based on 13 critics. RogerEbert.com concluded that "We Were the Lucky Ones is a defiant and harrowing, soul shattering story—one that gives the full range of the horrors that occur when you’ve been displaced, unmoored, and dehumanized." Aramide Tinibu of Variety also praised the series: "Spending extended time with each member of the Kurcs allows the viewer to get into their psyche while absorbing differing perspectives and opinions instead of a monolithic overview of Holocaust survivors."

The Jewish website Kveller praised the series as "a visceral, touching, sweeping and profoundly human show, one of the best you’ll see all year, and the Jewish representation in it is deeply thoughtful, perhaps more than any show I’ve ever seen." The Boston Globe concluded: "So yes, the miniseries is challenging, and steeped in heartbreak, and unrelenting. But it joins a growing inventory of important, eye-opening, memorable, and timely TV takes on the Holocaust and World War II. Ultimately it is as rewarding as it is harrowing."