INDIANAPOLIS — When Georgia Hunter was 15 years old, she learned she came from a family of Holocaust survivors.
In 2017, Hunter's debut novel, "We Were the Lucky Ones," was published, and it recounts her Polish Jewish family's perseverance as they were separated during World War II. The book went on to become a New York Times Bestseller and is now being adapted into an eight-episode limited series on Hulu.
"It's been the most surreal and real experience at once," Hunter said. "The story is my grandfather's World War II Holocaust story, and it tells the narrative of him and his siblings as they scatter at the start of the war and try to survive and also come back together."
The cast is led by Joey King ("The Act," "The Kissing Booth") and Logan Lerman ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Hunters"), who play siblings Halina and Addy Kurc, respectively.
"Those two have so much experience between the two of them," said Erica Lipez ("The Morning Show," "Julia"), showrunner, executive producer and writer. "They are both the ultimate professionals but also the most incredible humans. Their talent is unparalleled onscreen, but it's really matched by their humanity offscreen."
And taking on the role of the mother whose family is ripped apart is Emmy nominee Robin Weigert ("Deadwood," "Big Little Lies").
"I started the process by writing a letter to each of my children as my character," Weigert said. "Because letter-writing was such a big part of how these people reached for each other across impossible distances, even when they had no address to send them to, I thought it would be a good way to connect with that feeling, that longing, that striving."
Israeli actors Hadas Yaron ("Fill the Void," "Mary Magdalene") and Michael Aloni ("Out in the Dark," "Shtisel") also co-star as a married couple and new parents who are separated at the start of the war.
"It's an international story, so it just makes sense it crosses continents and different eras and years, so I think it's just natural to bring actors from all over the world and bring this to life in such a real way," Aloni said.
According to the National World War II Museum, the Nazis killed approximately 6 million European Jews and at least 5 million prisoners of war. The Kurc family truly were the lucky ones to make it out alive.
"This was about a family, five siblings and their parents, that somehow made it out. They're from a town of 30,000 where only 300 lived," said Thomas Kail ("Hamilton," "Fosse/Verdon"), director and executive producer. "There's deep loss, and there's pain, and there's also this thing that they found on the other side of it, which was a chance to remember those that were not there and to celebrate what it meant to still be alive."
The first three episodes of "We Were the Lucky Ones" begin streaming Thursday, March 28 on Hulu, followed by one episode each Thursday through May 2.