as Tell Me Rise ‘ continues its third season on Hulu, and creator and showrunner Megan Oppenheimer is well aware of how much viewers are paying attention and how deeply hooked they are. The series has always leaned into emotional turmoil and moral gray areas, but Season 3 pushes those tensions even further as fan theories, online discourse, and character scrutiny reach new heights.
One thing that really surprised Oppenheimer was how accurately viewers could predict where the story would go.
“I was surprised last year by how many people predicted Princess Diana’s story,” she said. “They saw that reveal and it disappointed me. I’m not going to lie. I was sad because our audience is so smart.”
Even if the twist was guessed in advance, Oppenheimer says she values the passion behind the reaction. “I love watching the audience. I mean, I love how passionately they react. It makes me so happy.”
But that intensity doesn’t necessarily translate to empathy, especially for the show’s female characters. Oppenheimer admitted that he was surprised at how harshly some storylines were received.
“I’m most surprised by how harsh the audience was at times towards some of the female characters,” she said. “I was surprised by their reaction when Lucy got so mad at her, and I was surprised by their reaction to Bree last season 2. A lot of people didn’t see her as being this much of a victim in Oliver’s situation. For me, I found this very shocking because she was clearly the victim.”
Pippa and Diana join the chat
Season 3 continues to expand on the show’s queer storytelling, particularly through Pippa and Diana’s relationship. Oppenheimer said the pairing came about naturally, not as a deliberate attempt to check a box.
“I obviously knew it was bringing representation to the show, and I was really happy about that, and that was important to me,” she explained. “But the most important thing for me was that their story wasn’t about that. I wanted to make sure it was just a three-dimensional story, with as much depth as any other relationship.”
Alicia Crowder
That decision was shaped by years of conversations with queer friends who felt that television too often reduced LGBTQ relationships to a single conflict. “I think a lot of my queer friends have complained about it many times on TV…It’s about someone wanting to hide their sexuality and it’s always about that,” she said. “And in real life, those relationships are much more complex than that and as fully dimensional as any other relationship.”
For Oppenheimer, it was essential to allow queer characters to exist without their sexuality becoming the only source of conflict. “Princess Diana isn’t necessarily ready for this relationship, but it’s not because it’s a gay relationship, it’s because of all the other things that she has going on,” she said.
What’s new in Season 3
season 3 Tell Me Rise When the spring semester at Baird College began, Lucy and Stephen found themselves back in each other’s orbit, despite their promise that things would change. Old wounds, past betrayals, and unresolved power relationships quickly resurface, throwing Lucy into a controversy she doesn’t want to be involved in, and forcing her entire group of friends to confront the consequences of the previous year. As secrets spread across campus and tensions rise, the season explores how patterns repeat, how the damage lingers, and how even the best intentions can crumble when people refuse to make real change.
Jackson White, Grace Van Patten
As for the long-term shape, Tell Me RiseOppenheimer described a balance between structure and flexibility. She always knows the general arc of the series, even as the trajectories of individual characters evolve.
“I always had a general beginning, middle, and end for the series in my head,” she said, noting that the details change from season to season. “My worst nightmare is going into the writers’ room and being like, “What’s going on this season?”
season 3 of Tell Me Rise ‘ is currently available weekly on Hulu, and the creator says nothing that happens on screen is a coincidence. So be careful!
Source: Gayety – gayety.com
