Star Henry Lloyd-Hughes reflects on profoundly moving WWII drama 'We Were the Lucky Ones'

NEW YORK -- A new episode of "We Were the Lucky Ones" hits Hulu Thursday.

If you haven't been watching, the book-to-screen miniseries tells the true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II and their determination to survive and reunite.

It's been getting rave reviews and is being described as devastating and profoundly moving.

In addition to Joey King, it stars Henry Lloyd-Hughes as the oldest sibling in the family.

He said it has been rewarding to be a part of the series.

"What I will say for me as an actor, this is before the reviews came out. It was the first time in my career, pretty much where I'd watch something and thought, that is exactly what I imagined it would be like, when I read the script," Lloyd-Hughes said.

Viewers experience a range of emotions while watching. One minute there is joy, and then moments later, thing turn gut-wrenching.

"Honestly, that is also the experience of watching the show, that I think is the authentic experience," he said.

Lloyd-Hughes said the cast spent time together before any cameras started rolling and had dinners together.

"What we were able to do was build, hopefully, what you feel is this, a group of people who feel like they do live together, feel like they do finish each other's sentences, feel like they are a completely organic unit. And if you don't invest in those relationships, you don't invest in those people, you can't go on that journey," Lloyd-Hughes said. "You build this thing, and you go, man, these people love each other man, they understand each other man, they laugh at each other's jokes, and, you know, make fun of each other. And then, and also, because they are come from this very comfortable, middle class, professional background, they don't think this war is going to affect them, you know, they feel completely insulated from that. And yet, everything that happens to the show happens."

When describing the series, he points to two iconic films.

"I would say it's like 'Saving Private Ryan' meets 'Schindler's List.' And that sounds like a very compacted version. but if you had to get me to do it in a line, yeah. Because, of course we have the the backdrop of the war and everything that's happening in the the horrors that are going on a kind of geopolitical level," Lloyd-Hughes said. "But it's also about a family. It's about mom, dad, the children being spread out not only across Europe, but across four continents and trying to find each other."

Overall, he hopes it leaves viewers with a feeling of hope.

"It's a story about hope, against impossible odds. And I think we all need a bit of that," Lloyd-Hughes said.

New episodes of "We Were the Lucky Ones" stream Thursdays on Hulu, which is owned by the same parent company as ABC.