Common Sense Media Review
By Mark Dolan , based on child development research. How do we rate?
Legal drama has strong female lead, solid mystery.
Parents Need to Know
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Burden of Truth
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
What's the Story?
Joanna Hanley (Kristin Kreuk) is the top attorney at her father's big-city corporate law firm in BURDEN OF TRUTH. When a vaccine made by their client, a giant pharmaceutical company, is thought to be giving teen girls seizures, Joanna must return to the small town she grew up in, and that her family left under mysterious circumstances, to offer low-ball settlements to the families and avoid a lawsuit. Once there, she realizes the vaccines may not be responsible for the illnesses. But even though her corporate responsibilities are over, she decides to stay in town and investigate what exactly is making these girls sick.
Is It Any Good?
Surprisingly compelling, this series brings CW veteran Kristin Kreuk back to her small-town roots (she spent 10 years as Lana on the CW's Smallville). She's excellent as crusading lawyer Joanna Hanley, who returns to the hamlet of Millwood to solve one mystery but ends up finding another: why her family left this town in a hurry many years ago. The medical mystery is intriguing, and the plight of the affected girls is handled sensitively and with realistic teen emotion. Unfortunately, the personal drama involving Joanna's relationships with her father and boyfriend is much more predictable. That said, the Burden of Truth cast works well together, and Kreuk radiates compassion and intelligence that make her character's evolution from corporate stooge to committed justice seeker convincing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how small towns are depicted in TV shows. What are some traits they always have? Do you think it's accurate? Why do you think creators do this?
How are families depicted in Burden of Truth? What are some of the unconventional families portrayed here?
TV Details
- Premiere date: July 25, 2018
- Cast: Kristin Kreuk
- Network: CW
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Great Girl Role Models
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: September 13, 2023
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