Burden of Truth (TV series)

Burden of Truth is a Canadian legal drama television series, starring Kristin Kreuk, which premiered on CBC on January 10, 2018.[1] The series was created by Brad Simpson,[2] and is executive-produced by Kreuk, Ilana Frank and Jocelyn Hamilton.[3] In the US, the series is part of The CW's summer programming slate.[4] One of the issues addressed in the series is institutional racism towards indigenous people.[5]

Burden of Truth
Genre	Legal drama
Created by	Brad Simpson
Starring	Kristin Kreuk Peter Mooney
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Kristin Kreuk Ilana Frank Jocelyn Hamilton
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	ICF Films Eagle Vision Entertainment One CBC
Release
Original network	CBC (Canada) The CW (U.S.)
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original release	January 10, 2018 (2018-01-10) – present (present)
External links
Website

Plot

Corporate attorney Joanna Hanley returns to her small hometown of Millwood, Manitoba in order to represent a large pharmaceutical company against a group of sick girls, but starts to see that these girls need her help.

Cast and characters

Main

• Kristin Kreuk as Joanna Chang (formerly Hanley, in season 1), an attorney from Toronto who has come back to the town she grew up in to defend a pharmaceutical company against a group of sick girls. However, she stays both to uncover the bigger conspiracy hiding the true cause of the girls' sickness and to find out the truth about why she and her father left Millwood in the first place. She changes her surname to her mother's maiden name by the final scene of the first season as a result of a better understanding with each other, and her estranged relationship with her father.
• Peter Mooney as Billy Crawford, the lawyer representing the girls and later Joanna's partner in uncovering the conspiracy. He is the uncle of Molly Ross, one of the first girls to get sick. It is revealed in Season 2 that he has strained relationships with his father and his brother Shane. By the start of Season 3, he and Joanna become partners with the newly formed Crawford Chang and domestically.
• Star Slade as Luna Spence, Joanna's assistant and half sister as well as Molly Ross's girlfriend
• Nicola Correia-Damude as Diane Evans, an indigenous school guidance counselor and an old friend of Joanna's
• Meegwun Fairbrother as Owen Beckbie, an indigenous cop and Luna's ex-stepfather. By the start of Season 3, he was promoted to Millwood's Chief of Police.
• Paul Braunstein as Sam Mercer, Millwood's Chief of Police corrupted by his own racism towards indigenous residents which puts him at odds with Owen. By the end of Season 2, he is stripped of his duties, dismissed from the force and sent to prison for incarcerating Luna on false charges in connection with the murder of David Hanley. Released from prison at the start of Season 3, he engages in blackmail which was discovered by Taylor and Owen.
• Sara Thompson as Molly Ross (Seasons 1-2), one of the sick girls, Billy Crawford's niece and Luna's girlfriend
• Anwen O'Driscoll as Taylor Matheson, one of the sick girls and Ben Matheson's daughter
• David Lawrence Brown as Ben Matheson (Seasons 1–2), father of Taylor Matheson, one of the sick girls and the owner of the town's mill.
• Michelle Nolden as Teddie Lavery (Season 2), Joanna's mentor and boss at Steadman Lavery[6]
• Varun Saranga as Noah (Season 2), Joanna's new client[6]
• Sera-Lys McArthur as Kodie Chartrand (Season 3), Joanna's indigenous childhood best friend who is threatened with separation from her two daughters
• Dayle McLeod as Katherine “Kat” Carmichael (Season 3), a recent law school graduate who was the only one of Crawford Chang's two original Associates to be retained. So impressed by Joanna that she gave up more lucrative opportunities to work with her, she later developed a close relationship with colleague Luna.[7]

Recurring

• Cassandra Potenza as Georgia Lewis
• Benjamin Ayres as Alan Christie (season 1, 3), an attorney working for Joanna's father's law firm and, whom Joanna was dating at the start of the series.
• Jessica Matten as Gerrilyn Spence, Luna's mother
• Rebecca Gibson as Wendy Ross, Billy's sister and Molly's mother
• Jerni Stewart as Lisa Mitchell
• Montana Lehmann as Allie Nash
• Alex Carter as David Hanley (Seasons 1–2), Joanna's father and a partner at the law firm she worked for at the start of the series. Estranged from Joanna and revealed to be Luna's biological father, his murder was one of the primary storylines in Season 2.
• Andrew Chown as Shane Crawford (season 2), Billy's brother[6]
• Raymond Ablack as Sunil Doshi (season 2), a young lawyer at Steadman Lavery[6]

Episodes

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	10		January 10, 2018 (2018-01-10)	April 4, 2018 (2018-04-04)
	2	8		January 9, 2019 (2019-01-09)	February 27, 2019 (2019-02-27)
	3	8		January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08)	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)

Season 1 (2018)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Pilot"	Jeff Woolnough	Brad Simpson	January 10, 2018 (2018-01-10)
When it is suspected that her big-pharmacy client's vaccine has caused a mysterious illness affecting a handful of teenaged girls, high-powered attorney Joanna Hanley returns to her hometown of Millwood to quickly and quietly settle the case. But when she is forced to go up against Billy Crawford, an old friend from high school, she begins to second guess the choices she has made along the path to partnership in her father's prestigious big city law firm. A turn in the case reveals that her client is not at fault, but rather than return home with another easy win, Joanna decides to stay and dig into a case she believes could turn into a profitable class action law suit.
2	2	"The Ties That Bind"	Jeff Woolnough	Brad Simpson	January 17, 2018 (2018-01-17)
A fish out of water in a town that's as foreign as it is familiar, Joanna must reckon with questions over her family's hasty departure when she was a teenager.
3	3	"Still Waters"	Jordan Canning	Lynn Coady	January 24, 2018 (2018-01-24)
Relying on her esteemed reputation as a partner at CTS, Joanna convinces a hydrologist to come to Millwood to test the soil. With reluctant permission from the local Mayor, Joanna and Billy narrow down their list of suspects to a handful of industrial sites in the community. After testing the soil and groundwater around town, they make the startling discovery that the field is the source of the toxin when they uncover barrels of sludge buried there. But someone would rather they stop digging and the pair get run off the road.
4	4	"Family Ties"	Jordan Canning	Shannon Masters	January 31, 2018 (2018-01-31)
Convinced that the local steel mill and its owner, Ben Matheson, are responsible for the barrels buried in the school field, Joanna and Billy go after him but don't have enough to make the allegation stick. When her father shows up and persuades her that Ben's offer to clean the field is the best deal she's going to get, Joanna decides to pack up to return home. However, a shocking revelation in her personal life leads her to question everything her father has ever told her. Joanna resigns from her father's firm and in a knee-jerk reaction, files a statement of claim against the mill.
5	5	"Witch Hunt"	James Genn	Brad Simpson & Eric Putzer	February 28, 2018 (2018-02-28)
Anger over the claim against the mill pits the sick girls and their families against employees of the mill who worry that their jobs are on the line. When the local Pastor's daughter becomes afflicted with the illness, he blames the girls themselves. Parents begin keeping their healthy kids home from school, so to quell the mounting hysteria, the High School Principal cracks down on the affected girls by suspending them from school and prevents them from attending their prom. Joanna fires back at the school, but victory eludes her. When the kids decide to throw a prom of their own, Billy and Joanna are made honorary prom king and queen. However, the moment is over-shadowed by the mill's answer to her claim – they've hired her father's law firm to represent them and they plan to annihilate her.
6	6	"The Devil in the Desert"	James Genn	Laura Good & Hayden Simpson	March 7, 2018 (2018-03-07)
As death threats against Joanna and Billy escalate, Joanna digs her heels in on the case. Relying on the expert testimony of a respected neuropsychologist, Joanna expects he'll prove once and for all that the girls have been poisoned. Instead, after assessing them, he pronounces that the ailment is "all in their head", they have what's called Conversion Disorder. With the opposition breathing down their neck, Joanna and Billy scramble to salvage their suit.
7	7	"Ducks on the Pond"	Douglas Mitchell	Graeme Stewart	March 14, 2018 (2018-03-14)
Stuck in Millwood without a case and no longer having a firm to return home to, Joanna is at loose ends on what to do next. While she toys with the idea of taking a job offer at another firm, Billy works to get their case reinstated without much success. However, when the doctor who claimed that the girls were suffering with conversion disorder is exposed for using them as research for his new book, they get his testimony thrown out. Better still, a whistleblower comes forward and reveals an additional source of toxic waste and a new patient zero. Joanna is back on the case with more fervor than ever.
8	8	"Hang Together"	Douglas Mitchell	Hayden Simpson	March 28, 2018 (2018-03-28)
Following some new leads, Joanna and Billy make the horrific discovery of a massive dumpsite on farmland near the school. They finally have enough evidence to certify as a class but it won't be an easy fight. Someone has obviously gotten to their whistleblower as he's no longer willing to cooperate or help them. To make matters worse, Joanna's father takes over as lead counsel and has Joanna disqualified due to a conflict of interest. When one of the girls gets diagnosed with cancer, it becomes clear that they're running out of time.
9	9	"Home to Roost"	Grant Harvey	Lynn Coady	April 4, 2018 (2018-04-04)
With Joanna disqualified and the clock running out on Billy who'll have to face Joanna's hostile father alone, Joanna must think outside the box if they want to win this. She must face the one person who may be able to help her defeat her father, her estranged mother. Not only does she learn the truth about her father, she gains the critical piece of evidence that ties the mill and their parent company to the dumping. Regrettably, Joanna returns too late and finds the case in shambles, her named plaintiff removed and the class de-certified.
10	10	"Cause in Fact"	Grant Harvey	Brad Simpson	April 4, 2018 (2018-04-04)
Using the law to her advantage, Joanna gets herself reinstated on a legal technicality and plays her trump card. When it isn't enough to elicit a settlement offer, Joanna makes things personal. She blackmails her father with incriminating evidence and threatens to expose him if he refuses to negotiate. Once she strong-arms him into a settlement, she must choose whether to expose his dirty little secret or not, but doing so may cost her more than she's prepared to pay.

Season 2 (2019)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
11	1	"Salesman, Cheats and Liars"	Grant Harvey	Brad Simpson	January 9, 2019 (2019-01-09)
Joanna Chang is living a new life at a new firm with a new name when she's assigned a case of a brilliant young Internet privacy activist who will turn everything in her new life upside down. Meanwhile, back in Millwood, Billy Crawford is dealing with the aftermath of the Matheson Steel lawsuit.
12	2	"The Rabbit Hole"	Grant Harvey	Adam Pettle	January 16, 2019 (2019-01-16)
Joanna deals with the aftermath of an invasion of privacy. Billy entertains Shane's idea to save the town.
13	3	"The Milk of Human Kindness"	Stephanie Morgenstern	Renée St. Cyr	January 23, 2019 (2019-01-23)
Joanna struggles to control the narrative of Noah's case when Lovand starts a smear campaign against him. Billy and Gerrilynn wait for an answer in their civil suit, when an unexpected visitor turns up in Millwood with an offer.
14	4	"Guilt by Association"	Stephanie Morgenstern	Shannon Masters	January 30, 2019 (2019-01-30)
Back in Millwood after learning of a death of someone close to her, Joanna doesn't get a moment to mourn as the overzealous police are already zeroing in on Gerrilynn Spence. Joanna and Billy team up to halt a rush to judgment.
15	5	"Cold, Tired and Hungry"	Michelle Latimer	Hayden Simpson	February 6, 2019 (2019-02-06)
Joanna and Billy scramble to get Luna out on bail but a surprise witness comes forward with information that will change everything.
16	6	"Manic Street Preacher"	Michelle Latimer	Felicia Brooker & Renée St. Cyr	February 13, 2019 (2019-02-13)
Sleepless and suppressing her grief, Joanna tries to maintain her job at Steadman Lavery while preparing for jury selection in Luna's trial. Billy uncovers evidence from Shane that may provide an alternate theory about the murder.
17	7	"Never Face the Hangman"	Douglas Mitchell	Eric Putzer	February 20, 2019 (2019-02-20)
On the eve of Luna's trial, Joanna reaches out to an old client when she discovers a new piece of evidence that will lead her to the identity of the real killer. Billy attempts to get help for Shane but is forced to make an agonizing choice.
18	8	"The Right Road"	Douglas Mitchell	Brad Simpson	February 27, 2019 (2019-02-27)
As Luna's trial starts, Joanna and Billy defend against an avalanche of evidence. With things not looking good, Joanna risks everything by putting an unexpected witness on the stand.

Season 3 (2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
19	1	"Crawford Chang"	James Genn	Brad Simpson	January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08)
20	2	"Wherever You Go"	James Genn	Adam Pettle	January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15)
21	3	"No Fathers and Sons"	Kelly Makin	Felicia Brooker	January 22, 2020 (2020-01-22)
22	4	"Desperate Measures"	Kelly Makin	Julie Puckrin	January 28, 2020 (2020-01-28)
23	5	"Crisis of Faith"	Sherry White	Laura Good	February 5, 2020 (2020-02-05)
24	6	"It Takes a Village"	Sherry White	Hayden Simpson	February 12, 2020 (2020-02-12)
25	7	"Name Your Ghosts"	Douglas Mitchell	Eric Putzer	February 19, 2020 (2020-02-19)
26	8	"Shelter from the Storm"	Douglas Mitchell	Brad Simpson and Mary Galloway	February 26, 2020 (2020-02-26)

Production

Noelle Carbone and Adriana Maggs were the original showrunners but left the series. Ten one-hour episodes were ordered. It was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in summer 2017.[8] The series' original setting was supposed to have been in Eastern Canada but was changed to Manitoba because of lower production costs. Location shots were filmed in Selkirk and Sanford,[5] with several shots in the Riverside Grill. In outdoor shots, traffic on the Selkirk bridge is visible, as is the Landmark Cinemas Garry Selkirk theater.

The series was renewed for an eight-episode second season on April 4, 2018.[9][6]

The series was renewed for an eight-episode third season on March 25, 2019 and returned on January 8, 2020.[10][11][12]

On July 21, 2020, the series was renewed for an eight-episode fourth season.[13]

Broadcast

In April 2018, The CW network acquired the series for a planned run in the United States in mid-2018.[14][15] The series debuted on the network on July 25, 2018.[16] The network aired seasons 2 and 3 in the summers of 2019 and 2020.

U.S. ratings

Season 1

No.	Title	Air date[17]	Rating/Share (A18–49)	U.S. viewers
1	"Pilot"	July 25, 2018	0.2/1	925,000[18]
2	"The Ties That Bind"	August 1, 2018	0.2/1	831,000[19]
3	"Still Waters"	August 8, 2018	0.1/1	761,000[20]
4	"Family Ties"	August 15, 2018	0.2/1	669,000[21]
5	"Witch Hunt"	August 22, 2018	0.1/1	746,000[22]
6	"The Devil in the Desert"	September 5, 2018	0.1/1	625,000[23]
7	"Ducks on the Pond"	September 12, 2018	0.2/1	749,000[24]
8	"Hang Together"	September 19, 2018	0.1/1	671,000[25]
9	"Home to Roost"	September 26, 2018	0.1/1	576,000[26]
10	"Cause in Fact"	October 3, 2018	0.1/1	672,000[27]

Season 2

No.	Title	Air date[17]	Rating/Share (A18–49)	U.S. viewers
1	"Salesman, Cheats and Liars"	June 2, 2019	0.1/1	468,000[28]
2	"The Rabbit Hole"	June 9, 2019	0.1/0	479,000[29]
3	"The Milk of Human Kindness"	June 16, 2019	0.1/0	413,000[30]
4	"Guilt by Association"	June 23, 2019	0.1/1	432,000[31]
5	"Cold, Tired and Hungry"	June 30, 2019	0.1/0	514,000[32]
6	"Manic Street Preacher"	July 7, 2019	0.1/0	454,000[33]
7	"Never Face the Hangman"	July 14, 2019	0.1/0	484,000[34]
8	"The Right Road"	July 21, 2019	0.1/1	580,000[35]

Season 3

No.	Title	Air date[17]	Rating/Share (A18–49)	U.S. viewers
1	"Crawford Chang"	May 21, 2020	0.1/1	566,000[36]
2	"Wherever You Go"	May 28, 2020	0.1/1	551,000[37]
3	"No Fathers and Sons"	June 4, 2020	0.1/1	487,000[38]
4	"Desperate Measures"	June 11, 2020	0.1/1	495,000[39]
5	"Crisis of Faith"	June 18, 2020	0.1/1	478,000[40]
6	"It Takes a Village"	June 25, 2020	0.1/1	554,000[41]
7	"Name Your Ghosts"	July 2, 2020	0.1/1	490,000[42]
8	"Shelter from the Storm"	July 9, 2020	0.1/0	457,000[43]

References

1. "Features: Ready for Close Up - Burden of Truth". CBC Television. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
2. "Burden of Truth - CBC Media Centre". CBC Television. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
3. Tony Wong (January 6, 2018). "Kristin Kreuk hopes Smallville, Beauty & the Beast fans follow her to non-supernatural show". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
4. Vlada Gelman (May 31, 2019). "TVLine Items: Burden of Truth Renewed at CW, Mrs. Maisel Adds Two and More". TVLine. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
5. Caruk, Holly. "Winnipeg takes central role as CBC series Burden of Truth returns to Manitoba," CBC.ca, Tuesday, August 28, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2020
6. CBC’S BURDEN OF TRUTH IS BACK IN SESSION; SEASON TWO FILMING NOW IN WINNIPEG
7. Dayle McLeod, Burden of Truth (biography) – CBC.ca. Retrieved July 16, 2020
8. Vlessing, Etan (July 7, 2017). "Kristin Kreuk Starrer 'Burden of Truth' Loses Showrunners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
9. Malyk, Lauren (April 4, 2018). "CBC renews Burden of Truth". Playback. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
10. Peter Mooney [@Peter_Mooney_] (March 25, 2019). ""That's it, back to Winnipeg!" It's official!!! We'll be back shooting Season III of #BurdenOfTruth this summer" (Tweet). Retrieved March 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
11. CBC announces first round of renewals for the 2019-20 season
12. Dutt, Aruna (November 21, 2019). "Get ready for a year full of drama: here's what's coming to CBC in 2020". CBC Television. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
13. Reid, Elizabeth (July 21, 2020). "CBC RENEWS ORIGINAL LEGAL DRAMAS BURDEN OF TRUTH AND DIGGSTOWN". CBC Television.
14. Nellie Andreeva; Erik Pedersen (April 5, 2018). "The CW Acquires Drama Series 'Burden of Truth' Starring Kristin Kreuk For Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
15. Lloyd, Robert (July 25, 2018). "Review: In 'Burden of Truth,' 'Smallville' star Kristin Kreuk returns to the CW as a big city lawyer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
16. "Burden of Truth: About" (Press release). The CW Press. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
17. "Shows A-Z - burden of truth on cw". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
18. Metcalf, Mitch (July 26, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.25.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
19. Metcalf, Mitch (August 2, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.1.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
20. Metcalf, Mitch (August 9, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.8.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
21. Metcalf, Mitch (August 16, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.15.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
22. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.22.2018
23. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.5.2018
24. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.12.2018
25. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.19.2018
26. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.26.2018
27. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.3.2018
28. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.2.2019
29. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.9.2019
30. Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.16.2019
31. Articles. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.23.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
32. Articles. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.30.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
33. Articles. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.7.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
34. Articles. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.14.2019 | Showbuzz Daily". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
35. Welch, Alex (July 22, 2019). "'Big Brother,' 'Celebrity Family Feud,' all others hold: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
36. ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.21.2020
37. Metcalf, Mitch (June 1, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.28.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
38. Metcalf, Mitch (June 5, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.4.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
39. Metcalf, Mitch (June 12, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.11.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
40. Metcalf, Mitch (June 19, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.18.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
41. Mitch Metcalf (June 26, 2020). "Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.25.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
42. Mitch Metcalf (July 6, 2020). "Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.2.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
43. Mitch Metcalf (July 13, 2020). "Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.9.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved July 13, 2020.

External links

• Burden of Truth on IMDb