Secrets and Lies: Season One DVD Review

Mill Creek Ent., TV-14; 7 hours 7 minutes; $24.98

Back during my pre-teen and teenage years, I would watch almost any new television series. As I've gotten older, my interests have changed greatly; to the point that I hardly watch any programs that air on network television. Many of today's scripted series are poorly written and all the so-called reality shows don't appeal to me. So if there's a good series, normally, it goes completely under my radar, which exactly what happened with Secrets and Lies.

Based on the Australian series of the same name, Secrets and Lies is an anthology series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 2015 to 2016. Season One arrived on DVD for the first time from Mill Creek Entertainment last year, featuring 10 episodes on a two-disc set. There are no special features or extras on the DVD.

The first season begins with Ben Crawford (played by Ryan Phillippe), a self-employed contractor, who stumbles upon the body of a five-year-old boy while jogging through the woods early one morning. It turns out that the boy is Tom, the son of his neighbors, Jessica (played by Natalie Martinez) and her estranged husband Scott. With Ben suffering from memory loss from the night before, he becomes the prime suspect in Tom's death; especially, in the eyes of Detective Andrea Cornell (played by Juliette Lewis), who becomes obsessed with solving the case.

After DNA test results confirm that Ben is Tom's biological father, his wife Christy (played by KaDee Strickland) and their daughters, Natalie and Abby (played by Indiana Evans and Belle Shouse), along with the media, begin to believe he's the killer! With no other choice, Ben begins his own investigation in the hoping of clearing his name.

Final Thoughts

For some reason, I could have sworn Secrets and Lies: Season One DVD was released earlier this year, but I was wrong. It was actually released last September, so I guess I've had the DVD set since last fall. Well, technically, I did watch all ten episodes back in the spring, but due to my procrastinating issue, I'm just now getting to around to writing the review for it!

Anyway, Secrets and Lies: Season One is an entertaining series (well, more like a 10-part mini-series) with an intriguing murder mystery plot. The acting is topnotch with Ryan Phillippe giving an excellent performance as the #1 murder suspect who's trying to prove his innocence. Juliette Lewis does a good job playing an emotionless detective. The main plot from episode-to-episode is pretty good. The only thing I found wrong with the series is that there were way too many "red herrings."

Overall, I enjoyed watching Secrets and Lies: Season One. It's a thrilling murder mystery that held my interest till the very end.