Kristin Kreuk, who first gained fame as Lana Lang from Smallville which showed the teenage years of Super-Man on TV, returns in her most compelling role since then.
From Smallville to Beauty and the Beast, Kristin Kreuk is no stranger to TV roles. Her latest effort, however, is possibly her best, as she stars in Burden of Truth.
Kristin plays Joanna Hanley, a corporate attorney who works for a big-time law firm with her father David, played by Alex Carter. She’s hoping to be able to represent a huge pharmaceutical company in a lawsuit against a case that states that their HPV vaccine is making girls in Millwood sick, giving them seizures, tics and cognitive problems.
As she goes over the case, she believes there is no proof that the vaccine caused the girls condition and volunteers to travel to Millwood to find out more.
Her father tries to stop her from going to Millwood, because as it turns out Joanna and her father used to live in Millwood but left when she graduated high school. Joanna disagrees and decides to go anyway.
On coming back to town, she’s met with a frosty welcome as she is representing big-pharma, which people believe is the cause of neurological symptoms the girls have. Her opposing counsel is Billy Crawford, played by Peter Mooney who she used to go to high school with.
As it turns out Joanna gets the case dismissed against the pharmaceutical company because one of the girls who gets sick never used the HPV vaccine. This is where the story turns. The case is done and Joanna is free to leave Millwood and go back to her big city ways. However, when Billy’s niece also gets sick, Joanna realizes that something is making these girls sick and that Billy is not equipped to deal with this on his own. So, she decides to stay in town and figure out what is happening to these girls and how they are getting sick.
There is also mystery behind the fact that she and her father left in the middle of the night back when they used to live in town and never kept in touch with anyone. When Joanna is sitting in a bar, discussing the case with Billy, a woman asks her name to which she says yes, it’s Hanley and she gets punched in the face.
The more the story develops the more secrets unfolds. What happened to Joanna’s mother and why is her father so despised in town?
The season two of the drama deals with technology instead and how it has found it ways into our lives. Joanna has a new client, a tech insider who wants to blow the whistle on his own company, a tech giant who with their new software will be able to listen in on their users. In the background, there is also the case of Joanna and her dad, and the fact that she doesn’t want to speak to him. He comes into town to speak to Joanna and he is murdered. As the case is investigated and moves forward, a young girl with whom Joanna has a connection is arrested for her father’s murder.
This season is divided between the trial of her father’s murder and the paranoid client she has who trusts no one but her. Joanna decides to represent the young girl Luna, who is charged with killing her father and even though Joanna has complicated feelings about her father, she firmly believes that Luna didn’t kill her father. Billy like the nice guy he is decides to help her out as well and together the two of them fight for Luna.
The second season also puts a bit more focus on Billy and the complicated relationship he has with his family. Season 2 is more intimate and shows more character development unlike season one.
Burden of Truth can be compared to Sharp Objects but it’s less dark in nature. The beautiful landscapes, the sleepy small-town with its hidden agenda, the slowness of the storylines, and the intriguing soundtrack makes Burden of Truth worth watching. While a lot of shows in the summer are reality TV shows, this summer show is most underrated.
Kristin Kreuk is the star and anchor of this show and carries it very well. The rest of cast for both seasons is well-rounded while the series only gets better from season to season. It’s a must-watch.
