Secrets And Lies Review

screenshot of secrets and lies on abc

ABC brings the drama and a bunch of unrealistic characters with their latest show.

ABC’s latest drama Secrets and Lies premiered Sunday night with a two-hour episode.

With two hours to fill, the premier episode would put it’s best foot forward to draw the audience in. Someone should have told the show’s writers and producers.

The wife and I talked about which new show to check out, Secrets and Lies or The Last Man On Earth, a dark comedy from Fox which may already be canceled (kidding… for now).

Secrets and Lies won, but that was it’s last victory of the night.

The show had promise. The previews framed it as a drama/mystery focusing on Ryan Phillippe’s character Ben Garner and his involvement in the murder of a neighborhood kid.

Instead of two hours of intrigue and mystery, we see Garner (Phillippe) stumble through a police investigation led by Detective Andrea Cornell (Juliette Lewis).

Garner’s actions, and the feel of the premier episode, reak of knock off Gone Girl story telling. Garner’s decision making is on par with one of those 30-year-old teenagers from Pretty Little Liars.

That’s not Phillippe’s fault. It’s the writers. The character should misstep from time to time. He needs to or there’s no story beyond a man finds a body, calls the cops, then the credits roll.

But what the audience was expected to accept was insulting. At least I felt insulted.

It’s not just the main character, it’s ALL the characters. His wife Laura (KaDee Strickland) lets the cops search their home without a warrant. Laura sends an attorney to the police station for Ben, but he’s a divorce attorney. Pending who you ask, those aren’t the same thing.

Then there’s Detective Cornell (Juliette Lewis), the bad ass, no bullshit detective. Cornell isn’t in every scene, but she’s in a lot. The only way we, the audience, can tell she’s a bad ass is by the look on her face.

I call it the Sean Penn look. The look of constantly smelling a fart no matter what’s going on.

According to IMDB, the first season ends with ten episodes. I’m only one in and I’m throwing in the towel. If you want an overly dramatized show with unrealistic characters, this is perfect for you.

"Talks about geek/nerd things, college football, and online marketing. I'm goofy and awkward. I try to wordsmith things."