Ryan Phillippe
KaDee Strickland
Dan Fogler
Natalie Martinez
Indiana Evans
Belle Shouse
Juliette Lewis

Developed by:
Barbie Kligman

2015-
Crime, Drama
ABC
TV-14

“Secrets and Lies,” the U.S. adaptation of the Australian TV series of the same name, begins with a 2-hour episode. That was a wise decision, because that episode starts off pretty badly yet ends on an OK note.

Ryan Phillipe and Juliette Lewis lead the cast as a murder suspect and a detective, respectively. As Ben Crawford, Phillipe is a bit wooden; his stilted delivery doesn’t really work here. Lewis plays the typical, hard-nosed detective. She doesn’t do much to impress or repulse.

The dialogue is forced and clichéd. It’s like “Resurrection,” without the returning dead people, or an even weaker version of “Gracepoint.” There’s an unwelcome heaviness to this show’s delivery that’s unearned. The score generates forced atmospherics; they’re not backed up by the execution of the story. And we get the requisite timely interruptions, a marriage on the rocks, kids leaving the dinner table, and obvious suspicions. I just wish that everything was a bit sharper – this is sluggish stuff.

I wonder what would’ve happened had they started with the actual secrets and lies instead of with Ben’s discovery of a neighborhood boy’s dead body. They may have gotten us to invest in the story from the beginning, as a result.

By the first episode’s second hour, things get a little better – but not better enough. It’s still forced, and it still teeters on the edge of melodrama. Despite that, I did like the addition of Timothy Busfield, the co-executive producer of the show, to the cast. He plays a hot-shot criminal defense attorney; I hope we get a lot of him moving forward.

While I don’t believe that Ben killed the boy, I don’t care about what happens to him or whether he really did it or not. That’s a bad sign. There’s enough here to watch the next episode, I guess – barely. …

Sorry, I’m out. Even Juliette Lewis fails to do a good job here. Heck, she even fails to do an acceptable job. What’s going on?

Verdict: Somewhat Bad

About: (Source: secretslies)

No matter who you are, everyone has secrets and everybody tells lies. What will people do to keep their most intimate, devastating indiscretions from ruining their lives?