''Truth Be Told'' is an American

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

series on

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

. The series was created by

Nichelle Tramble Spellman Nichelle D. Tramble Spellman (born February 11, 1967) is an American people, American television producer and writer. Career In 2017, Spellman, and her husband, Malcolm Spellman began to co-produce and co-write an alternate history television ...

, based on Kathleen Barber's 2017

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''Are You Sleeping''. Spellman also acts as executive producer and writes for the show. Unlike the book, Poppy Parnell (

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Critics' Choice Awards and three Screen Actors ...

) plays the main role, as a

podcaster A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

who revisits the case that made her famous with the hope of finally getting to the truth. The series premiered on December 6, 2019. The soundtrack, composed by

John Paesano John Paesano (born July 2, 1977) is an American composer working primarily in film, television and video games. He is known for collaborating with director Wes Ball on the '' Maze Runner'' film series, as well as composing for the Marvel Televi ...

, was released by Lakeshore Records on the same day. New York's Paley Center also aired episodes of the show. The second season began in August 2021. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on January 20, 2023.

Premise

In the first season, San Francisco journalist Poppy Parnell restarts the

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

podcast that made her famous. She hopes to reopen the 1999 murder case of Stanford professor Chuck Buhrman after new evidence suggests Warren Cave, the man she helped put behind bars, was wrongly convicted. In the second season, Poppy investigates the murder of a photographer/filmmaker at the request of his wife Micah, an equally controversial wellness guru whose friendship with Poppy compromises her judgment. In the third season, Poppy works with a high school principal to investigate the disappearances of several young black girls in Oakland whose cases lack mainstream media attention. Meanwhile, a mayoral candidate uses white girl Emily Hill's disappearance for his own campaign.

Cast and characters

Main

as Poppy Parnell, an investigative reporter behind a hit true-crime podcast. She uses the last name "Scoville" in Season Three. *

Aaron Paul Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...

as Warren Cave (season 1), a convicted murderer and subject of Poppy's podcasts **

Hunter Doohan Hunter Doohan (born January 18, 1994) is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Your Honor (American TV series), Your Honor'' (2020) and ''Wednesday (TV series), Wednesday'' (2022). Lif ...

as young Warren Cave *

Lizzy Caplan Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...

as Josie and Lanie Buhrman (season 1), identical twin sisters whose father was allegedly murdered by Warren Cave *

Elizabeth Perkins Elizabeth Ann Perkins (born November 18, 1960) is an American actress. Her film roles have included ''About Last Night'' (1986), '' Big'' (1988), ''Avalon'' (1990), and '' He Said, She Said'' (1991), ''The Flintstones'' (1994), ''Miracle on 34th ...

as Melanie Cave (season 1), Warren's mother who has been afflicted with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. *

Michael Beach Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' Lean on Me'' (1989), ''One False Move'' (1992), ''Short Cuts'' (1993), ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), ''A Family Thing'' (1996), ''Soul Food'' (1997), ...

as Ingram Rhoades, Poppy's husband *

Mekhi Phifer Mekhi Phifer (; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama '' ER'' until 2008 and had a co-starring role opposite actor/rapper Eminem in the 2002 feature film '' 8 Mile''. He was ...

as Markus Killebrew, a former detective and long time friend of Poppy *

Merle Dandridge Merle Dandridge (born May 31, 1975) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for performing in Broadway musicals such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', ''Spamalot'', ''Rent'', and '' Once on This Island'', as well as her video game rol ...

as Zarina Killebrew, Markus' wife *

Tracie Thoms Tracie Nicole Thoms is an Emmy-nominated American television, film, and stage actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''Rent'', ''Cold Case'', '' The Devil Wears Prada'', ''Death Proof'', and the short-lived Fox television series ''Wo ...

as Desiree Scoville, Poppy's younger sister * Haneefah Wood as Cydie Scoville, Poppy's youngest sister * Ron Cephas Jones as Lukather "Shreve" Scoville, Poppy's father *

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...

as Micah Keith (season 2), Poppy's childhood friend and famous writer * David Lyons as Inspector Aames (season 2), the inspector assigned to investigate Micah's husband's death * Katherine LaNasa as Noa Havilland (season 2; recurring season 1), the producer of Poppy's podcast *

Tami Roman Tamisha Akbar (born April 17, 1970) better and professionally known as Tami Roman, is an American television personality, model, businesswoman and actress. Roman first gained fame on '' The Real World: Los Angeles'' in 1993. After making cameo ap ...

as Lillian "Lily" Scoville (season 2; recurring season 1), Poppy's stepmother * Rico E. Anderson as Herbie, manages the biker bar, 'The Knock'.

Recurring

* Nic Bishop as Chuck Buhrman (season 1), Josie and Lanie's father *

Annabella Sciorra Annabella Gloria Philomena Sciorra ( , ; born March 29, 1960) is an American actress. She came to prominence with her film debut in '' True Love'' (1989), earning an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Female Lead. Subsequent projects include ...

as Erin Buhrman (season 1), Josie and Lanie's mother *

Molly Hagan Molly Joan Hagan is an American actress. She co-starred in films ''Code of Silence'' (1985), '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), ''The Dentist'' (1996), ''Election'' (1999), and '' Sully'' (2016), and is also known for her roles in television on ...

as Susan Carver (season 1), Josie and Lanie's aunt * Billy Miller as Alex Dunn (season 1), Lanie's husband * Everleigh McDonell as Ella Dunn (season 1), Lanie's daughter *

Brett Cullen Peter Brett Cullen (born August 26, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Dan Fixx in ''Falcon Crest'' (1986-1988), Sam Cain in '' The Young Riders'' (1989-1990), Governor Ray Sullivan in ''The West Wing'' (2005-2006), Go ...

as Owen Cave (season 1), Warren's father *

Lyndon Smith Lyndon Smith (born June 7, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Natalie in the NBC drama '' Parenthood'' (2013–2015) and Dierdre in the TNT police drama ''Public Morals'' (2015). Life Smith is from Pensacola, Florida ...

as Chandra Willets (season 1) * Michael Franklin as Young Leander "Shreve" Scoville (season 1) *

Christopher Backus Christopher Paul Backus (born October 30, 1981) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. Backus made his television debut in NBC's ''Will & Grace'', followed by landing roles in ''The O.C.'', ''Life on Mars'', ''It's Always Sunny in Phila ...

as Holt Redding (season 2), a mysterious man, linked to both Poppy and Micah Keith *

Alona Tal Alona Tal ( he, אלונה טל, ; born ) is an Israeli actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''Veronica Mars'' as cheerleader Meg Manning, in '' Supernatural'' as budding monster hunter Jo Harvelle, and in '' SEAL Team'' as grad stu ...

as Ivy Abbott (season 2), Micah Keith's right hand woman * Mychala Lee as Trini Killebrew (season 2), Markus' daughter

Episodes

Season 1 (2019–20)

Season 2 (2021)

Season 3 (2023)

Production

Development

On January 3, 2018, Apple announced that it was developing a television series based on the novel ''Are You Sleeping'' by Kathleen Barber. The show was created by Nichelle Tramble Spellman who also wrote and executive produced the series as well. Other executive producers include

via her Orit Entertainment, Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter for their company Hello Sunshine, and

Peter Chernin Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technolog ...

Jenno Topping Jenno Topping is an American film producer. Films she has produced include ''Dr. Dolittle (1998 film), Dr. Dolittle'' (1998), ''Charlie's Angels (2000 film), Charlie's Angels'' (2000), ''St. Vincent (film), St. Vincent'' (2014), ''Miss Peregrine's ...

and Kristen Campo for

Chernin Entertainment Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by former News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin, also CEO and chairman of the company. Jenno Topping is the current Head ...

. On May 2, 2018, Apple announced that they had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. On June 13, 2018, it was reported that

Anna Foerster Anna J. Foerster (born 1971) is a German-born American film and television cinematographer and director. She is best known for collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, working under different capacities on every film directed by him dating ...

would direct the series' first episode. A featurette from the series was released on November 26, 2019. On March 5, 2020, Apple renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on August 20, 2021. On December 7, 2021, Apple renewed the series for a third season which premiered on January 20, 2023.

Casting

Simultaneously with reports of the series' development, it was confirmed that Octavia Spencer has been cast in the series' lead role. In June 2018, it was announced that

, Haneefah Wood, and Ron Cephas Jones had joined the main cast. Caplan, Paul, and Perkins all reportedly signed one-year deals for the series. In July 2018, it was reported that

and Moon Bloodgood had joined the main cast and that Nic Bishop,

, Billy Miller,

, and Hunter Doohan would appear in recurring roles. In August 2018, it was announced that

had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. Additionally, it was reported that Bloodgood had dropped out of the role of Cath Min after filming of the first four episodes had been completed. The role was expected to be recast and her already-filmed scenes to be reshot. On October 8, 2018, it was announced that Katherine LaNasa had been cast to replace Bloodgood, and her character Cath Min, in the newly devised recurring role of Noa Havilland. In October 2020, it was announced that Kate Hudson would be starring in the second season of ''Truth Be Told''. The next month, it was reported that

, Jason O’Mara,

, David Lyons,

, Cranston Johnson, Hale Appleman, Anthony Lee Medina and Mychala Lee has been cast for the second season of the series. On March 23, 2022,

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...

was reportedly cast as a lead role in the third season. On April 5, 2022, it was announced that Ana Ayora had joined the cast in the third season.

Filming

Principal photography for the series commenced on June 25, 2018 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Filming reportedly concluded on December 12, 2018. Production for the second season began in Los Angeles on October 26, 2020, after being briefly delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In February 2021,

Leimert Park Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

was planned to be a filming location for the second season but was delayed due to protesting against the filming. Filming moved to the Arts District in Los Angeles for the duration of April 2021 and wrapped by the end of the month. It was announced by Apple that third season has begun filming on April 15, 2022.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series has a score of 31%, based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 5.72/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A twisty thriller that never quite comes together, ''Truth Be Told''s commitment to the true crime at its center is less interesting or engaging than the family drama orbiting in the periphery." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Awards and nominations

Similar works

* ''Murder, She Wrote''

References

External links

* – official site * {{Apple TV+ 2010s American anthology television series 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American legal television series English-language television shows Apple TV+ original programming 2019 American television series debuts Television shows based on American novels Television series by Chernin Entertainment Works by Malcolm Spellman