ABC’s Newest Series, Secrets and Lies, Returns to Wilmington to Begin Production

By Jacqueline Williams

     In the previous blog entitled, The Tarheel State Is Doing It Again!, I mentioned some of the production projects that were about to start filming in the area.  Secrets and Lies, is one of the shows mentioned and primarily was an Australian show, which was televised on “March 5^th of this year”, and aired six episodes, on the TEN network.  The series’ debut showed very low viewership, with a little over 404,000 people watching.  The following week, the viewership for the second installment of the show had fallen from 404,000 to 366,000. These poor ratings became very discouraging news for the suffering network.  Many thought this new mystery drama would become a success. “The Executives at ABC decided to pick up the series with a 10-episode commitment, after the pilot was shot this past February, in Wilmington.  The crew began shooting in July (Brothers), and should complete the project right before Thanksgiving“.  Secrets and Lies will debut in March 2015, at 10 p.m.

     The show “tells a single, unfolding story, episode by episode, after the peaceful veneer of a suburban street is shattered by the death of a four-year-old boy”.  The lead character Ben, played by Australian actor Martin Henderson, will star Ryan Phillippe, in the American version as the prime suspect in the murder of a young neighborhood boy.  Ryan’s character Ben, finds the child’s body in the woods while he is out jogging.  As news of the tragedy spreads, the neighborhood's secrets are brought to the surface.  Leading Detective Cornell, played by Juliette Lewis, tries to zero in on Ben as the prime suspect.  Desperate to clear his name and save his already shaky relationship with his wife, played by Kadee Strickland and his two daughters, Ben vows to find the real killer himself.  "Indiana Evans”, "Natalie Martinez, Indiana Evans, Bella Shouse and Gregory Alan Williams are also members of the cast”.

     The program will be very unique because it’s an anthology.  It will be a show like American Horror Story or True Detective.  ABC president, Paul Lee said, “the central mystery would be resolved by season's end, and any subsequent seasons would feature a new cast and a new crime.  Detective Cornell, Juliette Lewis’ character, will maintain a consistent presence from season to season“.