Plot Synopsis

BURDEN OF TRUTH is a one-hour serialized investigative drama series about life-altering legal cases. In Season 1, fast-rising corporate attorney Joanna Hanley returns to her small hometown of Millwood -- a prairie town with an industrial past and uncertain future -- to represent a major client in a case against some sick high school girls. She dispatches her case quickly and efficiently, crushing the girls and their small-town lawyer -- her former high school classmate Billy Crawford. After winning her case, she discovers the girls are sicker than anyone thought. Otherwise healthy young women have been overcome with uncontrollable twitches and seizures, making life unlivable. They need help. Joanna also realizes she may have unresolved personal business in town. Even though she's a successful partner in a big law firm, she can't ignore the feeling that something in her life is not right. She becomes convinced all the answers she's seeking about her broken life can be found in her old hometown. And if she's going to fix herself, she has to start where it all began -- with uncovering all of her family's deepest secrets. BURDEN OF TRUTH had its U.S. premiere on The CW on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 8pm ET/PT, just a few weeks after production began on Season 2 in Winnipeg.

The sophomore season of BURDEN OF TRUTH had its U.S. premiere on Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 8pm ET/PT on The CW. In Season 2, Joanna is working at a new law firm a year after her successful lawsuit against the steel mill in Millwood. Looking to start over, Joanna took up her mother's surname and settled in a new city hoping for a quieter life. However, when her boss assigns her to a case for a brilliant, young, internet hacktivist, Joanna is dragged into a dark world of secrets that will turn her life upside down. Meanwhile, with the steel mill closed, the residents of Millwood are struggling to make ends meet and Billy is doing all he can to stop the town's downward spiral. Luna and Molly adjust to living together.

Season 3 of BURDEN OF TRUTH has its U.S. premiere on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at 8pm ET/PT on The CW. In the third season, Joanna and Billy are working together in their new boutique law firm, Crawford Chang, but they're discovering that living and litigating together has its challenges. On a cathartic trip back to Millwood for a class reunion, an old friend, Kodie, turns Joanna's life upside down when her children are removed by Millwood Family Services. Kodie believes she is the victim of a conspiracy and pleads for Joanna to help solve the case and bring her children back. To help her friend, Joanna must dig into the dark underbelly of Millwood to unearth evidence of a cluster of child apprehensions. Joanna will take on an impossible-to-win case that will force her to confront a long-buried secret from her childhood that may threaten her relationship and partnership with Billy. After this case, nothing will be the same again.

BURDEN OF TRUTH kicked off its fourth and final season in the U.S. on Friday, July 30, 2021 at 8pm ET/PT on The CW. In Season 4, when a mining company reopens a dormant mine outside Millwood, Joanna Chang and Billy Crawford, lawyers and new parents, step in to protect a local woman's home from certain destruction. When the mine swiftly retaliates, Joanna is forced to confront a long-buried secret from her past and scramble to protect the future of her career and her family. As both sides prepare for war with the fate of Millwood at stake, Joanna and Billy must juggle their life with a newborn with waging a legal battle against a corporate titan. When they come across evidence the mine isn't what it claims to be, Joanna seizes an opportunity to launch an unexpected legal battle that will bring the company to its knees. As Joanna and Billy fight the legal battle against the mine, Police Chief Owen Beckbie struggles to contain the increased criminal activity that always follows the resource industry. With the help of new Millwood police recruit, Officer Taylor Matheson, Beckbie uncovers a growing criminal underworld running through Millwood...and all roads lead right back to the mining camp.
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On Friday, September 17, 2021 at 8pm ET/PT, The CW premiered "Standing by Peaceful Water," the series finale of BURDEN OF TRUTH. With her legal career seemingly over, Joanna begins to chart a new path for the future. Billy gets some unexpected help in his pursuit of a new client. With Dee's legal case at a dead end, Luna is unsure where to turn. The episode was directed by Michelle Latimer and written by Brad Simpson.