Burden of Truth Recap: “Pilot”

On Wednesday night, the Canadian import drama Burden of Truth debuted on The CW, starring Smallville and Beauty And the Beast star Kristin Kreuk, who also serves as an executive producer on the series.

Kreuk plays Joanna Hanley, an attorney from a big city corporate law firm, who returns to her small hometown of Millwood in order to stop an injunction against her firm’s big pharmaceutical client. A number of girls from Millwood High School have been afflicted with a mysterious illness that is believed to be caused by a vaccine distributed by that pharmaceutical company; but, of course, Joanna’s firm and the client deny any culpability.

Joanna’s boyfriend Alan – who is also an attorney at the same law firm – was supposed to travel to Millwood, but after impressing her father – who just so happens to be a top dog at the same law firm (nepotism, much?) – with not only her tenacity and knowledge of how to handle the case, Joanna was sent instead.

Going home isn’t always easy, but returning to Millwood for Joanna, who left with her father 17 years earlier, quickly became more than she anticipated. Being a bit of a shark she arrived in Millwood set on stopping the injunction, getting all the affected families to sign settlements and leave as quickly as possible with a big win under her belt.

Best laid plans, right?!

Sure, she stopped the injunction and convinced the families – albeit one stubborn father who wanted more for his afflicted daughter – to sign agreements. But when another girl in Millwood fell ill right before her own eyes – who didn’t receive the vaccine believed to be the cause of the mysterious illness – combined with a literal slap in the face from a woman who obviously has a hatred for her father as well as a talking down from one of the afflicted girls – Joanna seemed to switch sides.

Rather than leaving town with her big win, she walked into the small law office of Crawford and Associates – owned and operated solely by her former high school classmate Billy Crawford (there is more to that story that I’m sure we will win over time) – she was poised to help him figure out what was really causing the illness.

The next new episode of the debut season of Burden of Truth will air on The CW on Wednesday, August 1 at 8/7c.

[Photo Credit: The CW/CBC]