In Actual Fact, Apple TV’s “Truth Be Told” Could Be Better

Truth Be Told stars Octavia Spencer as Poppy Parnell, ex-journalist for The New York Times-turned-famous podcaster.  She made her name at the Times through a series of articles that painted Warren Cave (Aaron Paul), a boy accused of brutally murdering a local husband and father, as the monster said accusation would make him if it turned out to be true.  Well, true or not, Cave gets convicted as an adult and sent to big boy prison for the better part of two decades -- until (oops) Poppy sees a video that may indicate Cave’s innocence.  Riddled with guilt for the part she played in the conviction of a man she now believes may have been an innocent boy, Poppy’s on the hunt for the truth, which someone is definitely hiding.

So, what does it all add up to?  That depends what you’re looking for.  The cast couldn’t be better, so that puts the plus in this Apple TV show.  Besides Academy Award-winner Octavia Spencer, who’s as solid a choice for Poppy as you could want, and three-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul, we also get Tracie Thoms, Michael Beach, Elizabeth Perkins, Ron Cephas Jones, Lizzy Caplan and Mekhi Motherflippin’ Phifer.  That lineup, coupled with the show’s equally legit soundtrack, makes the series’ proposed level of worth pretty high.

The series wastes no time getting right into the throes of the story, and Spencer is always compelling on screen.  But I still have reservations, and to be honest they don’t come specifically from this show, so much as they do from the network/service it finds itself on.  With The Morning Show, there was a lot of hoopla around its arrival, not only because it was Apple TV+’s flagship show, but also because of its cast.  That show bore all the same traits as this one -- a focus on journalism, high-profile actors and what I’m sure was an absurd production budget -- and I think that’s the problem.  When the dust settled onTMS, the reviews were decidedly mixed at best, partly because it didn’t seem to go all the way at times, and partly because, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, who cares?

The leads on TMS are morning news anchors.  Poppy does a podcast on this show.  These are noble career choices, sure, but these folks are not exactly reporting live from a warzone in a foreign country.  Truth Be Told even straight up asks whether Poppy is only now pursuing the truth behind the story that made her career because of her guilt.  But it didn’t matter during all the years that Cave has been in prison, so why now?

I think the most interesting aspect of Truth Be Told is what will most likely be the development of a pretty obvious plotline.  Cave has been in prison so long that he’s now a Nazi-tatted white supremacist, adding to Poppy’s guilt.  His mother, Melanie (Perkins), has cancer and has been given two months to live.  This means that, theoretically, Poppy’s got only two months to clear Warren’s name, or to at least get to whatever the truth is, before she breaks her promise to Melanie which, again, is suddenly supposed to matter.  If Melanie died what would change?  If anything, Poppy would probably be emboldened by the death, feeling as though she really had to see this thing through.  The question that’ll be the most fun to answer is why Josie Buhrman (Caplan) murdered her pops, Cave’s supposed victim.  I mean, they haven’t said that she’s the one that did it, but it seems pretty obvious, at least from the first couple of episodes.  This woman couldn’t look more suspicious if she tried.

Truth, ahem, be told, the heaviest lifting on this show is done by its cast, very much like the aforementioned The Morning Show.  I like seeing actors I know, as does everyone, and these actors aren’t only recognizable, they’re super-talented.  Every single subplot doesn’t interest me per se -- like Poppy’s prior relationship with her ex, Marcus, or her father possibly having Alzheimer’s -- but I enjoy seeing Mekhi Phifer and Ron Cephas Jones (respectively) all the same.

Truth Be Told is certainly worth the watch, but I do find it indicative of what could become a trend at Apple TV+.  The quality and talent are all there, but a wider lens content-wise will benefit them in the long run.

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