Truth Be Told And Chicago P.D. Actor Explains What Sets The Apple TV+ Series Apart
The streaming game is more competitive than ever this winter with the debut of Truth Be Told on Apple TV+, with the cast including Hidden Figures' Octavia Spencer, Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul, and Chicago P.D.'s Michael Beach. The drama will revolve around a decades-old murder and the investigation into what might have really happened. That said, Truth Be Told will stand out from crime dramas like Chicago P.D. and others, as Michael Beach shared in a recent chat with CinemaBlend.
Michael Beach, who made his Chicago P.D. debut as crime boss Darius Walker a few months before the launch of Truth Be Told on Apple TV+, said this when asked what sets Truth Be Told apart on the small screen:
Truth Be Told is based on a novel by Kathleen Barber that tells the story of journalist and professional podcaster Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer) who made her name on a murder case, but new evidence leads her to suspect that she may have helped put the wrong man (Aaron Paul) in prison. Michael Beach plays Ingram Rhoades, a distinguished attorney who went against his family's wishes to marry Poppy and became Poppy's rock, which will undoubtedly come in handy when Truth Be Told starts getting twisty.
So, beween Poppy the journalist, Ingram the lawyer, and former Oakland Police Department detective Markus Killebrew (Mekhi Phifer), Truth Be Told on Apple TV+ has pretty much all the boxes of a traditional law and order TV show checked, but Truth Be Told will have more of an emphasis on families and relationships than SWAT teams racing across rooftops, shootouts, and more of what viewers have come to expect from franchises like One Chicago and NCIS on network TV.
Michael Beach, who also worked on Swamp Thing on DC Universe before jumping to a different streaming service for Truth Be Told, explained the contrast between working on streaming TV and network TV:
While streaming series like Truth Be Told (and the cancelled-too-soon Swamp Thing) certainly release differently than broadcast network series like Chicago P.D., the work to make the shows is quite similar. That's not to say, however, that a show like Truth Be Told or Swamp Thing could necessarily air on a traditional network.
Viewers will have to wait and see what Truth Be Told has in store, but streaming platforms can afford projects more freedom and fewer lines that can't be crossed than networks. You won't catch Darius Walker and Hank Voight throwing F-bombs at each other on Chicago P.D., and the subject matter at the center of Truth Be Told indicates that episodes could get pretty heavy.
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NBC will almost certainly never air a series dropping F-bombs or really going much further than P.D. goes, which is already significantly darker than the other two One Chicago shows. But could NBC shows and shows on other networks continue to shift to find ways to compete with streamers? Apple TV+ isn't the only service making bold moves this year.
Michael Beach also shared some of the advantages of streaming TV shows:
Seasons of TV with shorter runs than 20+ episodes do tend to be less procedural and focus more on twists and relationships that will have consequences, for better or worse. Truth Be Told will run for eight episodes, with the first three installments releasing on Friday, December 6 on Apple TV+. Following the supersized premiere, new episodes will release Fridays on one of the newest and most original streaming services.
Be sure to tune in to see Michael Beach in his new role as Ingram Rhoades while Chicago P.D. is on winter hiatus before returning to NBC to pay off on that huge Halstead cliffhanger in 2020. Beach has already teased that some "shocking stuff" is on the way with P.D., and a whole lot of other worthy series will debut soon. Our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule can give you all the dates you need.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).