Tell Me Your Secrets

Amy Brenneman Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater all started on the stage before graduating to "character actors" on film and television. They know how to steal a scene.

In this series, Brenneman plays a grieving mother who will (quite literally) do anything to find out what happened to Theresa, her missing daughter. Rabe is the woman who was there when her serial killer boyfriend snatched Theresa, and cannot forgive herself for not stopping him. Linklater is a serial predator who hopes to stop looking for prey. Meanwhile, someone is killing young girls, and a local foster home is full of potential victims.

The show is helmed by Harriet Warner of "Call the Midwife," but its Louisiana setting, subject matter, and pacing seem more rooted in the gloomy "True Detective." Fear and depression follow each of the three lead characters through the steamy swamps and grimy buildings.

They all have something to hide, and the series gives us the slow, plodding revelation of their secrets. Sadly, the pacing is uneven, with more happening in the first episode than in the next three.

The production values are generally good, but the sound is at time uneven. Music drowns out voices, and the dark sets made it hard for me to watch in a well lit room.

There are multiple plots, which mean it is best seen as a binge stream over a few days.

I enjoyed most of it, and thought the acting was phenomenal. The plot? Unbelievable, but THIS IS TV.

10/10

Entirely gripping and engaging from Episode 1 through the end of Episode 8. Episodes 9 and 10, however, lacked some plausibility and required a greater measure of suspension-of-belief than the previous episodes. Still, as a whole (or for the first eight episodes), it was immensely absorbing and enveloped me so completely, that I could not stop myself from binging it through to the end. Here, I have to add - although I almost hate doing so because I fear it might come across as gender-defining this series, that it is especially terrifying in parts, if you have ever experienced a stalker or abuser; harassment; manipulation or exploitation in any form. I do not want to include more as I do not wish to give away important plot pieces, but you can almost taste the emotions being "experienced" by some of the characters, and in films and television shows, isn't this precisely what we look for?

So, as others have already suggested, do yourself a favor and totally ignore the negative reviews on this little gem. A majority of those so-called "reviews" are thoroughly nonsensical. One, below, reads: 'I barely finished episode 1 and don't know how this show has a rating of 7.5'. I guess we should give that Einstein credit for not judging the entire season on part of one episode. Oh, wait. They did. Yet another so-called review on RT (which in itself is a joke), reads, in part: "... the problem is the script treats this like a potboiler when it deserves more seriousness ...". Sorry, but I can almost guarantee that purported 'top-critic' has been phoning-in critiques for a while now without ever bothering to watch the source material. This series, is chock-full-of both, nail-biting, pot-boiler suspense and undeniable, keep-you-awake "seriousness", which they would have known had they watched it. If anything, one could say the analogy of a tea kettle boiling and whistling on a stove is how best this series can be described. Take from that what you will.

Lastly, to their enormous credit, the cast members are all highly believable in their respective roles with stand-out performances by many, but especially so, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, Enrique Murciano and Emyri Crutchfield.

THIS is must-watch TV.

This series is better than many of the reviews here. The last two episodes were all over the place and rushed but the build up was good and the initial premise was fine. There were some wonky twists towards the end that went overboard but it's a limited series so I guess they didn't feel constrained to reign anything in for seasons that are never gonna happen.

I watched the first episode and was hooked. I wanted to know a bit more about it and came across some really surprising reviews. I mean the vitriolic language and bizarre level of loathing - what is going on?! Now I'm really curious because there is no way this series compelled so much passionate anger. I'm now 4 episodes in, it's definitely creepy, suspenseful, well acted, beautifully shot, super weird, and I am confused about what is really happening- but so far I love it. It's "not for everyone" but no genre is. Give it a try if creepy and suspenseful are your bag. You'll probably like it, maybe even love it.

I almost didn't watch because of the crap reviews glad I didn't. This was a decent little series. Yes it was convoluted but the reviews about fake swans ad music??? I didn't see a fake dead swan nor was the music that bad. I mean they played this quirky music during some tense scenes but It didn't make the show suck for me. With all the crap stuff that's come out during these times I have to say this is not one of them. The ending was a bit rushed and I couldn't stand Brenaman's character but I thought it was decent.